Outdoor Photo Gear » Photographer Spotlight

Photographer Spotlight: E.J. Peiker

Matt Dennison — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:54:57 +0000

Name a distant corner of the world associated with photography, chances are E.J. Peiker has been there, or is heading there soon. Born in 1960 in Augsburg, Germany, and moving to Mansfield, Ohio, in 1969, E.J. became an American citizen in 1975.

E.J.’s photographic journey started when he received his first camera at age 7, while still in Germany - a square-format, Kodak 126 Instamatic. He still has it. At age 12, he graduated to a Yashica 35mm rangefinder and began to take photography more seriously. His favorite subject matter was landscape photography.

In 1990, E.J.’s photographic aspirations came to a sudden stop. While skiing, E.J. suffered such a serious injury that he was diagnosed as unable to walk again, possibly even losing a leg. As it appeared that E.J. would not be mobile without assistance, he sold all his camera gear. However, determination, resolve, several surgeries and painful physical therapy resulted in E.J.’s full recovery 3 1/2 years later.

Even though he did not photograph, E.J. put his recovery years to good use. His interest in aviation took over and provided him motivation during that tough time. He earned his Private Pilot, Instrument Pilot, Multi-engine Pilot and Commercial Pilot certificates, and became heavily involved in advanced flight simulation. He even logged time in American Airline's full motion flight simulators where he learned to fly a Boeing 727!

Photographer Spotlight – Rick Sammon

Chris Klapheke — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:09:26 +0000

From books, to iPhone apps, to podcasts, Facebook and Twitter, Rick Sammon is everywhere. A Canon Explorer of Light, Rick is also everyman’s photographer. One of Rick’s basic photography tenets is that he “Specializes in not specializing”.

When we talked to Rick for this article, his opening comment to us was “I never thought, in 1969, when I was 19 and dancing naked in the mud at Woodstock, I’d have 36 books and a bunch of iPhone and iPad apps”. We knew we were in for a good story.

After Woodstock, Rick attended the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston, receiving his formal education in Arrangement and Composition. He wanted to play jazz, and play he did. Late night shows and jam sessions over the next few years left him plenty of free day time, so to stir his creative juices, he began shooting images and submitting them to publications.

In 1978 Rick submitted an image and article to Studio Photography Magazine. On this first submission, the magazine invited him to be their editor. Rick traded in one keyboard for another, and entered the publication world.

Photographer Spotlight: Andy Biggs

Chris Klapheke — Fri, 07 May 2010 14:38:23 +0000

From Houston, Texas to the wilds of Africa, Andy Biggs makes a living as a professional photographer. Andy’s diverse business interests mix photography, safaris, workshops and print sales with his newest venture—camera bag designer. More impressive still is the fact that Andy only started taking photos ten years ago.

Andy picked up his first camera and started his journey in photography in 2000. At the time, he was employed in the software industry, implementing accounting systems. In a short two years, he honed his skill and made the decision to become a full time pro. Since 2002, Andy has put both his business skills and his photographic vision to use, creating a diversified professional photographic business.

Andy started building his business with stock image sales and worked toward fine art sales, two areas of business he still pursues today. However, as Andy's business interests have diversified, his stock and fine art images have narrowed to his favorite subject: Africa. This specialization in his images has served him well. Andy's stock sales have continued to be strong in today's environment of stiff competition and falling prices.

Photographer Spotlight: William Neill

Chris Klapheke — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:54:12 +0000

If you read Outdoor Photographer magazine, chances are you’ve seen William Neill’s landscape columns.
William writes a regular column, On Landscape, where he conveys his images, techniques, and viewpoints on landscape photography.

William attended the University of Colorado and graduated with a BA degree in Environmental Conservation in 1976. The connection between William's formal education and his images is pervasive. During summer breaks from college, he worked in Glacier and in North Cascades National Parks. William spent those summers backpacking extensively and began to carry a camera to record his treks. A year after graduation, he began working in Yosemite, and never left.