Ray Pfortner has been photographing professionally for over 25 years, although primarily for teaching and commercial stock. His stock images have been published widely in books and advertising as well as in magazines worldwide, including Audubon, Natural History, GEO (Germany), SINRA (Japan), and Terre Sauvage (France). His focus for stock has always been on environmental issues from hazardous waste and air pollution to land use and recycling.

A native of New York City, Ray has had one-man shows there, including one at the Wave Hill Center for the Arts in Riverdale. Six years ago, Ray and his wife, Nancy Wing, moved to Vashon Island, and he has been concentrating on photographing his new island home ever since. He has released a line of Vashon Island note cards and most recently postcards as well. His images often appear in Island publications, and have graced the cover of all but one issue of Destination Vashon.

Ray's fine arts print work has grown considerably on Vashon, and he exhibits his work frequently on Vashon and off. In 1998, Ray was one of five Commissioned Artists (and the only photographer) selected annually by Vashon Allied Arts, the oldest community arts organization in the State of Washington. He exhibits frequently at the Heron's Nest and at the Silverwood Gallery on Vashon. In June 1996, he was the guest curator for and a participant in the first group photography show at Vashon's Blue Heron Gallery.

In 2000, Ray's Polaroid Emulsion Transfer image was one of 35 images selected for the AKA Exhibit shown at the Benham Gallery in Seattle. In 1999, his image was selected as one of the top 10 in the annual Alaska Airlines photography contest. Starting in 1997, Ray's photographs have been included in each of the juried Earth Day Environmental Exhibits held in Seattle.

Ray frequently donates his images to support Vashon Island organizations like the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust, Vashon Audubon, Vashon Park District, Friends of Point Robinson and Island Landmarks. For summer and fall 2000, Ray is documenting the agriculture - old and new - on Vashon Island under a King Country grant. In 1998, he was awarded an "Above and Beyond the Call of Duty" Award by the Land Trust.

In addition to photographing, Ray teaches photography - for an annual Sierra Club national educator's workshop, for Vashon Allied Arts, and for Vashon's public schools. And he lectures on his photography for the Vashon Audubon and Land Trust and on historical photography for Island Landmarks.

Ray works as a Magazine and Publisher Liaison for the nature photographer, Art Wolfe. His responsibilities include marketing stories to magazines, many business matters including most contracts, and coordinating the publication of Art's books. Ray has handled Art's last 25 books. He has spent the last year as the Executive Editor on Art's first self-published book, The Living Wild (Wildlands Press, Seattle: September 2000).

Before joining Art Wolfe, Inc., Ray worked as a stock photography consultant to wildlife photographer Kennan Ward and at Minden Pictures, a stock photography agency representing the work of 5 National Geographic nature photographers. He was also Vice-President and Partner at Peter Arnold, Inc. for 10 years, a stock agency specializing in nature, science and medicine, which continues to handle Ray's stock photography. Before that, Ray had a 12-year career in government with the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, the NYC Environmental Protection Administration, and the NYC Parks Department.

Ray holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Management from Duke University's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Yale University.