ancil nance photographs



Brownie Hawkeye at Ape Cave, 1955

I was born at an early age, and began taking photos while in grade school. I had a Brownie Hawkeye camera when I hiked to Ape Cave, the photo here at the top, and it was my main camera for years. It was with me on a lookout tower while spotting fires for the Forest Service. Not until I started hiking and climbing in the late 1960s did I pick up a 35mm "slide camera." It was a Sears Tower SLR with a 58mm lens. I gave that to a friend after purchasing a Pentax Spotmatic in 1970. That was the camera to have if you didn't go to Nikon. I also started carrying a Rollei 35. It was the camera that did not get left behind, until I lost it in a climbing accident on Mt. Hood in 1970. When I was a social studies teacher at Adams H.S. I took photos of some of our activities and during this time I got to think of myself as a photographer. From 1973 until 1997 I worked as a freelance photographer with a specialty in sports action images of climbers, runners, bike riders, whitewater rafters and the occasional scenic views.

I shot for Oregon Times magazine (later Oregon Magazine) in the late '70s, but drifted into advertising and began to shoot some ads for Nike, working with David Kennedy and with Peter Moore. David and Peter both seemed to understand my style of shooting more than any other art directors I worked with. When Peter left Nike and formed Sports Inc. and Adidas America, I was able to shoot some fun stuff for his projects. Two efforts stand out. One was an outdoor clothing catalog. I and two all-around athletes, Roman Mares and Andreas Wallach, traveled from the north Oregon coast to Bishop, California, shooting scenes in the mountains and rivers along the way where they hwould be climbers or kayakers or hikers, depending upon the clothing being shown in the shot. Winnie A few of those Hawkeye images remain,
including this one of my sister, Winnie, rock
climbing near Vancouver, B.C., 1966.

 

The second fun project was teaching kids to shoot ads for Van Grack clothing, a Sports Inc. company that lasted a little while. I went to Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Detroit with five cameras and a lesson plan. Van Grack had a rep show up with the clothes and shoes. For one week in each school the photography class shot ad photos, with the students taking over as photographers, models, location scouts, clothing directors and light meter specialists. The ads ran in various teen magazines. The class in New Orleans was particularly good, with creative efforts that matched the best I have seen. At the final class showing of the images the students gathered around and thanked me for coming, and one said "Don't forget us." I haven't, but I do wonder where they are now. It was more like visiting a foreign country than just another city.

In 1986 I went on the Sino-USA Upper Yangtze River Expedition and rafted over 1000 miles from the river's "spiritual" source in the Tangula Mountains of Tibet downriver almost to Batang.

Since retiring from competitive photography I have enjoyed taking images that just strike me at the time, without thinking about how they will sell. I update the image at top of this page as I get something interesting from my paragliding, hiking, driving, kayaking adventures. The links on the left give some break down for the site content and the Stock Photo/New Image link will get you going on over 300 random images.