steve wetzel,  photographer

Steve Wetzel was born in Portage, Wisconsin and grew up just to the south on Lake Wisconsin.  In his teen years he was interested in both the arts and in technology.  What a perfect combination of areas to study to become proficient at photography!

But photography was never an interest to Steve until he took a trip to the mountains of Colorado in the early 1980s, when he went backpacking in the Vail area with a friend. To capture images from the trip, he purchased and brought with him an inexpensive 35mm point and shoot camera. Upon returning, the film was developed and the images were reviewed. Every single image was unremarkable. Steve immediately knew the reason — he needed a better camera!

A Sigma 35mm SLR camera and two lenses was acquired  and used to document the next backing trip.  Once again, the film was developed and once again, every image was unremarkable.  It was at this point in time that Steve realized that the camera used to acquire images was no more important to the making of great images than the pans a cook uses are to making a great meal.  A quest was began to learn the intricacies of both the technical and the creative aspects of photography. Over time, Steve gained proficiency in both these aspects of making photographs.

Today, Steve works as an electrical engineer by day and a photographer by night (and weekends).  His passion is to created fun, imaginative, and breathtaking images that portray the scene in they way the place being photographed made him feel when he was standing in front of it.

Steve resides with his wonderful wife Laurie and Ace the wonder dog in their home just east of Madison not far outside of the city of Cambridge, Wisconsin.  There he often photographs and experiments with his camera. He enjoys exhibiting his art, teaching others, and creating fine art photography books and prints .