I finally got my first eagle picture in the early 1980s while in Alaska on a trip to photograph bears. I felt a thrill I�d never experienced while running my little company, Snap-It Photo Services. I�d captured an image of a living being that I believed many people would never get the chance to see in their lifetime and one that might actually be gone from the planet before my children were grown. I was lucky�my first eagle picture was of one in flight with a salmon in its claws, about 200 to 300 yards from where I stood. I spent the next 30 years taking pictures of the behaviors that preceded what I�d captured in that first image. The more pictures I took of these intriguing raptors, the more I learned to respect and value them. I had learned one of the most valuable lessons of my life: being passionate about what you do produces excitement, joy, and a sense of fulfillment. I�ve tried to carry a sense passion into everything that was important to me. As an example, being passionate about a job was more important than the compensation. Ultimately, the passion was rewarded with proper compensation. My passion for the American bald eagle started small but continued to build year after year, and I was rewarded with exciting new images to share.

Passion for me was a personal, lonely journey in the beginning. I was able to share the results with others, but the drive came from deep within. I wanted to accomplish something and set lofty goals to achieve that end, regardless of the work and sacrifice required. As the years went by, my photography skills improved along with technology, and my goals expanded even further. With each new photograph, the drive to capture something extraordinary seems to get stronger. Through meeting with other photographers and sharing my work in galleries and with friends and associates, I�ve also found that just being in the world and living that passion can ignite it in others.

-from pages 10-11