When Dennis Frates was flyfishing in Montana, and after catching about 20” brown trout on the Madison River, a thought came him, almost as if by divine communication that when he got home from the fishing trip, he would start shooting pictures professionally. Frate says that how his career in photography was born. Once he got home, he poured over photograph after photograph in Audubon, Sierra Club, National Geographic, and others, almost forgetting to breathe. Frates thought this kind of photography was unattainable. At age 14, after saving for some time, he purchased his first camera for $100. Full of youthful exuberance, Frates took pictures of scenic subjects that occurred in his small world and also of nature. He was so disappointed with these early photographs. He reasoned that if he couldn’t amaze people with his pictures like National Geographic, then it wasn’t worth the effort. So he gave up, put his camera in the closet and literally went back to fishing. While in college, Frates’ passion raged on for the natural world.
He studied ecology and landscapes receiving a master’s degree in these areas. Later, after almost 20 years, he felt compelled to revisit his love of photography and began taking photographs professionally. Frates has always yearned to bring emotion to his life and to that of others and it’s through photography that he manages to do this. Now he has staggering amount of work and his photographs have found their way to the pages of Audubon, Sierra Club, and National Geographic. His art has brought emotion to art directors and their publication audiences throughout the world. Frates takes great pride that he has been able to helphis clients look good.
