I was born, raised and schooled in Tucson, Arizona. While in grammar school, I developed a deep passion for all flora and fauna of the beautiful Sonoran Desert. Rescuing and raising all sorts of critters became a fundamental part of my life. This continues to this day where I am able to practice my animal husbandry skills while volunteering at a nearby State Park. Here I enjoy helping take care of animals that are rescued or asked to be removed from private property, especially if they are venomous. Many of theses animals become the stars of educational programs developed by volunteers at the park; the vast majority of the animals are released back into a safe environment.
I married and became the father of two wonderful daughters. After high school and working in Tucson for a few years, my family and I moved to California. I studied entomology and began work at an Insectary in Fillmore, California. There I raised tiny predatory wasps that were released into the citrus groves to help control scale insects that used citrus as their host plants. Traditionally, these insect pests were treated with powerful, dangerous and expensive insecticides. Ultimately, biological control became the predominate means of controlling these pests.
Although I loved this work, it became clear that continuing in this field was not going to provide the long term security that was needed for our family. I then sought and secured employment as a law enforcement officer. This new job was not conducive to taking care of animals, so that part of my life was sidelined for a number of years. While working in law enforcement, I developed an avid interest in photography. These skills were first used primarily for the department, and then my love of nature and photography joined together and became one of the long term passions and joys in my life.
After retiring, my wife and I moved back to my home town of Tucson and picked up where I had left off years earlier. With the advent of digital photography, I was hooked once again on nature combined with my joy of wildlife photography. I developed this website to share my visions of nature and wildlife that have always been so important for my enjoyment of life.
I hope that you enjoy viewing these images.
Jerry Schudda