Willis Peterson


	Biography Willis Peterson's photographic career began on his fourteenth birthday in Colorado Springs, where he grew up. A camera was given to him in hopes it would distract him from his then current hobby of collecting wild animals. Instead, he began photographing the inmates of his backyard zoo. A distinguished career in nature photography had begun. After many years as a photographer and feature writer with the Arizona Republic, Peterson broke away to become a full time freelance photographer. Arizona Highways Magazine, National Geographic, Audubon Magazine, Pacific Discovery, and Natural History are among the many publications that have featured his work. Assignment work took him to many places including Alaska, India, Sri Lanka, Central America, Mexico, Baja and Africa. In 1966 Peterson filmed PBS local channel 8, KAET, a segment of 16 shows, "Western Wildlife". Due to their popularity they were rerun the following year. In 1968 Mr. Peterson was selected to start a photography program at Glendale Community College. His artistic intuition and exceedingly high standards were a major influence in the teaching of photography in the Southwest. He held this position until retirement in 1986. Peterson's wildlife and nature photography has gained national and international recognition. He was a contributor to the International Wildlife Photographic Exhibit, pro-duced in London in 1969 by the Nature Conservancy Council. National Audubon Society featured his color prints in their traveling environmental exhibit in 1970, and Eastman Kodak displayed a selection of his prints in their New York City gallery in 1972.

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Exhibit Highlights

“The Glory of Natures Form”
Mr. Peterson created and produced "The Glory of Nature's Form" exhibit. This one-man show premiered at the Heard Museum in Phoenix in 1973. The exhibit contains 150 pictorials featuring western North America environmental biomes, from the Arctic to the Tropical. Listed are museums, which have displayed "The Glory of Nature's Form".

The Heard Museum
The Albuquerque Museum of Art
The National Wildlife Gallery,
Washington D.C.
New York Museum of Natural History
Boston Museum of Science

April, 1973
June, 1973

April, 1974
October, 1974
November, 1974

Colorado Springs Art Museum
University of Utah Gallery
Scottsdale Center for the Arts
Glendale Community College Gallery
Sedona Art Center
West Side Art Museum

March, 1975
June, 1975
September, 1977
October, 1981
June, 1977
July, 2003

"African Visions"
The exhibit, "African Visions", is a 130 print collection including a twofold study of the Maasai culture and the portrayal of East Africa's prolific wildlife and scenic grandeur. The exhibit was shown at the following institutions.

Glendale Community College
West Side Art Museum

November 1994
September 1996

Estrella Mt. College (mini exhibit)
Prescott Fine Arts Center

January 1997
August 2001

"Egypt At A Glance"
The portrayal of the magnificent golden effigy of King Tutankhamen is the centerpiece of the exhibit, "Egypt At A Glance". This exhibit consists of 80 prints ranging in size from 8 x 10 to 24 x 30. The exhibit was shown at the following institution.

Glendale Community College November 1999

AWARDS
1966 - Outstanding Phoenix College Alumni, 1967 - Kappa Delta Pi Nat. Educational Honor Society
1970 - 1971 -Awards from the Phoenix Press Club, 1975 - Arizona Journalism Teacher of the year (Community Colleges), 1984 - Greeting Card Industry, Best Day View published in the U.S., 1985 - Distinguished Arizona Highways Magazine, 1986 - Eastman Kodak, outstanding senior photographer (Ariz. Highways), 1986 - Maricopa Co. Community College, Distinguished Service, 1986 - Colorado Springs, Palmer High School, Alumni Hall of Fame

Mr. Peterson holds a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Audio Visual Technology from Arizona State University.