When did you know you finally "made it" as a professional?

Kerry Drager:
The first big steps came in the late 1980s, when two my images appeared in the competitive Sierra Club Calendars. But the main turning point for me came in 1993 with the publication of California Desert - my first book ("coffee-table" format) - and then with a major profile piece about my work in the April 1994 issue of Outdoor Photographer.

Did you have a mentor or someone who helped guide you as you were getting started?

Kerry Drager:
Many photographers contributed to my growth - some of whom I've never met! I benefited from the books they photographed, the how-to articles they wrote, and the workshops and seminars I took. There was certainly the influence from many other photographers I got to know personally at key stages in my photo career and remain friends (including BetterPhoto colleagues Lewis Kemper and William Neill, and recently retired Bee photographer Dick Schmidt).

Backlight and Morning Mist - Yosemite National Park © Kerry Drager All Rights Reserved

Another photographer who made an impact was the late, great outdoor shooter Galen Rowell. I had met Galen several times before running across him at Yosemite in 1985. He invited me to accompany him - as a "tag-along" - on a photo shoot the next day. A resulting image is one of his famous ones: climber Ron Kauk clinging to a big granite wall beside Upper Yosemite Falls with Half Dome in the distance. Galen knew of my interest in photography, and during the course of the daylong shoot, shared tips on technique, advice on equipment, and strategies on shooting major projects. Now that was a memorable experience!

Do you remember your first photography sale?

Kerry Drager:
Oh yes, this was a photo published in a small monthly publication. It was converted - poorly - into black and white from a color slide, but I was delighted to actually get paid for a photograph. My first "important" sale, though, was a photo/article spread that was published in the early 1980s in a non-defunct magazine called Wilderness Camping. The piece was an account of my solo trip in a remote wilderness area, consisting of text and nearly a dozen photos - mostly landscapes and self-portraits (showing myself on the trail, beside a campfire, etc.). Thus began my appreciation of tripods - and self-timers!

How did you get your first book deal?

Kerry Drager:
My first book contract resulted from two things: 1) the belief that I might be "ready" to take on a photo-book project; 2) the fact that I had met the top editor for Oregon-based Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company at a 1989 photographer's marketing seminar (headed up, incidentally, by Lewis Kemper) and he liked my work; and 3) the willingness to stay up all night to complete a proposal! It helped that I already knew that Graphic Arts Center specialized in pictorial-essay books that profiled various regions of the Western U.S. I quickly whipped up a book proposal on the California desert: consisting of my portfolio of my best images; a sample photo essay (covering an area near my home); and a written description of what the book might cover. The editor received my proposal two days after we met - and he ultimately approved the idea.

What is one of your favorite places to travel to find beautiful landscape photography?

Kerry Drager:
When the subjects and light are cooperative, every place is my favorite!

Sunset Silhouette My stepson at Morro Bay, California Coast © Kerry Drager All Rights Reserved

In California, this could be the coast (say, Point Reyes and Morro Bay), a city (S.F., absolutely!), the mountains (Yosemite or Lassen Volcanic National Park), or desert parks (Death Valley or Joshua Tree).

One of my favorite spots is now the 10-acre ranchette that my wife Mary and I bought several years near Sacramento, California.

Photo ops include a nice pond and an ever-expanding outdoor "museum" of broken-down ranch equipment. These pieces have come from neighbors and friends, but the best one was a recent birthday present from my wife: a 1942 Ford Dump Truck with all the ingredients for a fine photo op: It's orange, yellow, has lots of rust, it doesn't run, and the tires are all flat ... it's soooooo terrific!

You teach on-location workshops as well as online classes... what do you like about these two ways of interacting with students of photography?

Kerry Drager:

Winter Rider Portrait © Kerry Drager All Rights Reserved

Much of your work focuses on landscape and scenic photography. Do you think it is important to specialize in one area of photography?

Kerry Drager:
In certain areas of photography, it can be an advantage to become known for a particular specialty - whether a specific place or a particular subject. For wedding and studio-portrait photographers, specializing is part of the job. But for anyone wanting to be a newspaper staff photographer or a major player in stock photography, then incredible versatility is the rule.

For myself, I love taking advantage of the opportunity to shoot whatever I like. Then I use my writing and teaching to help "create" my own markets - for use in my online classes, in photo how-to articles, in future book projects, etc. But I'm always on the lookout for new photo experiences - such as photographing horses and riders at Triple "D" in Montana this past winter!

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