Brian Zwit

Personal Information

Bio

Brian’s interest in photography began 35 years ago when, using a film SLR borrowed from his father to work on the high school yearbook, he discovered that it provided a powerful means for expressing his vision of the world. Over the years, his love of the outdoors and photography as well as an aptitude for computer technology have morphed into a passion-some might say obsession-for capturing the elegance and majesty of the unique landscapes, wildlife, and flora of the United States.

The pursuit of nature takes Brian all over the country but he favors the west, northwest, and northeast. His love of hiking and backpacking takes him far beyond populated areas, into settings which few people visit.  “Early morning is my favorite time of the day. That is when everything is softly and beautifully illuminated by the light of the rising sun.”  Recent trips include an excursion to the coast of Alaska to photograph brown bears; southern California for the dramatic desert landscape; and the Florida Everglades for wintering birds.

Brian’s images haven’t gone unnoticed, and have made their way into private residences, corporate offices, and regional magazines such as Wonderful West Virginia. Corporate clients have also used his images for promotional and internal publications. For more information about Brian and to see his photographs, go to www.brianjzwit.com.

Brian uses Nikon cameras and lenses, Gitzo tripods, and Really Right Stuff ballheads almost exclusively. His favorite camera is the full-frame Nikon D700 and his favorite lens is his Nikkor 600mm VR f/4. However, Brian recently acquired a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 micro four-thirds camera and is finding it difficult to put it down because it is over three pounds lighter than the D700 and takes amazing HD video. The occasional use of Zero Image pinhole, Holga, and Lomographic cameras provide Brian with an expanded array of ways to express himself and a respite from complicated cameras, heavy lenses, and the need for batteries.

Brian manages his digital workflow using a Mac Pro quad-core desktop computer, with most of his images being lightly edited using Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and various plug-ins.  When working toward some artistic or technical effect, Brian also works in Bracketeer, PTGUI Pro, Hugin, and Photomatix Pro. His work on multi-media content and web pages incorporates: Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, Illustrator, Apple Keynote, and Boinx FotoMagico.

Brian has college degrees in chemical engineering, law, and photography. He has training in HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and other computer technologies and applications.

History

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1 year 35 weeks

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