Celebrated local photographer dies

Tom Vezo, an award-winning professional wildlife photographer, writer and Madera Foothills’ resident, passed away suddenly Friday afternoon while hiking with a friend in the Rincon Mountains. He was 61.

Vezo is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and two stepdaughters. Services in Green Valley will be announced at a later date.

Vezo’s work is widely published in the United States and Europe in many books, calendars, magazines and advertisements. His credits include: Audubon, Birder’s World, Bird Watcher’s Digest, Discovery, Ducks Unlimited, National Geographic, National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, Nature’s Best, Natural History, Outdoor Photographer, Sierra Club, Travel and Leisure, Wildbird, Wildlife Conservation and many more.

He was winner of 1998 and 1999 Nature’s Best Magazines photo contest for “Wildlife” in the professional category and the BBC Wildlife photographer of the year in 1997 as an honorable mention.

He was recognized as one of the top bird photographers in the United States but also photographed landscapes all over the world. He led many photography tours throughout the United States and Canada teaching people the techniques of nature photography in the field. His expansive photo library contained more than 400,000 images.

Passionate about preserving Madera Canyon, Vezo helped publicize organizations like Friends of Madera Canyon and The Defenders of Madera Canyon on his Web site and in his monthly e-mailed newsletters, illustrating many of his causes with photos of the endangered areas.

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