Learn more about your favorite OP columnists and contributors—a diverse and highly lauded group of photographers whose expertise spans the gamut from landscape and nature to wildlife and adventure photography

PHOTO ADVENTURE By Bill Hatcher

Adventurer and photojournalist Bill Hatcher is continually exploring the world’s wilderness in order to photograph explorers, climbers, skiers, kayakers and mountain bikers. “Knowing how to shoot a photo is just the beginning,” he says. “Equally important are my skills as a climber, skier and boater. The ability to move quickly and safely in rough terrain lets me stay close to the action, and that’s where the best photos are made.”   

Hatcher has been a freelance photographer and photojournalist since 1987. He  specializes in adventure, science and expedition photography. His images have appeared in Smithsonian, Geo, Adventure, Paris-Match, Newsweek and many other publications around the world. He’s a regular contributor to National Geographic and Outside magazines. His photos also have been featured in three books: Desire and Ice, Caves: Exploring Hidden Realms and Great Climbs: A Celebration of World Mountaineering, and his most recent book is National Geographic Photography Field Guide: Action and Adventure. Hatcher also lectures and teaches photo workshops. For more about Bill Hatcher, visit www.billhatcher.com.

BASIC JONES By Dewitt Jones

Dewitt Jones is one of the top professional photographers and motivational speakers in America. He graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Drama and went on to earn a Master’s Degree in filmmaking from UCLA. While he was a motion-picture director, two of his films were nominated for academy awards—Climb (for Best Live Action Short Film) and John Muir’s High Sierra (for Best Short Subject Documentary). He went on to work as a freelance photographer for National Geographic over the next two decades before making a transition into creative marketing for corporations.

Dewitt has had eight books of his photography published, all of which are now out of print; however, six of them are still available in limited supply through his Website. His work also is featured in The Nature of Leadership, a motivational book he cowrote with Stephen R. Covey and Roger Merrill. In addition, Dewitt has produced a number of DVDs featuring some of his presentations on vision, passion, purpose and creativity. To learn more about Dewitt, visit www.dewittjones.com.

PHOTO TRAVELER By Bob Krist

An award-winning freelance photographer and accomplished writer, Bob Krist has traveled to all seven continents and has regular assignments for National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian and Islands magazines. Krist has won awards in the Pictures of the Year, Communication Arts, and World Press Photo competitions. His photographs have also been featured in five books, including Spirit of Place: The Art of the Traveling Photographer.

In 1994 and 2006, he won the title of “Travel Photographer of the Year” from the Society of American Travel Writers, and in 2000 his work was honored at the Eisenstaedt Awards for Magazine Photography in New York City. Krist also has hosted nature programs for PBS and the Outdoor Life Network. For more about Bob Krist, visit www.bobkrist.com.

WORLD VIEW By Frans Lanting

For more than two decades, Dutch-born photographer Frans Lanting has been photographing nature and wildlife in ways that continually surprise and inspire people around the world. Widely published, Lanting has contributed thousands of photographs to National Geographic, Natural History, Audubon, LIFE and many other prestigious publications. Through his work, Lanting has been able to bring attention to many endangered species and global ecological problems that has motivated governments and private organizations to get involved. In 2001, H.R.H. Prince Bernard made Lanting a Knight in the Royal Order of the Golden Ark, Netherlands’ highest conservation honor. He has been honored as a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in London and has received the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the Sierra Club’s Ansel Adams Award.

Frequently traveling the world on assignment, Lanting is devoted to documenting wildlife and our relationship with nature in environments from Antarctica to the rain forests of the Amazon. In 1999, National Geographic published images from his year-long journey to assess global biodiversity as we entered a new century. Lanting’s photographs also have been published in 10 books that he either wrote or cowrote. His most recent work is the Life Project, a lyrical interpretation of life on Earth from its earliest beginnings to its present diversity. The project includes a multimedia orchestral performance, a traveling photographic exhibition and a large-format book, Life: A Journey Through Time. To learn more about Frans, visit www.lanting.com or www.LifeThroughTime.com.

TECH TIPS By George Lepp

Well known for his contemporary nature and outdoor photography, George Lepp has a passion for the environment, natural beauty and cutting-edge technology in the world of digital photography. His photographs have appeared in National Wildlife, Time, Newsweek and Smithsonian, as well as prestigious galleries and museums throughout the United States. He also has authored and/or photo-illustrated seven books, including Beyond the Basics, Beyond the Basics II and his most recent book, Golden Poppies of California.

Formally educated in wildlife biology for three years, Lepp went on to study at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, where he earned a B.A. in Professional Photography (1972). After teaching and holding seminars on outdoor photography for many years in the U.S. and Canada, he founded the Lepp Institute of Digital Imaging on the Central Coast of California. As a member of the Canon Explorer of Light and Printmasters professional photographer programs, Lepp regularly shares his passions and knowledge with audiences of photo professionals and enthusiasts. For more about George, visit www.geolepp.com.

ON LANDSCAPE By William Neill

A longtime resident of Yosemite National Park, William Neill is an award-winning landscape photographer who wants to convey in his work the deep spiritual beauty he sees and feels in nature. Neill says the reason he photographs is to experience the beauty of nature and to explore its essential elements, such as a tree, a rock, a cloud or rushing water so he can discover the magic and mystery of a landscape. Neill is romantic and idealistic in his search for nature’s beauty, seeking the spirit of the land, whether it’s a vast wilderness or a little piece of urban wilderness. His photographs have been published in numerous magazines and in seven nature books: The Sense of Wonder, The Tree, By Nature’s Design, The Color of Nature, Traces of Time, Yosemite: The Promise of Wilderness (a major portfolio of his Yosemite photographs) and Landscapes of the Spirit (a retrospective collection of his finest work). 

His limited-edition prints have been exhibited and collected in museums and art galleries such as the Museum of Fine Art Boston, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, The Vernon Collection and The Polaroid Collection. Neill’s assignment and published credits include National Geographic, Smithsonian, Vogue, Life, Sierra and many other nature and travel magazines. Neill earned a B.A. degree in Environmental Conservation at the University of Colorado. In 1995, The Sierra Club gave him its Ansel Adams Award for conservation photography. He’s also a member of Canon USA’s elite Explorers of Light and Print Masters. For more about William Neill, visit www.williamneill.com.

Jack Dykinga

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga is known for creating images that are both factual and majestic. His work reflects a style of photojournalism and large-format landscape photography that focuses on environmental issues in the United States and Mexico. It has appeared in a wide variety of publications, such as Arizona Highways, Audubon, Harpers, National Geographic Society, Natural History, Sierra Club, Sunset and Time. Dykinga has coproduced four wilderness advocacy books: Frog Mountain Blues, The Sonoran Desert, The Secret Forest and Stone Canyons of the Colorado Plateau. His photographs were featured in Desert: The Mojave & Death Valley, and he also has written an instructional book, Large-Format Landscape Photography. For more on Jack Dykinga and his work, visit www.dykinga.com.

Lewis Kemper

From Alaska to Florida, Lewis Kemper has spent more than 27 years photographing North America and its parklands. Kemper earned a B.A in Fine Art Photography from George Washington University in 1976 before he moved to Yosemite. The next 11 years were spent working at the Ansel Adams Gallery, where he had the opportunity to meet, observe and learn from some of the best photographers of our time. He has authored three books: The Yosemite Photographer’s Handbook, The Yellowstone Photographer’s Handbook and Ancient Ancestors of the Southwest. His photographs also have appeared in books by The Sierra Club and The National Geographic Society, as well as in numerous magazines, including Backpacker, Sierra, Environmental Protection Magazine, National Wildlife and National Geographic Traveler. He teaches photography and Photoshop for Palm Beach Photographic Centre, Santa Fe Workshops, Aspen Photo Workshops and www.betterphoto.com. Visit www.lewiskemper.com to learn more about Kemper and his work.

David Muench

David Muench always has sought to convey the primal, mystical spirit of the places he photographs and to raise awareness for conservation and preservation. This passion has led to extensive contributions of work to magazines, advertising, exhibit-format books and numerous wilderness and conservation publications. His formal education includes the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of California at Santa Barbara and Art Center School of Design, Los Angeles. Muench has had many solo exhibitions and periodically gives presentations and talks. He also has been the primary photographer for more than 50 books. Titles include Our National Parks, New Zealand National Parks, Primal Forces, Windstone, California, Plateau Light, Arizona, Images in Stone and two collaborations with his son Marc, Canticle of the Earth and Colorado. For more on David Muench, visit www.muenchphotography.com.

Andy Rouse

Wildlife photographer Andy Rouse has become known around the world for getting in close to photograph some of the world’s largest and most dangerous animals. His extensive knowledge of these animals and being an expert in fieldcraft (animal tracking, interpreting signs, etc.) has helped Rouse capture remarkable images of wildlife. The BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition has consistently honored him with awards for his work. He has written 12 books to date, including Polar Bears, Cheetahs, Animal Portraits, The Lonely Planet Guide to Wildlife Travel Photography and his most recent book, Penguin Life with David & Charles. Throughout each year, Rouse also teaches photography workshops and has a blog on his website that he updates every few days with his latest insights in wildlife photography. For more on Andy Rouse and his work, visit www.andyrouse.co.uk.

Kevin Schafer

Kevin Schafer is an award-winning natural-history photographer who specializes in capturing images of wildlife and wild places around the world. He regularly works with conservation organizations like the Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund, and is a founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), which teaches photographers how to use their work to further an understanding of the natural world. Schafer’s photographs have been published in National Geographic, Smithsonian, Natural History and National Wildlife. Several books of his photography also have been published, including Living Light, Falkland Islands and Penguin Planet, winner of the National Outdoor Book Award in 2000. For more on Kevin Schafer, go to www.kevinschafer.com.

Florian Schulz

Nature and wildlife photographer Florian Schultz is dedicated to using his work as a way to promote and support conservation efforts to protect endangered ecosystems. He’s the youngest founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), which empowers photographers to use their talents to further an understanding of the natural world. His book, Yellowstone to Yukon—Freedom to Roam, was awarded as one of the “Top Ten Outstanding Books of the Year” at the Independent Publisher’s annual IPPY Awards. Shultz’s work also has been featured in many publications, including BBC Wildlife Magazine, Nature’s Best, National Parks, Nature Conservancy, The New York Times, and Natur & Kosmos (Germany). His photography has won awards in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, the Banff Mountain Photography Competition and the GDT European Photographer of the Year competition. For more on Florian Schultz,
visit www.visionsofthewild.com.

Carlton Ward Jr.

Carlton Ward Jr. is an environmental photojournalist with graduate training in ecology and anthropology. One of Ward’s goals is to promote the conservation of natural environments and cultural legacies through his photographs. His work regularly appears in Smithsonian, National Wildlife and Africa Geographic. His first book, The Edge of Africa, documents the wonders of the tropical rain forests of Gabon. Ward also has participated in five research expeditions to Gabon with the Smithsonian Institution. Currently, he has been photographing the endangered desert elephants in the Sahel region of Mali, at the edge of the Sahara desert near Timbuktu. Working closely with researchers and conservationists from the Wild Foundation and Save the Elephants, Ward hopes to bring awareness to this special breed of elephants and aid in their conservation. For more about Carlton Ward, go to www.carltonward.com.

Kennan Ward

Exploring and photographing nature is both a passion and a mission for Kennan Ward. He has dedicated his life to documenting the wildlife in the Alaskan, Canadian and Russian Arctic, as well as Denali National Park in North America. With an educational background in Natural History/Environmental Studies, Ward has lobbied from Alaska to D.C. to educate congressional members and lawmakers about the importance of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. His photographs have been featured in such publications as Audubon, Alaska, BBC Wildlife, National Geographic, Green Peace, Sierra, Natural History and National Wildlife. In 2001, Ward was awarded a prestigious honor in the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. He also has published five books: Grizzlies in the Wild, Journeys with the Ice Bear, Denali: Reflections of a Naturalist, Born to be Wild: The Bears and The Last Wilderness: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. For more on Kennan Ward, visit www.kennanward.com.

Art Wolfe

Mastery of color, composition and perspective are three things Art Wolfe’s photographs are known for throughout the world. Employing a style that blends artistic and journalistic techniques, Wolfe is on a mission to document his subjects and educate the viewer. Just three years after graduating from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Fine Arts and a minor in Arts Education, he published his first book, Indian Baskets of the Northwest Coast. Since then Wolfe has worked on every continent and spends nine months out of the year traveling. He has taken an estimated one million photographs so far and has released nearly 70 books. He’s also one of Canon’s prestigious Explorers of Light, a fellow of The International League of Conservation Photographers and an honorary fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. Wolfe’s latest project is the public television series Travels to the Edge with Art Wolfe. To learn more about Art Wolfe, visit www.artwolfe.com.