There is such a thing as having an “eye” for composing photographs. As a teenager, Tom Horton discovered he had it, but while taking a Journalism degree in 1972 he developed allergies to photographic chemicals and had to give it up. However, he kept in touch with visual arts through various careers in broadcast news, design, advertising, public relations, and teaching. When digital photography was invented he was instantly on board, suffering through some weird cameras as digital became mainstream. His subject was nature, naturally, as he was raised in rural Nevada and other western US states, always close to the dirt. While working in Dubai in 2006 he was persuaded to begin publishing and exhibiting his work professionally and founded Further To Fly Photography. In 2015 he relocated to Park City, Utah. Horton's credits include hundreds of stock clients through Getty Images; numerous solo and juried exhibitions around the West; book and magazine covers; presentations, articles, and blogs in national media. His primary interest is in handcrafting large-format prints for individual buyers. His first art photography book, “Elevation,” is scheduled for publication in 2020.
Horton in front of Mt. Everest from Tibet, China.
Professional Photography
What was your first camera?
An East German brand, Exacta, bought in 1970.
Where did you start your professional career as a photographer?
At KUTV Channel 2 in SLC, filming news and documentaries in 16mm.
Do you specialize in a specific style of photography?
Dramatic landscapes and nature. I deliberately avoid people.
Do you travel for photography assignments?
I consider myself an artist and I do not take assignments of any kind, but to express my own vision I travel extensively around the world.
Huangshan West Sea - This national park in China is a perfect example of how bad weather brings out the visual interest in landscapes.
3,000 Buddhist temples were built in a three-square-kilometer area in Myanmar about 1200 years ago by Ceylonese immigrants. These are not ruins – most are still active sites.
Favorite place your work has been published?
Lonely Planet guidebooks.
Where can people see and purchase your past work?
People can see it on my website and contact me personally. The pandemic has shut down the festivals, exhibitions, and galleries where my work is usually shown until sometime in 2021.
What details do you believe make the best photographs?
Dramatic light on unexpected subjects.
This is North Six-Shooter Peak near the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.
What photographers have influenced your work?
Ansel Adams and Jimmy Chin.
What is the best advice you ever got for photography?
Photography is a software endeavor and you should spend extensive time becoming the best editor you can possibly be.
What is the best advice that you give?
Don’t worry so much about the cameras.
Life in Park City
What about Park City inspires your work as a local?
The natural beauty of the mountains and seasons.
What do you do for fun when you’re not working?
Biking, road, and mountain; fly fishing; skiing; hiking; camping; wandering; community volunteering and politics.
This autumn scene on the Park City ski runs in Thaynes Canyon is my most popular local picture. There are only two remaining in the limited edition of ten.
Do you have any advice on taking photographs in Park City?
Changing weather provides the most dramatic light.
This autumn aerial scene looks across the hills of Wasatch Mountain State Park toward Mt. Timpanogos in the evening.
An autumn scene of an old mining road just on the outskirts of Park City.
An autumn scene near Cascade Springs in Wasatch Mountain State Park, photographed as a storm departs.
Park City’s famous McPolin Barn, seen with a nice May sunset.
And for fun, we had to ask:
Where is your favorite place in town to eat or grab a drink?
Indonesia has the world’s best sunsets due to its many active volcanoes keeping ash suspended in the sky. This is the harbor in the small town of Labuan Bajo on the island of East Nusa Tengarra.
Mt. Tasman in the Southern Alps is very hard to photograph because the climate is constantly stormy. This is where Edmund Hillary learned his mountaineering skills.
Dawn at Alstrom Point, a remote spot overlooking the north shore of Lake Powell. It is hard to get to and when you arrive it is a barren and windy place to camp. Navajo Mountain in the distance.
The Navajo Nation is packed with remote and spectacular places like Coalmine Canyon, near Tuba City, Arizona.
Personal statement about your professional career
“I feel compelled to reinvent the world without people.”
