John Ellert:  

Life A Michigan native, I have been photographing the natural world ever since I first picked up a Brownie camera at age 14. In my teens our family headed west and lived for periods of time in California and Colorado, where I finished high school at FCHS and started college at CSU. Like many serious shooters, I cut his teeth as a high school and college annual photographer. I considered photography as a career but instead followed an even earlier love, music. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in Music (piano performance) from Rocky Mountain College (Billings, Montana); and the Master of Music in Music History and Literature from the University of Colorado. A curious set of circumstances led me into the library field and after completing a Masters of Science in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois I moved to Wichita and began a career with the Wichita Public Library, where I enjoyed a 30+ year career with the Wichita Public Library. I retired from the library in January, 2009, and am now full-time in photography. Although photography continued to be a major part of my creative life, my shooting remained eclectic and unfocused through extensive travels until a wildl...Expand for more