ABOUT
Based in Austin, Texas, photographer Sam Mason has had a lifelong love affair with nature. He also enjoys computers and technology, but nature is far more reliable.
He has been involved in nature conservation since the formation of the first Valley Land Fund Wildlife Photo Contest in 1994. In 2000 and 2002, he served as Assistant Director for that event. From 2003 to 2006, he was Executive Director for the Images for Conservation Fund and coordinated its first Pro-Tour of Nature Photography. The event was held in the Texas Hill Country in April 2006 and awarded $160,000 in prize money to winning photographer-landowner teams.
Early readings in Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and growing up close to nature in Texas, led Sam to appreciate it as elemental to humanity. He greatly values the ability of photography to communicate the compelling beauty of nature through a visual language that everyone can understand. He enjoys exploring and photographing the Austin Greenbelt and the many natural treasures of central Texas.
Sam holds a degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. He also has worked for many years with the composer and synthesizer pioneer Gershon Kingsley in New York City.