Stephen W. Oachs is an award-winning photographer, successful entrepreneur and technology veteran, who began his journey in photography the moment he picked up his first SLR camera. Ever since, his lenses have focused on the inspiring majesty of mother earth and the unflinching beauty of the animal kingdom.

Completely self-taught, Stephen's unique and distinctive style is earning him recognition as one of today's finest digital nature photographers. He was recognized in 2007 as wildlife photographer of the year by the National Wildlife Federation and was awarded best nature photographer in 2008 by National Geographic Magazine for his work photographing the endangered snow leopard.

Stephen has received many other awards and achievements. His work has graced the pages of such notable on and offline worldwide publications such as National Geographic, Popular Photography, Outdoor Photographer, National Wildlife Magazine and many others. He has recently been profiled in Gentry Magazine and The Mercury News.

Whether trekking through the wilds of Alaska, enduring the raw challenges of nature or experiencing the thrill of life on the edge, Stephen captures rare and breathtaking moments of light and time. His exceptional eye is filtered only by his passion for life, deep affinity with nature and love of adventure.

Photography tells a story about light and time. Good photography is a combination of the two. When I open the shutter, I am capturing a scene, recording its light at a moment in time that will never exist again.

In photography, light can be your best friend as well as a formidable enemy. As a photographer, I am always in search of light. But not just any light. The elusive prize is that perfect light that turns an ordinary scene into a magical space in time where a remarkable story is told.

I love the virgin light of dawn and the pristine light at dusk. There is magic in those short twilight moments as the sun rises and sets and casts warm, rich colors across the landscape. I equally enjoy an overcast day where the clouds act as a giant diffuser to the sun, creating a uniformly lit and shadowless environment where wild creatures open their eyes to the world and intimate details of nature emerge from the shadows.

Finding light is a journey beyond traveling to any physical location—it is a visual exploration to a small moment where light transforms all it illuminates. That is the moment when the photograph becomes the destination, the pinnacle of the expedition. - Stephen W. Oachs