Nature Photography How To

We’ve long been enamored with the stunning imagery of nature photographer Jim Peterson whose work exhibits both a keen eye for composition and a technical mastery of our craft. Based in Sedona, Arizona, Peterson conveys his vision of the world through a broad portfolio of infrared and conventional photographs.

Peterson developed an interest in photography back in the ‘70s while in graduate school and continued to refine his skills while first working as a biochemist and later as an engineer and manager in the telecom industry. Eventually the rigors of a career, combined with those of raising a family, caused Peterson to temporally set aside his cameras.

Fortunately for those of us who love fine nature photography, the advent of digital imaging rekindled Peterson’s passion for shooting some 16 years ago and he hasn’t stopped creating spectacular photographs since. “This happened,” he explains, “when I undertook a large project to digitize a collection of family photos, including some belonging to my father that were over a century old.”

Upon retirement from his telecom career, Peterson redirected all his energies to his lifelong love of the nature by launching Aspen Heights Imaging, a professional photography business in Sedona, Arizona. “After my childhood in the Southwest,” he explains, “I felt that my calling was to record and communicate my love for the natural world.”

In recent years Peterson has broadened his vision by incorporating infrared photography into his work. Over the years he’s won numerous awards and taught workshops while shooting for clients and selling prints. But all the while his overarching goal has been clear: “My mission is to keep studying and improving my craft, and to use it to share the places and scenes I love in the world.

You can find much more of Peterson’s stunning work on his website. And if you missed yesterday’s article about obtaining a free guide to luminosity masking for landscape photography, be sure to take a look.