QT Luong

Photo of QT Luong in Kings Canyon National Park by Buddy Squires

(350 words)   QT Luong celebrates the splendor and variety of the natural and human heritage with his photography . He has been privileged to travel through an immense geographic range, from the top of the coldest mountain on earth to under tropical seas. He has been called "today's leading photographer of America's National Park" as well as a "Modern Master". Born to Vietnamese parents in Paris, France, he was trained as a scientist (PhD U. Paris). The revelation of the high Alps led him to become a mountain climber and wilderness guide. When he came to the US to conduct research in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing for what was to be a short stay, he chose UC Berkeley, because of the proximity to Yosemite--a world class rock climbing destination. There, he felt in love with the National Parks and decided to photograph all of them with a 5x7 large format camera , a single-handed, self-financed, monumental project that had not been completed by anyone before. To that effect, he settled in the San Francisco Bay Area and started crisscrossing this country to capture its diverse beauty. Quang-Tuan's in-depth coverage of the Parks often dictated long hikes into the backcountry, with a 75 lb backpack, and only his passion and dedication to keep him company. By 2002, he had visited each of the 58 National Parks. He subsequently left his distinguished career as a scientist to work as a full-time photographer. In 2009, Ken Burns featured him as one of the few living characters in his film "The National Parks: America's Best Idea". QT is the founder of the primary online resource for large format photography. His photographs have been the subject of two coffee-table books, and have appeared in several publications from National Geographic, Time, Life, Outside, Scientific American, GEO, and many others in dozens of countries around the world. His work has been profiled in publications such as Outdoor Photographer, Rangefinder, View Camera, Digital Photographer, National Geographic Explorer, Parks Magazine, Boston Globe, and has been seen in galleries and museum solo exhibitions on both coasts. However , he reached his largest audience through www.terragalleria.com, one of the most most visited of all individual photographers websites. (150 words) QT Luong is a full-time freelance nature and travel photographer from San Jose, California. Born to Vietnamese parents in France, he was trained as a scientist (PhD U. Paris). The revelation of the high Alps led him to become a mountain climber and wilderness guide. When he came to the US to conduct research in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, he felt in love with the National Parks. After he became the first to photograph all of them in large format, Ken Burns featured him in "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" (2009). He has been profiled in more than a dozen press articles (eg, Boston Globe, National Geographic Explorer, Parks Magazine, Outdoor Photographer), and called a "modern master". His photographs have been published in three dozen countries, are the subject of two coffee-table books, and have been seen in museum and gallery solo exhibits on both US coasts. (70 words) Initially trained as a scientist in France, QT Luong settled in California and became a full-time photographer - published in more than 30 countries - after coming to love the US national parks. He is noted for being the first to photograph each of the 59 of them - in large format. Photos from around the world can be seen at www.terragalleria.com, one of the most visited of photographers' websites.

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