At age 14, after saving for a long time, I purchased my first camera for $100.00 with money earned from a paper route. Full of youthful exuberance, I took pictures of nature and scenic subjects that occurred in my small world. I was so disappointed with these early photographs. If I couldn't dazzle people with my pictures like National Geographic, then it wasn't worth the effort, I thought. I gave up, put my camera in the closet and literally went fishing.

In college, my passion raged on for the natural world. I studied landscapes and ecology, and received a master's degree in these areas.

Later, over twenty years ago, I felt compelled to revisit my love of photography. I remember it so clearly. I was fly fishing in Montana, and, in between catching 20" brown trout on the Madison River, the thought came to me, almost as if by divine communication, "when I get home from this fishing trip, I'm going to start shooting pictures professionally." I know this sounds like the old, "It came to me in a vision at stream side" story, but I'm not making this up.

I've always yearned to bring emotion to my life, and to that of others. Photography allows me to do this. Now, with a staggering amount of work, my photographs have made the pages of National Geographic, Sierra Club, and Audubon. They have brought emotion to art directors and their publication audiences all over the world. I take great pride that I have been able to help my clients look good. I can't say, "I've arrived", but I can tell you I feel an immense satisfaction that my work touches the lives of others.

— Dennis Frates