Frank is enjoying "mostly retirement" 11.6 miles from the high tide mark of the Pacific Ocean, on the coast of California, near Santa Barbara. He is an award-winning photojournalist...living a lifelong dream to be a professional photographer. Like a lot of photographers, Frank has been taking pictures (mostly with Nikons and Canons) for a long time - for over 50 years, in fact. He has loved shooting with Olympus, Nikon, Canon, and Fujifilm. He now shoots with a Sony A7iii, called The Beast.
This website is a collection of some of his work. The title, by the way, is meant to be a little facetious. It seems every photographer has a site titled "....photography," and, if you look up the Greek origins of the word you will find it comes from "light drawing." Light Writing sounded better.
When not on assignment for a local newspaper, Frank often takes a camera while driving the beautiful back roads and highways in the area as fast as he can. He also enjoys reading, web surfing, detailing his car, driving competitively, and spending time at the spa and pool. He is married to the former Becki Austin. They have four children, eight grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He is proud to be alcohol, drug, tobacco, and dog obsession - free.
After careers in radio & TV broadcasting and news, law enforcement, and crisis management training (at the California Specialized Training Institute - CSTI), Frank is 90% retired. The other 10% is spent shooting for Lee Enterprises Santa Maria Times, for which he shoots news and features. Lee Enterprises owns the Santa Maria Times, Lompoc Record, Adobe Press, and Santa Ynez Valley News, among other publications in his area.
In May, 2017 a photograph taken by Frank on assignment for the Lompoc Record took first place in the news photo category in the California Newspaper Publishers Association 2016 Better Newspapers Contest for "Murder Aftermath," a photo depicting the emotional impact of a murder trial.
In April, 2017 Frank was on hand at the California Association of Public Information Officials annual conference to receive the Frank Potter Cowan Crisis Communications Leader Award. The award will be given each year to the Public Information Officer and his/her team who exhibited outstanding leadership during a crisis.
This website is a collection of some of his work. The title, by the way, is meant to be a little facetious. It seems every photographer has a site titled "....photography," and, if you look up the Greek origins of the word you will find it comes from "light drawing." Light Writing sounded better.
When not on assignment for a local newspaper, Frank often takes a camera while driving the beautiful back roads and highways in the area as fast as he can. He also enjoys reading, web surfing, detailing his car, driving competitively, and spending time at the spa and pool. He is married to the former Becki Austin. They have four children, eight grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. He is proud to be alcohol, drug, tobacco, and dog obsession - free.
After careers in radio & TV broadcasting and news, law enforcement, and crisis management training (at the California Specialized Training Institute - CSTI), Frank is 90% retired. The other 10% is spent shooting for Lee Enterprises Santa Maria Times, for which he shoots news and features. Lee Enterprises owns the Santa Maria Times, Lompoc Record, Adobe Press, and Santa Ynez Valley News, among other publications in his area.
In May, 2017 a photograph taken by Frank on assignment for the Lompoc Record took first place in the news photo category in the California Newspaper Publishers Association 2016 Better Newspapers Contest for "Murder Aftermath," a photo depicting the emotional impact of a murder trial.
In April, 2017 Frank was on hand at the California Association of Public Information Officials annual conference to receive the Frank Potter Cowan Crisis Communications Leader Award. The award will be given each year to the Public Information Officer and his/her team who exhibited outstanding leadership during a crisis.
