Portrait of the Artists
- Thomas Mark Szelog
“The forest inspires me. In it I find peace. My desire is that all species, wild and human, can experience such peace.”
- Lee Ann Szelog
“Progress is not always building the newest, most high-tech building, equipment, or device. Sometimes progress means preserving those things that do not need improvement, such as nature, wildlife and the Earth itself.”
Meet Tom & Lee Ann
As passionate wildlife advocates, Tom and Lee Ann Szelog focus on the important role our natural world plays in our lives through their words, photographs, movie, presentations, fine-art exhibits, and books. They strive to inspire people to help protect wildlife and their habitat for the benefit of all life, human and wild. Their current and most ambitious and stunning project is their new film, a Peace of Forest, a quiet film that takes audiences on an intimate journey into the forest habitat of Maine.
Tom’s time has always been managed by Mother Nature.
As a youngster, he walked the banks of the Merrimack River in Manchester, New Hampshire, writing personal journals about wildlife encounters. These early childhood experiences inspired him to become a wildlife photographer. As a full-time professional photographer for 45 years, he specializes in photographing wildlife, nature, and landscapes for the editorial, corporate, and fine art markets. His passion, purpose, and priority have always been to use his images to help open people’s eyes and hearts to the importance of protecting wildlife and their habitat. He has earned the reputation and is often described as “one of Maine’s most renowned wildlife photographers,” and is a recipient of the Philip Hyde Award, presented annually to a photographer who is working to preserve the condition of the natural environment through the art of photography.
When Lee met Tom in 1987, she raced through each day on autopilot. As they dated, Lee learned more about Tom’s photography, his subjects, his purpose, and the environment in which she lives every day. She learned to observe and appreciate her natural surroundings and most importantly, take the time to value and savor them.
Lee credits Tom for opening her eyes to the natural world; Mother Nature opened her heart.
For 34 years, she has been inspired by Tom’s art as a professional wildlife and nature photographer and now shares the art of photography and love of the natural world with him. She is the founder of Simply Put, LLC, specializing in helping people live life rather than react to it, by providing refreshing classes and presentations on attitude, human relations, and wellness of our planet and ourselves.
From living in a lighthouse on the Maine coast to a log cabin in the Maine woods, Tom and Lee have documented life, human and wild, in two books. The first, the multi-award-winning book, Our Point of View – Fourteen Years at a Maine Lighthouse, featuring Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. The second, By a Maine River – A Year of Looking Closely, explores the natural beauty, abundant wildlife, tranquil habitat and rich ecosystem found in their own backyard.
