Member Bios
Donald Miller
I started taking photos when I was quite young ??" with a Pocket Instamatic! I graduated to 35mm sometime in my teens, with a Sears SLR my dad got for me (still have it), then a Canon AE1 a few years later.
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<br />After years of bad photos I got my first DSLR in 2011 - a Cannon T3i. I was finally able to attempt the photos I was imagining, without the cost, and disappointment, of getting them developed and seeing the junk I got. I still manage to generate plenty of disappointment, but at least it doesn't cost anything.
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<br />A few years ago I switched to Olympus / OM System cameras and lenses and have been loving them.
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<br />Looking back through what I've been shooting the most I saw a pattern. While I have been photographing wildlife more often, especially birds, I still focus most on images of rocks, trees, water flowing through a forest. I also enjoy shooting broken and abandoned things. Why?
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<br />A word I just learned a few days before writing this struck me as the right one for what I want to feel when I look at my photos. It's a Japanese word (of course): Natsukashii, or "The warmth of nostalgia."
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<br />Sometimes I even manage to get it.
You can see my work on: Instagram and Viewbug
Ann Von Pentz
I am a fine art photographer based in Arizona and Montana.
My work is rooted in a deep appreciation for the overlooked and unseen. I seek out subtle character and emotional resonance within my subjects, revealing moments that feel both intimate and timeless. Whether following a well-worn trail or forging my own, I approach each photographic journey with curiosity and intention-allowing exploration itself to shape the images I create.
While living in Washington, D.C., I became interested in photography and started working with a mentor. Since relocating west in 2016, I have expanded my presence in the professional photography world. I have exhibited my work throughout Arizona at The Finer Arts Gallery, The El Pedregal Gallery, and the Terravita Art League, as well as the Desert Foothills Gallery. In Montana, my work has been shown in Bozeman at the Ridge. My photography has been featured in-and on two covers of-Images Arizona Magazine. I have also exhibited online with Artists in Arizona and the Online Catalog of Professional Artists (OCPA). This month I will be featured in Life + Style Magazine Scottsdale in a coffee table book.
I am a member of Nikon Professional Services (NPS), a juried member of the Sonoran Arts League, the Terravita Art League, an active member of the Phoenix Camera Club (PCC), and the Arizona Camera Club Council (ACCC), where I recently received Best in Show.
You can see my work on: Website and Instagram
Cindy Marple
I am retired and living in the Phoenix area in Arizona. Photography has been a lifelong interest, starting with a Kodak Instamatic X-15 camera received for Christmas while in grade school. Nature subjects have always been the primary interest, starting with landscapes and flowers. When digital came along, it made it easier to pursue wildlife and birds, and today birds are my favorite subject.
I love to travel and have taken many photo tours and workshops over the years. Since I retired I’ve been able to do more of that, and have now visited all 7 continents. My favorite locations are remote polar regions, and more recently I’ve enjoyed the tropical regions of Central and South America where the bird life is incredible. When not traveling I spend a lot of time at a local Riparian Preserve photographing birds.
I’m an active member of several local camera clubs. I enjoy giving programs for photo clubs and local Audubon chapters, as well as judging for other local clubs.
You can see my work on my Smugmug page: www.cindymarplephoto.com.
Group Admin
Larry Treadwell
I am retired and living the good life in south Florida. I have always had a love affair with the wilderness and the natural world. This naturally led to an interest in photography so I could bring home memories from my adventures. I have thus been involved in photography for more than 40 years and have worked as a semi-professional including work for the PGA and LPGA as well as shooting sports for various local colleges and have photographed over 800 weddings
My favorite photographic locations are Everglades National Park (the hardest place I've ever found to photograph), the Great Smoky Mountains and Rocky Mountain National Park. That said, I will go anywhere to get a good image. I enjoy shooting the Milky Way and the night sky, a real challenge, and I enjoy using long exposures.
I have taught photography on the college level, belong to several local camera groups and have served as a photo judge at local clubs and international competitions sponsored by PSA. For the last 5 years I have worked as an instructor for the PSA Education program where I teach a course titled Image Evaluation. My photos have been hung in the U.S. Botanical Gardens Hall in Washington D.C. and I have had several exhibitions in the South Florida Tri-County area.
I am a member of the online group called The Nikonians and shoot Nikon cameras currently using a D850. While I have a collection of Nikon only lenses my favorites are my 24-70 and my baby, a 200-400 f4 beast that weighs 7.3 pounds. My hiking buddy is my tripod that goes everywhere I do.
Butch Mazzuca, BPSA
I've been taking pictures since 2008 after a trip to Botswana, and consider myself an eclectic photographer-I shoot whatever catches my eye. I strive for three things in my own photography and look for the same when reviewing the work of others: Impact, Visual Interest and a Story.
I'm originally from Chicago but spent 25 years in Vail, Colorado, where I taught skiing with the Vail Ski School, basic digital photography at Colorado Mountain College and wrote commentary for the Vail Daily Newspaper.
My career was in commercial insurance and risk management but before that I spent four years flying airplanes & helicopters in the Marine Corps-including a tour in Vietnam '69-70.
My wife and I, along with our two Bernedoodles, now live in Tucson. The skis have been retired, but I still post weekly on my blog, take pictures whenever I find something interesting to shoot, and get my exercise these days on a bicycle rather than a pair of skis.
You can see my work on: Butch Mazzuca
Bud Ralston
For almost 60 years, I photographed a multitude of outdoor subjects, especially wildlife. Over time, I used every major camera manufacturer's gear. I finally settled on the Nikon mirrorless system. Enhancing raw photos with Ai computer software gives me joy. Calling attention to our natural world is my passion.
All this makes life worth living.
You can see my work on: Bud Photo Displays and Bud Photo Sales
David Kepley
David's father was in the military, so he was raised in many different places, but went to high school on the north New Jersey shore. He went to college at Gettysburg College and graduate school at the University of Maryland. While working at the US Forest Service over 40 years ago, he was inspired by one of his colleagues to take up photography. A trip in which he visited some of the great parks in the American west cemented his lifelong love of trying to capture the beauty and majesty of the natural world. After his retirement, David has taken a number of different classes and workshops to perfect his craft. He is currently first vice president of the Vienna Photographic Society. His works have been juried into Nature Visions Photo Expo for the past four years, as well as the Joseph Miller Abstract Photography Exhibit. His work has also won many awards at his photo club. A passionate devotee of our national parks, during the 2016 centennial year David and his wife visited 10 different parks, capturing thousands of images of them! He hopes that the sense of awe and majesty that he sees in the natural world will inspire you as well.