John D. Hillmer Amateur Photographer My bachelor's degree is in computer science (UW-LaCrosse Wisconsin) and I am a director of Information Technology for a large insurance company (for more information, click the Linkedin button). In the 1970's, my father helped me obtain a Pentax Spotmatic 35mm SLR.  It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the creativity, but the cost to develop each shot made the hobby expensive.  When digital point and shoot cameras came out and prices came down in the mid-2000's, I bought a Nikon Coolpix 3200, and I quickly remembered how much I enjoy photography.  When a friend showed me his results from a Canon 20D and some good lenses, I was hooked again.  He is a serious birdwatcher -- you can see his work at pbase.com. I decided that if I'm going to take shots that should look good, I don't want to blame the equipment if they don't, so I needed to buy good equipment.  I'm not qualified to debate Nikon versus Canon, but from what I saw in 2006 (and to this day), and based on who I knew and what they were using, Canon was the right choice for me. You can see a list of my equipment using the link on the bottom of any page. I enjoy taking family and event shots, but for me, nothing beats being out in nature with a camera -- with landscapes and wildlife as my favorite subjects.  Over the past years, I've enjoyed shooting locally, around the country, and in many National Parks and National Monuments: Arches National Park, Utah Biscayne National Park, Florida Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah Canyonlands National Park, Utah Everglades National Park, Florida Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Joshua Tree National Park, California Mount Rainier National Park, Washington Mount St. Helens National Monument, Washington Muir Woods National Monument, California Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming Yosemite National Park, California Zion National Park, Utah Other major National and World Wildlife and Nature locations where I have shot, include: J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida  Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Waupun, Wisconsin Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area, Horicon, Wisconsin National Elk Refuge, Jackson, Wyoming World Heritage Rainforest, Kuranda, Australia Low Isles, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia Sydney, Australia New Zealand's North Island  Other World locations have included, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Netherlands, and Switzerland.  You can see a map of locations where shots on this site were taken, by clicking the photo locations link on the bottom of any page. The mission of JHillmer.com is to provide awe, or wonder, or inspiration to everyone who visits.  I believe in creation, the literal interpretation of Genesis, as well as the rest of the Bible for that matter, and as I shoot these various subjects, my beliefs are all the more confirmed that all of this just didn't happen coincidentally. Unless specifically documented to the contrary, none of the wildlife photographed and displayed at JHillmer.com were filmed in captivity.   No wildlife subjects were harmed in any way to obtain any of these photographs. All photographs on JHillmer.com are copyrighted property of John D. Hillmer.  See the legal notice link at the bottom of any page for more information.  Low-resolution photographs are provided on this site for your internet viewing pleasure.  If you wish to use or purchase any photograph on this site (high resolution versions are available), email Info@JHillmer.com with specific questions. If you wish to comment on this web site, or communicate with John D. Hillmer, send an email to: Info@JHillmer.com or, check out JHillmer on these social networking sites:

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