Vickie and I met along the road to Emmaus (Pennsylvania) in 1992. I had been a machine operator since returning from the Army in ‘87, but left the printing factory for a position in law enforcement in 1994. Vickie packed up her three young boys and followed me to the village of Hokendauqua in Whitehall Township, and we married that September. Vickie’s interest in photography was already evident, with twelve years’ worth of family photos in over-stuffed albums and scotch-taped shoeboxes. We talked of adding a darkroom to the basement of our new home, but it was a townhouse and we were a family of
five, so space was limited. I enjoyed hunting with rifle and bow but hadn’t yet taken up the camera, and those hectic years left little time for photography
anyway, so the darkroom idea fell by the wayside.
Fast forward to 2011. The family of five in that townhouse had grown to six and a dog at one point, but had thinned gradually as each boy set off on his own. The nest wasn’t quite empty but there was room enough to spread wings, and perhaps a bit more spare time. I had left law enforcement for the private sector in 2002, working as a professional videographer until launching my own firm in 2007. Vickie had transitioned from fourteen years in banking to a part-time office position and bookkeeping work from home. The Lord provided, my firm survived the Great Recession, and we were thankful for our blessings.
Initially, photography was a way for me to escape from my office and unwind, and I enjoyed simply serving as caddy for Vickie on her photo shoots. My mission-oriented mindset (you can leave the Army but it never entirely leaves you) means I tend to approach every outing like a military operation, taking pride in my ability to recon a subject, anticipate the most advantageous position for the camera, then guide my wife in and set her up for the shot. Of course, Vickie never seemed to understand why we needed to pack each time we went out as if we might spend a week in the woods behind some unseen enemy’s line… until I'd produce a hair tie from my pack as she tried to shoot sunset from atop the LaConcha Hotel in Key West in a stiff Caribbean crosswind.
It was on one such excursion in May of 2011 that I began looking at photography differently, seeing it for the first time through my wife’s eyes. We were on a photo safari of sorts on Cades Cove Loop Road in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee. We came upon a spot where folks were leaving their vehicles to gather in the woods about thirty yards from the road. There was a black bear sow with a cub among the ferns beneath a stand of towering hemlocks, mama rolling rotten logs over while her little one dashed up and down the trunks of the trees, both seemingly oblivious to the small crowd forming fifty yards away, with park rangers flanking us to make sure no one went closer.
five, so space was limited. I enjoyed hunting with rifle and bow but hadn’t yet taken up the camera, and those hectic years left little time for photography
anyway, so the darkroom idea fell by the wayside.
Fast forward to 2011. The family of five in that townhouse had grown to six and a dog at one point, but had thinned gradually as each boy set off on his own. The nest wasn’t quite empty but there was room enough to spread wings, and perhaps a bit more spare time. I had left law enforcement for the private sector in 2002, working as a professional videographer until launching my own firm in 2007. Vickie had transitioned from fourteen years in banking to a part-time office position and bookkeeping work from home. The Lord provided, my firm survived the Great Recession, and we were thankful for our blessings.
Initially, photography was a way for me to escape from my office and unwind, and I enjoyed simply serving as caddy for Vickie on her photo shoots. My mission-oriented mindset (you can leave the Army but it never entirely leaves you) means I tend to approach every outing like a military operation, taking pride in my ability to recon a subject, anticipate the most advantageous position for the camera, then guide my wife in and set her up for the shot. Of course, Vickie never seemed to understand why we needed to pack each time we went out as if we might spend a week in the woods behind some unseen enemy’s line… until I'd produce a hair tie from my pack as she tried to shoot sunset from atop the LaConcha Hotel in Key West in a stiff Caribbean crosswind.
It was on one such excursion in May of 2011 that I began looking at photography differently, seeing it for the first time through my wife’s eyes. We were on a photo safari of sorts on Cades Cove Loop Road in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Tennessee. We came upon a spot where folks were leaving their vehicles to gather in the woods about thirty yards from the road. There was a black bear sow with a cub among the ferns beneath a stand of towering hemlocks, mama rolling rotten logs over while her little one dashed up and down the trunks of the trees, both seemingly oblivious to the small crowd forming fifty yards away, with park rangers flanking us to make sure no one went closer.
Neither of us had ever been that close to a bear in the wild, yet in that moment my diminutive, soft-spoken wife was suddenly as mission-oriented as anyone I’ve ever known. I may be the one more at home in the woods, yet there behind her camera she was the one in her element, fulfilling her purpose. She was never more beautiful, as passionate a huntress as ever lived, yet hunting with nothing more than a camera and not for food or sport but, I suspect, for no better reason than because she identified somehow with that mother bear on a much deeper level. And I think there may be no purer reason to take up a camera than that...
Since then Vickie and I have adopted a more intentional approach to our photographic pursuits. Level 5 Photography is nothing more than a formalized commitment between the two of us as evolving photographers to grow and develop together… and nothing less than a window to a world that so many pass through, yet so few pause long enough to ever truly see.
That said, we're constantly seeking new photographic challenges and welcoming new opportunities to support non-profit organizations as well as corporate and private projects. If something in our Galleries moves you in some way, or if you have questions about any of our work, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you... or better yet, to meeting you at an upcoming photo shoot or club event.
In the meantime, happy hunting... and God Bless.
Sincerely,
Greg & Vickie Pirnik
Level 5 Photography
Since then Vickie and I have adopted a more intentional approach to our photographic pursuits. Level 5 Photography is nothing more than a formalized commitment between the two of us as evolving photographers to grow and develop together… and nothing less than a window to a world that so many pass through, yet so few pause long enough to ever truly see.
That said, we're constantly seeking new photographic challenges and welcoming new opportunities to support non-profit organizations as well as corporate and private projects. If something in our Galleries moves you in some way, or if you have questions about any of our work, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you... or better yet, to meeting you at an upcoming photo shoot or club event.
In the meantime, happy hunting... and God Bless.
Sincerely,
Greg & Vickie Pirnik
Level 5 Photography
