Photographer: Steve Zmak

Steve Zmak captures the essence of California and the West through photography that speaks to the soul. He’s had a camera in his hands and B&W photography in his heart since elementary school. He’s lived in the coastal regions of California throughout his life from San Diego to the Monterey Bay, and is an environmental activist with the same chapter of the Sierra Club that was founded by Ansel Adams.

Once a film shooter, Zmak is almost entirely digital now, and shoots both color and B&W (including infrared) with an emphasis on abstract, aerial, landscape and nature photography. Zmak’s primary influences come from Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, John Sexton, Richard Garrod, and William Giles for his B&W work, and Galen Rowell, Al Weber, David Gubernick and Andy Goldsworthy for his color. His latest portfolio, Expressions of Infinity, uses photography to tell a science fiction story about Earth’s natural history and the lost galaxy where its life originated.

In 2022, Zmak was the third place Photographer of the Year with the B&W Spider Awards with a first place in Nature, received a second place in Nature with the International Color Awards, and a People’s Choice Award from B+W Magazine in Seascapes.

Zmak is the producer and host of the TV show, West Coast Focus, a 1-hour monthly panel discussion about photography in the Monterey area. The program includes distinguished guest photographers, recorded interviews and documentaries, and at least 100 photos per episode.