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About Me
I live in the high desert region of Arizona, in an area known as the
Verde Valley; not too far from Sedona, Cornville, and Cottonwood.
Before you drag out that old Atlas to see where those big burgs are
located, let me help by telling you that I actually live in Camp Verde,
which is about 80 miles north of Phoenix right off Interstate 17 as
you travel north toward Flagstaff. My corner of the desert isn't
as hot as Phoenix in the summer nor as cold as Flagstaff in the winter
- it has a nice year 'round climate that is just right for me!
Most of the time...... My hobby eventually turned into a profession, with some interesting alterations. After being discharged from the Army in 1969, I began working at television stations around the country, photographing, filming and video taping news stories, features and commercials. I worked for colleges and universities as a media coordinator, producing photo saturated newsletters. I earned a Masters Degree in Communications and enjoyed teaching photography, darkroom, video production and other media-related classes. I went on to open my own video production company and a photographic studio with a full color processing lab. My life, of course, went through many changes and life experiences -- some good and some not so good -- and I eventually found myself in Arizona working for a state university in a distance learning/television production position, making sure our interactive instructional television classes and equipment were running smoothly. Broadcast television made way for computer technology, and I was in on the ground floor of that experience as well. I enjoyed my new duties and learned much about the world wide web. New computer software programs and ever changing hardware have helped to keep my life totally involved with media and communications, and generally kept my life filled with new worlds of creative communication. However, after 10 years of university and the ever continuing drifting away from my first love of basic mystical-magical photography, I decided to step off the spinning merry-go-round of technology and take some time out to go back into my old alchemic darkroom and catch up on all my neglected negatives. I officially retired from university on 4 January 2005. Over the years I have taken many pictures of my travels, and places where I called home. I have also produced many fine portraits and presently am working on some experimental infrared film imagery of faeries, goddesses, valkyries, and the like. Have you any idea how hard it is to find those lovely little creatures??? Anyway, my old Omega D-2 enlarger is calling me from it's new location in a closet off the rear patio of our home, and I need to get back to work on my wizardry. I also plan to use my knowledge and experience, now that I'm retired, to freelance as a photojournalist, adjunct instructor, and other media related ventures to keep myself busy and the bills paid. Visual-Quest.net is my opportunity to share with you some of the beautiful and interesting imagery I'm finding in America's southwest territory. Although I'll mainly post pictures of the interesting places and events I find in the Southwest, I'll also include shots of other special visions I've taken in other parts of the country and from around the world. I'll be posting on a regular basis (hopefully) now that I'm no longer working for someone else on a full time basis. Please keep this web site on your "favorites" list. If you enjoy what you see and read, let me know. If you'd like me to photograph something that interests you and it's in my area, let me know that as well as I like to photograph just about everything! Thanks for taking the time to read my "about me" page. You can also find more of my pictures and information at http://tbthorson.com . Enjoy surfing my pages!
Tom Thorson
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