Urban Wildlife Photo Club

Member Profiles

From time to time a member will be profiled, telling a little about themselves and other information regarding their photograhpy. Learn more about the members and where they like to shoot and their favorite subjects. Members, fill out a bio form to get your bio on the website for other members to learn more about you.

Patrick R. Gautier Jr.

Club Member since - 2005

Photography Level - Sells some work

Year Started Shooting - 1982

How got into photography
My parents bought me my first SLR for a high school graduation present. It was an Olympus OM-10 and I had a ball with it. I found I was getting some pretty good results and was having a ball, but I never really studied photography seriously. Over the years the boxes of prints and negatives grew and the fun grew stale.

Fast forward to 2002 and I found myself with a young and growing family and the need to capture images of my children. I purchased my first digital point and shoot camera and fell in love with photography all over again. The freedom that digital gave me to process my own photos and only print what I wanted opened the world of photography back up to me. Within a year I had bought my first digital SLR and began studying the craft in earnest.

Favorite Shooting Season - They all have their benefits.

Camera Type - Digital

Camera Bodies - NIkon D70, Nikon D200

Lenses - 300mm f4, 28-70 f2.8, 12-24 f4, TC-14, TC-20

Favorite Subject - Wildlife

What you like most about doing photography
Photographing wildlife is like a treasure hunt for me. I may have a goal but I am never sure what I will find. Maybe it's the biggest bull elk I have ever seen or a particular species of bird that has never let me get so close before. Sometimes it ends up just being a nice walk in the woods and that's fine too. I basically love nature and wildlife and the ability to share what I have seen really lights a spark in me.

Favorite Places to go Shooting
Wildlife is my primary passion with landscapes running a close second. Any place there are wild animals works for me but topping my list would certainly be Rocky Mountain National Park and Mount Evans. My day job gives me numerous opportunities for distant travel and I have fallen in love with Alaska. It is like Colorado on steroids and I would definitely recommend it for any photographer who is serious about nature.

Most Memorable Photo Experience
I took a long weekend in Japan to visit the Jigokudani Onsen Monkey Park. Here you can see Japanese Macaques (Snow Monkeys) living in their natural environment and bathing in hot springs built especially for them. Although the monkeys are wild and free to come and go as they please, they have become quite acclimated to humans and generally ignore us as they go about their business. To spend a few hours surrounded by these magnificent creatures observing their behavior and interaction was absolutely magical and the images I captured there remain some of my favorites to date.

Shows, teaching experience, awards, credits
Numerous shows throughout Colorado in 2006 and 2007. 2nd Place for Photography - Paint, Shoot and Sculpt Evergreen 2006. Jurors Choice for Photography - Paint, Shoot and Sculpt Evergreen 2007

Website - www.manusdeiphoto.com