CHRIS AND MARY MARONA

One of the few times Chris Marona was caught without his camera taught him a lesson. He was driving out on a country road near Durango, Colorado, when he came upon a sheriff's vehicle with its emergency lights flashing. "Oh, oh, an accident," he thought, "and me without my camera."

It was not an accident, which is just as well since Chris does not like to take pictures of misfortune. The deputy was protecting a mother duck and her ducklings as they crossed the road. Still, it was a lesson. As one archeaology photographer put it, "You never know when you are going to see the mayor of your town walking down Main Avenue, buck naked, with a 600 hundred pound bear on his (or her) back. Always carry your camera wherever you go."

Chris Marona has seldom been "without camera" for the past twelve years. In that time he has photographed everything from real cowboys doing real cowboy work (He has a great sense of urgency due to the disappearance of the cowboy way of life and of the great old cowboy faces.), to classy models in fancy western garb, to scenes of nature in all of her various seasonal splendors, to wooden pots, to glass vases, to somebody's dog. Photography is what Chris Marona and his wife, Mary, live for. They own and operate Marona Photography in Durango, Colorado.

Why photography? Their answers range from "because it's fun," to "we want to catch the traditional cowboy and ranch ways of life before they die out," to "every job is a 'new world,' " to "it offers great challenge," to "it provides our lives with great diversity," to "the 'Hand of God' created the beauty of the land and He 'calls' to have it recorded."

The challenge and the diversity are certainly there to be seen. The conditions for some of the best shots may occur only once in a season--or a lifetime. The challenge is to know when to be where and when to be ready. The diversity is seen in the range of studio subjects and in the fact that nearly every aspect of the Four Corners' outdoors can be seen in their work.

Mary does the scheduling, the logistical work, the office manager work and much more. There is also Pete Campbell, formerly of Atlanta, Georgia, another all-around assistant and an able photographer, to boot.

The three work together in a harmony born of common values, interests, professionalism and objectives.

Chris Marona is the man behind the shutter. His main interest, in addition to perfection and diversity, is light in all of its complexity, splendor, ephemera and challenge. He prefers morning and evening light. As he learned in several seminars--with such masters as Dean Collins and Bruce Wolf--the way a photographer uses light can become that photographer's signature. Of course, subject, setting, background and context are each important in the over-all challenge of photography, too.

Chris was writing freelance pieces for "smaller" magazines when he was assigned a photo/essay job in Payson, Arizona. This was years ago and Chris did not even have a camera. He borrowed one. The editor liked the written part of the piece, but let Chris know--in no uncertain terms--that the photos left a great deal to be desired; that they were lousy, in fact.

Chris realized that he could expand his work opportunities by adding a photo-taking skill to his skill as a writer. He bought a camera and began to learn the artistic and skill aspects of photography. He read a number of books and he took seminars from photographers in Denver, Albuquerque, Santa Barbara, San Diego and elsewhere. He worked in a photography shop and took pictures for a local rafting company. The photography artist in him was awakened early. The photography skills developed from a life-long desire for and attention to excellence. The writing took a decided back seat, at first. Later, it became almost non-existant in his professional life. Photography became the center of his working life. By that time he and Mary were sharing their lives. Two children have come along.

Portrait and architectural photography were central to the business in the early years. Chris has had a life-long interest in architecture. He will still do portrait photography, but it is no longer an important focus or source of income. Phootgraphing architecture will probably always be in "in his blood," even when it is not a primary activity.

Perhaps some of the most demanding work they do is that which relates to fashion catalogues. Those sessions require long hours of continuous work, because models, merchandise and marketing people are all tied into the project. All of which means getting the job done as quickly as it can be done, but with the highest level of excellence.

Photographing movie stars is another difficult task. In most cases, the photo session takes place in between filming sequences. This means that perhaps in as few as ten minutes, the setting, context, lighting, and movie star have to be arranged in order to get just a few of the "right" shots. Hectic? You bet.

The list of photo credits is "longer than your arm." It includes most, if not all, of the major "western" and "cowboy" magazines, an extensive list of architecture magazines, many art magazines and even a few European magazines; just some of the genre in which their work has appeared.

Chris and Mary have a compiled a book of cowboy, ranch and nature photography which is due for release in September. The book will have about 175 photos, together with descriptive and explanatory text. It will be a large, handsome work, the kind of book that makes a great gift and a book that becomes the center of attention at informal gatherings in the home. They plan to do at least one other book as time and circumstance permit.

They are in the planning stages for the construction of a "from the ground up" studio. At present they are housed in a downtown office building, with quarters that do not provide either enough room or the facilities for modern, world-class studio photography. Ground for the studio is owned; drawings are in process; contruction should start soon.

They also plan to offer photography seminars. These will be feasible when the book is in print and when the new studio is completed. By offering seminars, Chris will be "repaying" some of the debt he has to those who, through seminars and personal attention, helped him attain his level of excellence.

Both Chris and Mary belong to the Southwest. Chris was raised on the edge of Phoenix, where most of his friends were the children of farmers and ranchers. That is where he developed his empathy for rural living and his concern for its disappearance. Mary was raised on a ranch near Evergreen, Colorado. After a successful career as a ballerina, she found Durango and Chris, the man she had dreamed about, literally.

Building the kind of business that Chris and Mary have, has allowed them to live--what is for them--an ideal life. Since "they create from those they meet," since they are living where they want to, and since each of them, singularly and together, are doing what--for now--they want to do more than anything else, they literally are having the time of their lives, each day. With all of those pluses is the added plus that they are still creating an ever-widening and deepening reputation, and--a good living.