About

Everybody has a gift inside them. That passion for me is capturing little slices of life moments. It was obvious from my first art photography class in high school that photography was what I was born to do.

I grew up in Wichita, Kansas and went to Wichita State University on an art scholarship where I met one of the most famous photojournalists of all time Eugene Smith. Smith who also grew up in Wichita was one of the great photo essayists for Life Magazine. He did photo essays such as "The Country Doctor" which was actually photographed in Grand County Colorado. Seeing his work and work by Dorothea Lange's "Great Depression" photographs hanging on the walls of the art museum at WSU opened my mind to the power of documentary photojournalism. I changed my major from Art to Journalism and never looked back.

I spent the next 20 years working as a newspaper photographer in Kansas and Colorado winning numerous state, regional, national and international awards for news, feature and sports pictures. I was twice nomanated for a Pulitzer Prize in feature photography while working at the Fort Collins Coloradoan for two different long term documentary projects.

Most of my newspaper career was spent working as a staff photographer for the Denver Post during a time when the paper had the budget to cover sports teams both at home games as well as on road trips. There were also two Sunday magazines and an arts section that kept me traveling all over the west.

I met my wife, Geri, working at the Post where she was the Marketing Director. I seriously almost had to quit my job so that we could get married in the middle of July in Montana 23 years ago. That's when I first realized I needed to get out of the news industry and work for myself. Five years later in, 2000, I began photographing weddings full-time and winning awards from the Wedding Photojournalists Association consistently. I still enjoy competing with many of the top wedding photojournalists around the world.

In the summer of 2108 we sold our house in Denver and bought another house in Kalispell, Montana all in the same week!
We've come full circle to live in the town where we were married and we are looking forward to enjoying skiing, bicycling, camping, hiking, cooking, gardening in our new location.

Merica

A divided America in northwest Montana

Columbia Falls, Montana: October 3, 2018. A map at God’s Ten Commandment Park near the west entrance to Glacier National Park with colored pins to mark where visitors live. ©Kent Meireis

Stonewall_Jackson_Confederate_Flag_Montana

A man named Steve with his parrot, Stonewall Jackson named for the Confederate general know for his military ideology of the “The Lost Cause of the Confederacy”.

Fourth of July Parade Constitutional Amendments

Polebridge, Montana: July 4, 2018. A constitutional amendments group take part in the annual 4th of July parade in front of the Polebridge Mercantile. ©Kent Meireis

Polebridge, Montana: July 4, 2018. The Incredible Shrinking Man, President of the USA in the annual 4th of July parade in front of the Polebridge Mercantile. ©Kent Meireis

Kalispell, Montana: September 15, 2018. Car in parking lot before the Annual Democratic Harvest Dinner. ©Kent Meireis

Columbia Falls, Montana: October 3, 2018. Evangelist Philip Klevmoen founder of God’s Ten Commandment Park near West Glacier National Park, leaves the tent after an evening service. ©Kent Meireis

Evergreen, Montana: October 7, 2018. Evangelist pastor, Bob Thornton, prays for pastor Scott Troske and his wife Dianna during the Sunday service at Restart Church. ©Kent Meireis

Columbia Falls, Montana: October 7, 2018. Evangelist pastors Dave Barnes and Scott Troske pray during a tent revival service at God’s Ten Commandment Park near West Glacier National Park. ©Kent Meireis

Columbia Falls, Montana: October 8, 2018. Pastor Dave Barnes, left, helps get his tent r afterevival team member Ron settled at God’s Ten Commandment Park near the west entrance to Glacier National Park. Ron had fallen down and hurt his hip that morning and could only help direct the take down of the tent which had been up at the park for 100 days and was about to be taken to Medford Oregon. ©Kent Meireis

Evergreen, Montana: October 7, 2018. Evangelist pastor, Bob Thornton, of Restart Church shows a slide of judge Brett Kavanaugh who was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court earlier that week. He said that it’s every Christians obligation help elect fellow Christians with their same goals at every level of government. ©Kent Meireis

Kalispell, Montana: November 2, 2018. Stickers on a car outside a democratic Get Out The Vote Rally in Kalispell days before the midterm election. ©Kent Meireis

Kalispell, Montana: November 2, 2018. Montana Senator, Jon Tester speaks during a democratic Get Out The Vote Rally in Kalispell days before the midterm election. He won a 3rd term in the US Senate over Matt Rosendale who was supported by President Donald Trump stumping for him in Montana 3 times. Montana became a battleground state and this race shattered a state record by spending more than $60 million. ©Kent Meireis

Columbia Falls, Montana: November 6, 2018. A young girls waits for her working class father to vote in the midterm elections at the Columbia Falls High School. ©Kent Meireis

Martin City, Montana: November 6, 2018. Philly Steve Paugh dressed as Abraham Lincoln recites the Gettysburg Address near the mid-term elections site at the Martin City Rural Volunteer Fire Dept. Paugh said that this speech written by Lincoln to help bring a divided country back together was a good message to keep in mind during this years divisive mid-term elections. ©Kent Meireis

Martin City, Montana: November 6, 2018. Hand written notes by Philly Steve Paugh who dressed as Abraham Lincoln to recite the Gettysburg Address near the mid-term elections site at the Martin City Rural Volunteer Fire Dept. Paugh said that this speech written by Lincoln to help bring a divided country back together was a good message to keep in mind during this years divisive mid-term elections. ©Kent Meireis

Flathead County, Montana: November 17, 2018. A Farmers Market selling Thanksgiving turkeys and other foods for a Hutterites colony a 100 miles away. The Hutterites are Protestants similar to the Amish. They live in communes scattered across northern U.S. states and Canada and they don’t vote and don’t enlist in the military.

This snow couple with their dog were left behind outside the closed headquarters office building in Glacier National Park on Christmas day. The park is still open during the national federal government shutdown with little to no staff working.

The clean up crew waiting for the last of the movie goer’s after the show Vice about the rise of Dick Cheney.

A leader with the Kalispell, Montana Women’s March explains to a President Trump supporter that he needs to go back across the street.

A woman with the Kalispell, Montana Women’s March gets her message across to the President Trump supporters protesting the women’s march.

A woman with the Kalispell, Montana Women’s March believes that a woman’s place is in the House of Congress.

About

Merica