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I was born and raised in Jamestown, North Dakota the son of a
rancher and business man. I was first introduced to photography during my high school years when a friend of my
father’s, a professional photographer, invited me to visit his darkroom one Saturday morning. I was hooked when
I first saw that silver image appear on the paper bathed in Dektol. My parents purchased an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic
for me and I was on my way. I would spend hours trying to photograph the Mallards on our many pasture ponds during
the summer and hunting them in the fall. I was at a disadvantage since the only lens I had was a 50 mm lens. Fortunately,
my Father’s friend would develop my B&W film for a nominal fee and offer advice. You can imagine my excitement
when I received a 135 mm lens for graduation.
I spent my college years in Portland, Oregon where I receive my
optometry degree from Pacific University, College of Optometry, Forest Grove, Oregon. During Optometry School I
had a golden opportunity to work with Dr. Carroll Pratt, an Optometry instructor at the school and a very fine
print maker. One day I asked Dr. Pratt some questions about light and the perception of light by the human eye.
He asked me if I had ever worked in photography so I relayed my past experience. His eyes lit up and invited me
to visit his darkroom that he had on campus. He was very generous with his knowledge and my world of photography
grew enormously.
I returned to North Dakota to marry my high school sweetheart
and start practicing. Then Uncle Sam called and we spent two years in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps. My photography
declined some during this period but was renewed when I was discharged. I immediately joined the local camera club
which re-stimulated my interest in photography. Our family was growing and a new house was in the plans. My wife
designed the house but I made sure there was water in the basement for a darkroom.
I have always been fascinated with wildlife. Being a farm boy,
nature photography was a natural. I have built an array of Nikon equipment and a library of photographic literature.
I enjoyed the many photo instructional courses I have been able to attend over the years. But my real love is being
in the field photographing nature and capturing that moment in time. Tom and I have been very fortunate over the
years to have had the time to travel across the United States and Canada doing just that. Our time is valuable
and sometimes limited so preparation is essential. We have to maximize our time in the field and make it productive.
We document everything in our office practices so it is natural for us to detail each photographic location in
our notes. When it came time to put these tours together we simply followed our detailed notes.
You will find each location carefully detailed with directions,
best lighting, best time of day, length of hike, suggested lenses, best trails, etc... We know you will enjoy these
CDs as they will make your time in the field more productive. There is nothing worse than arriving at a location
and spending two days scouting out the location for one day of photography. Our CDs will add to your photographic
enjoyment and maximize your time in the field.
Please feel free to e-mail either of us with comments or suggestions.
We are always open to your suggestions. Remember that nature is delicate so protect the natural wonders of this
land for our future generations. We hope to meet you in the field some day.
Gary
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