This exhibit is the result of six avid amateur photographers – a financial planner, a bagpiper, a human services administrator, and three Ph.D. nutritionists – spending ten days in Yellowstone in February, 2022, and having them share their six views of Yellowstone. They hope these images capture some of the grandeur and wonder of this special place, and encourage you to visit, or return to, Yellowstone yourself.
Janet Kerr – A native New Yorker, Janet followed a career path as a researcher in biological sciences at the NIH and as a biotech patent examiner at the USPTO. When she and her husband retired to the eastern shore, Janet became interested in photography as a creative endeavor. She is now a photography enthusiast who enjoys photographing scenes ranging from the quietness and grandness of naturescapes and wildlife to the diverse architecture of cityscapes and the chaotic energy of city life.
Bill McDonnell – Bill became an avid photographer in 1980 when he was given a Nikon film camera. He took college courses and set up a darkroom to become proficient. He was able to win several employee photography competitions while employed by Fairfax County, Virginia and, more recently, a Dorchester Center for the Arts Member Competition. He has attended landscape and wildlife photography workshops with some excellent local professional photographers in Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons, Ireland, Scotland, Cuba and the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador with National Geographic photographers.
Mark Nelson – Mark has been an avid amateur photographer since he “earned” his first camera as a prize for selling magazine subscriptions in sixth grade. While his interest in photography never waned, the actual practice was intermittent, due to demands of education, family and career. Still, over the years, he found time to capture images between semesters, on vacations and on business trips. Mark’s academic training – mathematics, nutritional biochemistry – are reflected in his images: the natural world and landscapes, including their patterns and abstractions.
Joe Soares – Armed with an education in nutritional sciences, Joseph initially worked with the National Marine Fishery Service followed by a 34-year position as full professor at the University of Maryland, College Park campus. After retiring to the eastern shore, Joseph began actively pursuing nature and wildlife photography using 35mm DSLR cameras. Current global climate changes have strengthened his desire to use photography to document the delicate nature of our woods and wetlands, as well as their inhabitants. Hopefully, photographs of these environments will stimulate more people to preserve these disappearing habitats.
Randy Welch – Randy has been fascinated by nature and wildlife since a very young age, and to this day, always seems to have a camera with him. When he was 20, some fifty years ago, he traveled solo across the country from his home in Maryland, eventually finding work in S.E. Alaska in the commercial fishing industry, where he spent the next 12-years. There he was exposed to the grandeur and wildness that is Alaska, with his first exposures to Humpback, Grey, Minke and Orea whales, along with bears, wolves, eagles and so much more. Over the years he’s made opportunities to travel throughout the US, and to dozens of countries around the world. To Randy, the thrills of witnessing nature and wildlife is one enjoyment, the other is making creative photographic images that not only capture the moments, but are also pleasing reminders of the experiences to him.
Wayne Zussman – Living on the beautiful eastern shore of Maryland, Wayne has the opportunity to photograph wonderful scenery and wildlife. He has recently started “spreading his wings” and travelling with a purpose, seeking ways to learn from and interact with cultures which are very different from his own. Photography has become a great way to focus on, and capture a subject with a purpose. He is particularly drawn to both wildlife and places which he suspects will be drastically different in the foreseeable future. Whether that’s due to climate change, economic and/or political reasons, he wants to see them before their environment changes and capture what might not be there in the future. His main goal as a photographer is to create the kinds of images which combine a strong sense of story and convey what it feels like to be in the moment, with the wildlife he sees and the people he meets in the places he visits. He believes that a great photograph should always tell a story.