Jeffrey Stoner
photography
When Jeffrey Stoner was young, his family’s camera was only used for special occasions. Stoner was fascinated by the camera for two reasons; it was used to record special moments and more importantly to a five year old, the flashbulb made a loud popping sound and then sizzled as it cooled. He would beg to be allowed to take pictures but since film was expensive he was rarely allowed to do so.
Stoner was eight years old when he first saw an image he wanted to make.
“I went outside after an ice storm and there was a tree just outside the door covered with ice. I stood under the tree and looked up into the glistening branches and thought – I want to make this image! It was both the beauty of the scene and the joy I felt that I wanted to capture.”
Stoner received his first camera when he was ten years old and began a lifetime of making images. His desire to capture not only what he was seeing but also what he was feeling began when he looked up into that ice covered tree.
Stoner participates in solo and group shows, developed and taught a six-week photography workshop for the Art Association of Harrisburg, and approached additional galleries who began to carry his work.
His job as Vice President of Senior Living Services for CompleteHealthCare Resources of Dresher, Pennsylvania, involved a lot of travel so left little time for photography. Stoner loved his job and the owners of the company were fantastic, but he really wanted to try making photography his fulltime business.
“After a lot of thought and soul-searching my wife and I decided to move from Pennsylvania to northeast Tennessee. This region is filled with mile-high mountains and beautiful valleys and we thought it would be the best location to chase the dream.”
