Tom Kirkendall was born in 1956 in San Francisco. In 1969 he moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he developed an interest in competitive surfing, cycling, and photography. These interests were reflected in his part-time jobs in a surf shop, a bicycle shop, and a camera store. After completing two years at the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, he packed his worldly possessions—a surfboard, a bike, and his cameras—into his VW bug and headed west to finish his schooling at Brooks Institute of Photography at Santa Barbara, California. He graduated from Brooks in 1980.

At Brooks Institute, Tom met Vicky. They were married a couple of years later and became Kirkendall-Spring Photographers, specializing in landscapes, nature's wonders, and occasional forays into action sports. While building up their catalog, they produced numerous guidebooks to their favorite sports: bicycling, skiing, and hiking. When their image numbers topped the 10,000 mark, they weaned themselves out of guidebooks and concentrated on photographing our beautiful country and building up their business.

Tom and Vicky live in western Washington near their two grown children.

Vicky Spring was born in Seattle in 1953 and helped out with the family photography business in her youth. She attended the University of Washington and graduated in 1975, then spent the next two years in the Peace Corps teaching math in the Central African Republic. Back home in Seattle, she worked a couple of years at REI just for fun, then packed her worldly possessions—a bike, her skis, and her climbing gear—into her Datsun and headed south to Santa Barbara, California, to attend Brooks Institute of Photography.

At Brooks Institute, Vicky met Tom. They were married a couple of years later, and became Kirkendall-Spring Photographers, specializing in landscapes, nature's wonders, and occasional forays into action sports. While building up their catalog, they produced numerous guidebooks to their favorite sports: bicycling, skiing, and hiking. When their image numbers topped the 10,000 mark, they weaned themselves out of guidebooks and concentrated on photographing our beautiful country and building up their business.

Tom and Vicky live in western Washington near their two grown children.

Pete Zaidel is a landscape photographer whose fascination with the natural world has been the driving force behind his photographic pursuits since picking up his first camera. From his first visit nearly 15 years ago, Olympic National Park has been a favorite subject for Pete's photos. He is immensely grateful for every opportunity to explore a new corner of the park and is overjoyed to share his love of Olympic National Park with readers.