Rudinec's photography career began in Donora
Joseph P. Rudinec's career path was set in his sophomore year when John Krajnak, an instructor at Mon Valley Catholic and a surveyor, asked if he would like to help in laying out the football field.
"John Krajnak, needed help with elevations on the field," said Rudinec, who now lives in North Lima, Ohio. "He needed someone to hold a stick in the ground so he could measure from it. It was just a couple of days, but it was neat to watch.
"And him being a math teacher, it got me interested in math and engineering. He was also an advisor in the photo club so I got interested in photography."
The son of the late Joseph and Anna Rudinec, he attended St. Dominic's grade school and graduated in 1965 from Monongahela Valley Catholic High School. He earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering and is a registered professional engineer.
His experiences in high school also prepared him for his developing career in photography.
He worked as a photographer for the school newspaper and yearbook with Sister Margaret Ann, and Sister Leona, instilling the importance of working to deadlines.
"You had to really go out and find images," Rudinec recalled. "You got to go to the games; you got to go to all of the events. You had the run of it. You did not have to sit in the bleachers.
"It shaped me. I never thought I was going to be a photographer, but it worked out."
Those photographs also provided a portfolio that would later lead to part-time employment as photographer and lab technician while he pursued a degree in mechanical engineering at Youngstown State University.
After shooting weddings and games in high school, Rudinec worked at Abbey Studio while in college.
Beginning in his senior year in college and continuing after graduating from Youngstown State, Rudinec worked at Commercial Shearing - later Commercial Intertech, which has since closed.
An engineer there in the early 1970s, he wrote a software program for Orbis Corporation, which records and analyzes Behavior Based Safety information.
"Not many programs out there to do that, especially affordable ones," Rudinec said. "The program is currently being used in eight plants, one of which is in Canada."
While he was working for the company, Rudinec earned a patent for a thrust plate for a hydraulic gear pump, related to the fluid power industry.
Rudinec worked as a test engineer at Commercial Shearing.
"I liked to say my job was to break things and write reports on why they broke," Rudinec said with a laugh.
By 1975, Rudinec opted to go out on his own. That's when he founded his company, Rudinec - & Associates. Based in North Lima, Ohio, the firm has provided services for local, national, and international corporations, including the White House Historical Association, the Navy, the Marine Corps, IBM, Sears, LTV Steel and the Edward J. DeBartolo Corporation.
His company began as a commercial photo studio then evolved into reproductions. Rudinec & Associates, through its RequestAPrint Division, has been providing museums the means to provide fine art reproductions since 2001. RequestAPrint hosts online galleries and provides secure ordering sites along with production and order fulfillment.
As a result this diversity, software development and database management has become a core business with programs ranging from collection management software, online database management, behavior based safety programs, production management, and business analysis. These programs are currently being used by various institutions in two countries.
His photography has been featured in numerous industry/trade publications worldwide including Kodak's professional publication "Studio Light."
Rudinec's works have been exhibited at the British Museum of Natural History, the Butler Institute of American Art, Canton Art Institute, Villa Maria Community Center, Ursuline Retreat House, and the Youngstown Playhouse. His latest exhibition "Turks and Caicos" is currently on display in Bridgeville.
"We've done a lot of reproductions that are hanging in the White House and at the U.S. Navel Hospital in Quantico, Va.," Rudinec said. "And I also have written a museum collection management program I'm proud of."
He is currently on the board of trustees of the Butler Institute of American Art, and is past president of the local chapters of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Business and Professional Advertising Association as well as a member of the Civil Air Patrol.
He teaches mechanical engineering part-time at Youngstown.
"I like to joke around that I'm the only photographer that has engineering as a hobby, Rudinec said.
He holds a commercial pilot's license, is a certified scuba diver, an avid bicyclist and rock climber.
Rudinec said the wife of a friend and co-worker got him involved in his pastimes as an effort to get the two men to take some time off. A librarian, she researched the more enjoyable pastimes.
"The air plane is my favorite toy, its relaxing," Rudinec said. "Rock climbing is nice because I combine it with camping. No one can get to you. You get away for awhile."
Rudinec said he plans scuba trips during the winter as a way to get away to a warmer climate. Underwater photography provides a new challenge.
Rudinec said he usually gets back to the Valley every month to two months. His sister, Anna Marie Bedner, lives in Donora,
"Growing up in Donora, it was a great experience," Rudinec said. "Everybody knew everybody. If you got in trouble, you're mother knew before you got home."
