Jim Snitker was raised in rural Iowa, and it was there that he developed an appreciation for nature and the outdoors. While in his teens, his family relocated to southern California and it was here that he discovered photography. He picked up a 35mm film camera for the first time while in his junior year in high school, as one of the photographers on the yearbook staff.
It was when Jim was in his late twenties that he became seriously interested in photography as a form of artistic expression, and he bought his first 35mm film camera. Over the next twenty years he continuously upgraded his equipment, first through several models of Yashica SLR cameras and finally discovering the Contax-Zeiss professional photo system.
Combining his love for travel, camping, hiking, photography, and the great outdoors, Jim spends much of his free time visiting many of the National Parks and wildlife refuges located in the western United States. Recently he expanded his travels to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Much of his body of work centers around Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and his fascination of moose, elk and bear. In 2006 Jim relocated to Colorado which he now calls home, and enjoys hiking the back country.
Until 2001, Jim's medium of choice was 35mm film. At that time he added the Contax 645 medium format camera to his arsenal, followed in late 2003 with the Canon Digital SLR. Although he still dabbles in medium format, his preferred medium is now digital and digital images account for nearly 70 percent of his image library.
