Internationally published wildlife photographer Vezo dies

The Green Valley resident made a career out of an intense hobby, with his photos eventually being published in big-name U.S. and international wildlife and nature magazines, in books and as fine-art prints.

Vezo, 61, died Friday on a hiking trip in the Rincon Mountains. Dorothy Vezo said her husband had been hiking with a friend, had said he felt ill, and died while they were driving out of the area.

"He died doing what he loved doing. He died with his boots on — with his camera on," she said.

"He's quite simply the best bird photographer I've ever seen," said Jack Dykinga, a well-known Tucson-based landscape photographer. Dykinga is a Pulitzer Prize winner and a former Arizona Daily Star photo editor.

"He always manages to capture peak animal behavior while still recording the most technically perfect images," Dykinga said. "His passion for protecting wildlife habitat was what really set him apart. His work to protect his beloved Madera Canyon and enlisting other photographers was accomplished with selfless humor and dedication.

"He was a friend who loved wild places. . . . He will be missed," Dykinga said by e-mail.  

Vezo probably was best known for photographing wild birds, a difficult subject — many are small and most are skittish, and when they're holding still, they're usually up in a tree, on a cliff or at some other difficult location. When they're not, they're likely moving fast.

"He had the patience. Oh man, did he have the patience," Dorothy Vezo said. "He once sat in a blind in Texas for 11 hours to get a bird picture."

Dorothy Vezo said her husband's goal was more than making excellent-quality and beautiful photographs; he wanted to convey his love for wildlife and its habitat. In the last few years, he was involved with the Defenders Committee of the Friends of Madera Canyon, and more recently he had become interested in the Rosemont Mine, being proposed for the Santa Rita Mountains. He donated photos and books to benefit nature groups.

Vezo, born in Brooklyn, got into photography when a family friend gave him a camera, Dorothy Vezo said.

He was in the printing business in New York City during much of his adult, professional life.

"But his vacations were going away and working on his passion," she said. "He loved birds, and he loved photography."

In his biography on his Web site, Vezo wrote that two trips — to Ecuador's Galapagos Islands and to Antarctica — changed his life and were the impetus to turn his passion into his profession.

"After taking those two trips, I was inspired by the thought that life is too short, and I really wanted to be out photographing wildlife and nature. I gave myself two years to market my photos while still managing my business and then went into photography full time and never looked back," Vezo wrote.

He left his job in Manhattan 11 years ago and moved to Green Valley.

Vezo's photos have been published in many prominent U.S. and European magazines, including Audubon, Discovery, Ducks Unlimited, National Geographic, National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, Outdoor Photographer, Sierra Club, Travel and Leisure, Wildbird and Wildlife Conservation. Many of his 400,000 pictures were available through photo agencies that represented him in the United States and Europe.

Vezo also led photo tours for aspiring wildlife photographers.

Dorothy Vezo said her husband was scheduled to lead a wildlife-photography tour to the Galapagos Islands today.

The Vezo family requests that any memorial donations be made to the Defenders Committee of Friends of Madera Canyon, P.O. Box 1203, Green Valley, AZ. 85622.

On the Net

To see some of Tom Vezo's work, go to his Web site: www.tomvezo.com