Ira Meyer

Born and reared in the Bronx, New York, Ira has lived in Colorado, Great Britain, Texas, Arkansas and Northern Florida since leaving his birthplace in 1967.  And for the past 22 years he has resided a block from the beach in Southern California.  A former avid bicyclist, in 1986 his life was changed when on a training ride a bug disturbed the driver a passing speeding pick up truck, causing him to hit Ira.  This ultimately lead to his life as a photographer.

At the age of 39, the thought of photography had never crossed his mind. But his mortality was put before him in a very undeniable fashion.  A year later, his health and strength regained, he sold a small lawn maintenance business and bought a used van– with which to travel to Alaska.  As something of a total afterthought, he spent $180 on a little Fuji point and shoot camera. The trip, he thought, merited this.

Thus, his photographic journey began…

Now collected worldwide, his photographs have been published in National Geographic’s Atlas of Natural America, on the cover of the Turkish version of National Geographic’s Climate Change special edition, the cover of Yosemite National Park’s calendar, as the Nature Conservancy’s holiday card, CD and video art, in the Los Angeles Times, on several book covers and a variety of magazines including: Outdoor Photographer, ESCAPE, EARTH, Digital Photographer, ArtLife, Outdoor and Nature Photography and Petersen’s Photographic.  In 2008, Ira’s image of a dripping arch in a Greenland iceberg received the runner up award in the One Earth category of the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.  His work is also part of the permanent collections of the City of Beverly Hills, as well as Oxnard, California’s Carnegie Art Museum.

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