Harley Lever

I have never changed... since I was born I have been fascinated by the natural world around me. I can see clearly the looks of horror followed by immeasurable anger as my mother erupted upon seeing the aftermath of "trail-testing" my new school clothes. "I caught fish, frogs, and turtles!", I exclaimed proudly, but my mother was not impressed. My father was not immune to my obsession either. He nearly lost several fingers one summer when he mistakenly moved what he thought to be a large rock in my fish pond, when in fact it was the largest snapping turtle I have ever caught.

Just after my high school graduation, my mom sent me to Arizona for two weeks. Rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, scorpions, and most dangerous of all, my uncles were awaiting my arrival. Despite the heightened sense of awareness that came with my imminent death, nothing could have prepared me for what I would see as my plane approached Sky Harbor Airport. I was completely awestruck by the beauty that surrounded Phoenix. Little did I know that this was just the beginning. From Apache Lake, to Sedona, and eventually the Grand Canyon, I was completely hooked on the unimaginable views and the magic of the Southwest. From that point on I knew exactly where I belonged. Remarkably, despite several attempts at killing me through high-speed water skiing, and an alcohol-inspired ritual known as "Fire Dancing", I managed to survive Arizona and my uncles. And as my uncles promised, my leg-hair did eventually grow back.

I returned three years later and began to explore my new home. To date, I have hiked, climbed, biked, kayaked, and canoed as much of the Southwest as possible. For me, Nature provides unrelenting strength and inspiration through it's perfection and grandeur. I have yet to see a man-made anything that could compare to the art that occurs naturally around us.

I began taking pictures three years ago and soon figured out that I could capture Nature without endangering our environment or my family... yeah it took me 33 years to figure this out, but maybe I'm just a slow learner. My home is filled with my photographs in a selfish attempt to have all the beauty the Southwest offers reside within my own home. In a way, my photography allows me see the Grand Canyon from my living room, walk through Antelope Canyon via my bathroom, and watch the sunset over the Sea of Cortez from my dining room.

I was shocked when I was first asked if I would sell one of my pictures... obviously they were being very nice. Then it happened again, I knew there was a picture-buying conspiracy going on and my mom was most likely at the root of it! So I amused her and the other conspirators and began selling my photos at a local Swap Meet. The first day I sold eight of them... I even sold the ones that I thought would never sell. So now, here I am, selling photos of the masterpieces Nature created on a website that I created.

This website represents the beginning of hopefully a long journey in capturing moments of pure beauty through photography and harnessing the unmatchable power and value of Nature by donating 51% of my profits from our "Limited Edition Prints", "Open Edition Prints", and "Stock and Royalty-Free Photography" to help the environment and those in need. I hope you will join me in my pursuit of this goal and share in a dream of positively effecting both our local and global communities as well as instilling the real need to protect our pristine environments.

Sincerely,

Harley Lever a.k.a. the "Trout Whisperer"

E-mail: harley@harleyseye.com