Meet the Photographers
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Mike Vaughn
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Jon McCutchan
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David Horst
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My father is mostly responsible for my interest in photography. He purchased an Argus 35 mm camera while he was in the military, which happened to be about the same time as my birth. Dad shot almost entirely 35 mm slides so I grew up watching slide shows of family, vacations, and just regular stuff.
My interest in photography grew as I became a young adult. I purchased my first good camera, an Olympus OM2. I did what Dad did by shooting 35mm slides and sharing them in my own slide shows. In 1979, I joined Photography Unlimited, a newly organized club in Princeton. At meetings, I met others with the same interest, I saw what they did and I learned from their experience. Photography wasn’t something I was too serious about until the Digital Age arrived. My interest started to grow then because photography became more affordable for guys like me. As the new cameras improved, I really got involved. I started using Canon equipment, and I’ve never stopped. The better results I got, the more pictures I wanted to take. Since retirement, I’ve enjoyed being outdoors shooting nature and wildlife, especially birds. In addition, I’ve been shooting lots of school sports for Princeton High School which led to me taking assorted photos for the local newspapers. Right now, I’m shooting sports, community events, and year book photos. I’m so busy that I have a hard time fitting in my true photography passion: photographing birds and wildlife in nature. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment. I keep busy in my retirement doing what I love doing. |
I spend my days bending light for other people with glasses and contact lenses as the optometrist at Bureau Valley VisionCare in Princeton, Illinois, then on weekends and holidays, I will often have a camera handy to focus on the patterns, textures, and landscapes that I come across.
Growing up and living in Bureau County, and in my travels, I like finding the details of trees, grasses and flowers, rusting equipment, quiet scenes, and big skies. And I have a lot of snaps of tractor grills , humble and grand doorways, and manhole covers that have yet to find an audience, but I seem to collect them anyway. I hope you find something to linger on in these images. |
I live in rural north central Illinois, between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, where there is plenty of beautiful nature and landscape to photograph. Photography is only a hobby for me. Sharing my photos with others who enjoy them is fulfilling.
I was born in the "Icebox of the nation", International Falls, Minnesota, but spent most of my life in Illinois. My father was an avid amateur photographer and always had a darkroom set up wherever we were living. He was without a doubt the greatest influence in my finding an interest in photography. I acquired my first camera when I was 11 years old. I studied photography for a couple of semesters in college. I have had experience in both black & white and color film developing and darkroom printing. I don't have a specific area of interest for photography, but enjoy dabbling in nature, wildlife, birds, landscape, ruins and decay, planes, trains, automobiles, and photographing the night sky including lunar eclipses, the Milkyway, and comets when they are present. I take and share photos purely for the enjoyment of it. My father gave me my first camera when I was 11. It was a Kodak 103 Instamatic. My first photos were taken that summer during a 5-week family camping trip throughout Europe. I didn't take many photos until I bought my first SLR when I was a senior in High School. It was a Yashica TL Electro-X. I have had several different film cameras over the years, my favorite being a Fujica ST-801 with 50mm F/1.4 EBC lens. My father always had a darkroom, eventually a full color set up. In 2000 I went digital with my first DLSR, a Canon D60. The equipment I am using as of October 2022 includes: Canon EOS 5D MkIV Canon EOS 7D MkII Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Canon EF 500mm F/4 L IS USM Canon Extender EF 1.4x II Tokina SD 16-28mm f/2.8 (IF) FX Venus Optics Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D Lens for Canon EF Sony a6000 Sony a7III Sony a7IV Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens Sony E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens Sony FE 24-240mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens Sigma MC-11 Canon EF-Sony E mount adapter Vizelex (Fotodiox) EF-E Mount Auto ND Throttle AF Adapter (Canon lenses to Sony body) Fotodiox EF-Sny (E) Fusion Smart AF Adapter (Canon lenses to Sony body) Manfrotto MT055XPRO3 055 Aluminium 3-Section Tripod Manfrotto 190XDB Aluminum 3-Section Tripod Benro TMA37AL Mach 3 Tripod Manfrotto 390RC2 Tripod Head Promaster GH252 Gimbal Head |
Message from Lorena Malm, NCI ARTworks Operations Manager.
What's So Great About Attending an Exhibition?
To be a Photography Artist is a personally expressive way to create images. It is no different than any other expressive art medium. It’s not the technology that makes the art work, it’s the human being that makes the art work.
The question is: What are the advantages of attending a gallery exhibit in person rather than just viewing artists' work online? How do you get people interested in attending the gallery exhibit of a photographer or group of photographers when they can simply upload their images to the internet, where they can be seen by millions of people?
The answer, of course, is in creating a personal connection. When a photographer exhibits his or her work at the NCI ARTworks Gallery and is present at the opening reception to talk about the methods and inspiration for their work, they form a personal connection to the exhibition attendee and the artwork on exhibit. The one on one, face to face, sharing of the personal experience of the artist when creating the piece may resonate with the attendee, providing a meaningful connection and a greater appreciation of the artwork on exhibition.
What's So Great About Attending an Exhibition?
To be a Photography Artist is a personally expressive way to create images. It is no different than any other expressive art medium. It’s not the technology that makes the art work, it’s the human being that makes the art work.
The question is: What are the advantages of attending a gallery exhibit in person rather than just viewing artists' work online? How do you get people interested in attending the gallery exhibit of a photographer or group of photographers when they can simply upload their images to the internet, where they can be seen by millions of people?
The answer, of course, is in creating a personal connection. When a photographer exhibits his or her work at the NCI ARTworks Gallery and is present at the opening reception to talk about the methods and inspiration for their work, they form a personal connection to the exhibition attendee and the artwork on exhibit. The one on one, face to face, sharing of the personal experience of the artist when creating the piece may resonate with the attendee, providing a meaningful connection and a greater appreciation of the artwork on exhibition.