“I HATE you!”
Not the kind of reaction you typically want to hear from a friend, I suppose. But spoken in a thick Long Island accent and with a twinkling smile, it was a comment that nonetheless always brought a grin to my face because it meant I’d created a photograph special enough to make Tom Vezo jealous!
Tom and I met in 1997, when I joined him and fellow photographer Jim Roetzel on a bird photography tour they were co-leading to south Texas prior to that year’s NANPA conference in Corpus Christi. From day one I recognized a soulmate—not only was Tom passionate about bird photography, he also shared my irreverent sense of humor and bantering conversational style. So that tongue-in-cheek insult became an in-joke that we would exchange over the years as we watched each other’s photographic careers grow, although we’d seen and admired each other’s work in print long before we got to know each other personally.
Tom Vezo 1946 - 2008
So what a profound shock it was for me to hear that Tom had passed away suddenly in July this year. I shed many tears knowing that I would never hear my friend’s voice again. I know that many other photographers (including some NSN members and contributors) whose lives had been touched by Tom’s warm friendliness over the years feel the same sad loss.
By his own admission, Tom’s passion for his work stemmed from a love of, and a true connectedness to, his subjects—birds—not from a love of photography itself. I admired this in him and I felt the same way. He was always excited to be able to capture in-your-face action in his wildlife images. But he also did not shy away from portraying his subject small in the frame, showing the bird surrounded by its environment living its life instead of striving to always show it against a clean background. Like me, he believed that environmental portraits of birds were an important way of representing the very essence of the subject. We called them “bird photos with soul.”
Professionally, I greatly valued Tom’s long experience as a businessman (he owned a printing company for many years before switching to photography full-time). I considered him my “anchor” in the nature-publishing world, and his advice and understanding often helped to calm my worries as the industry changed dramatically over the years with the advent of digital photography and the internet. Like other wildlife photographers trying to make a living with their art, we shared the struggle of trying to remain competitive while adapting to the rapidly changing market. When business issues or camera problems arose, or if we suffered disappointments and frustrations, we’d rant and rave to each other, racking up huge phone bills. We’d laugh long and loud about how crazy the nature photography business has become, then, newly focused and re-energized, we’d get back to work!
If I were to put in a nutshell what Tom was to me I’d say he was part wise father figure brimming with useful advice and encouragement, and part mischievous older brother eager to have fun. Of course Tom was many things to many people, sharing different parts of his character with each of his friends. Some saw the deeply spiritual side of his persona. He worshipped nature and was often awed by his experiences in the natural world, frequently feeling a special connectedness with the creatures whose lives and spirits he captured with his camera. To his students, whether on his own photo workshops or on those offered through NANPA, he was an energetic, gifted and engaging teacher with a talent for constructive criticism offered in a positive, upbeat manner. But while Tom was a mentor to numerous aspiring photographers, he also was a tireless advocate for the rights and needs of full-time professionals to make a living in the face of a shrinking market and a growing influx of new faces (and lenses!) into the field.
Long-time professionals who started shooting with Tom in the 1980s recall how his knowledge of the printing business and his experience working with designers lent a special artistry to his work, an artistry that has endured regardless of his subject. Always pleased to meet other photographers, he was a generous source of information, proud of what he knew and glad to share technical tips and advice about equipment.
Tom was a go-getter, always working on new projects. And he was the consummate businessman. Magazine editors, designers, book publishers, equipment manufacturers and sellers, as well as other photographers—he nurtured his contacts with people as avidly as he pursued his photography. I always thought that the term “networking” could have been invented especially with Tom in mind!
We are left now with only memories of the good friend we knew and loved. Thankfully Tom’s nature photography, and especially his bird images, will be his enduring legacy. Whether aspiring photographer or seasoned professional, all of us who love to create beautiful bird photos have at some time or other seen and wanted to emulate his fantastic imagery, his use of color and his compositional skills.
Tom Vezo was a warm, energetic, and caring person, who embraced life and lived it to the fullest. And it was while living life the way he wanted to—outdoors, experiencing nature in his adopted home state of Arizona—that he was taken from us.
May his life well lived be an inspiration to us all.
Professional photographer and nature writer Marie Read's images have appeared in numerous magazines, books and calendars, worldwide. She is the author of Secret Lives of Common Birds: Enjoying Bird Behavior Through the Seasons (Houghton Mifflin 2005). To see more of her work visit www.marieread.com.
