Purpose This website is devoted to documenting my efforts to develop my skills as I Photograph Wildlife. Wildlife photos help me with identification, they document behavior, offer others opportunity to experience wildlife and places  and most of all they can bring enjoyment to those that view them. No one but the one taking the photo knows how much work goes into  photos you take or the effort that goes into trying to capture the illusive bird, tiny butterfly or the deer grazing early in the morning. They can however experience the same feelings of wonder, awe and reality of the moment that a photo was taken.   White Tail Fawn   Recently I decided that I was working far too much and that life is far too short, so I began thinking about the things I intended to do when I was a much younger but had shelved. At one time I wanted to become a freelance photographer, shooting wildlife all over the world. I imagined myself in the wild parts of America, the South American rain forest or in the savannas and jungles of Africa tracking down rarely seen and endangered animals. Capturing them on film and having the pictures published in nature magazines like National Geographic.

Little Blue Heron   Brief Bio My interest in photograph began as a young boy. In pursuit of this dream and I purchase my first 35mm camera at 10. I worked hard, doing odd jobs and saved all summer for a camera and a 200mm zoom lens. As soon as I had saved enough to purchase the equipment, I put the lens on the camera I went into my backyard and started to photograph wildlife. I took photos of Squirrels, Blue Jays, Mockingbirds, Sparrows, Flowers, Lizards, anything I could find of interest. Soon I realized this venture was going to be fairly costly if I had to pay for film and processing. So with the help of my father I built a darkroom my garage and equipped it with everything a young aspiring photographer would need. Then with the help of my grandmother who was herself an avid amateur photographer, I learned the techniques necessary to process and print my own photos. By the time I reached high school I was taking fairly good photos and had a substantial portfolio. I decided to attend Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. My portfolio helped me gain entrance into the art program which is where I received a good education in art, learning about Contrast, Color, and Composition and a lot of other stuff that only Art History buffs would appreciate. I put those things to use for a while and continued my pursuit for the perfect shots of local wildlife. Soon after that I was married and had a daughter, and had far more responsibility than I was ready for. I was now required to be a husband and father. Both are great jobs, but they didn't really allow a lot of freedom for pursuit of my love of nature and photography.

I don't know exactly what happened, but sometime just after high school while hormones and my friends where pulling me in all directions I set aside the passion for photographing wildlife for other teenage activities. Now 20 plus years have gone by and the dream is alive again. Over the last 20 years I would go through short periods of time when I would pull out the camera for a while and look for a great shot. This helped me keep some of the skills I learned as a boy fairly sharp. I have done a lot of  astrophotography and was an amateur astronomer for a while. I learned much about optics, light and it’s properties, film and it’s limitations and maintained an ability to have patience while trying to capture distant images of faint nebulae and galaxies. In my work I do a lot of visual presentations using audio and video to communicate. But now wildlife photography and birding have become real passions once again. So, through this website I want to share my enthusiasm for discovery. self education and love of nature as I pursue my dream to one day travel the world capturing moments in photographic images. I hope that as you view my photographs you will be motivated to go out and enjoy God's awesome creation yourself. Life is too short to ignore the great wonder and natural beauty that is just waiting for someone to notice. Trey Mitchell March 9, 2006