John S. Stewart
John S. Stewart has been active in photography and media full-time since 1975. He graduated from Drury College in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts in biology and chemistry.
“I liked biology, and I was even a lab assistant for one of the professors for a couple of semesters, but I preferred photographing the fauna and flora rather than classifying and dissecting it.”
With a biology background and a love of photography, the career path seemed evident to this naïve recent college graduate. He would become a wildlife photographer, and that is what he told Angus MacDougal, the head of the photojournalism department at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, when he enrolled the following fall.
“Well,” MacDougal said, pausing only to suppress his laughter. “We don’t shoot many rock and roots around here.”
So, the career path took a turn. After graduating 1976 from the University of Missouri School of Journalism with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in photojournalism, Stewart began photographing and writing for newspapers and magazines, publications primarily about humans, a different kind of fauna than the wildlife he intended.
Editorial and commercial assignment photography has occupied his efforts since the mid-1970s as a staff photographer and later independently working for publications, including The New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, and many trade publications.
Stewart continues to market his images through stock photo agencies and is currently working on a book titled, 'LEFT eye STORIES'. The book expands on a blog by the same name that chronicled the back stories behind some of the photo assignments he carried out during his 50-year career as a photojournalist. The book is due out later in 2025.
Dora Sommers
Alicia Isadora "Dora" Sommers, originally from St. Louis, Missouri, has spent the majority of her adult life in the Ozarks. Her deep appreciation for the region's natural beauty, particularly its rivers, is complemented by her dedication to art, photography, and journalism.
After studying art in Missouri, she became a community journalist in the Ozarks, improving both her journalism and outdoor skills.
She published her first book in May, 2024. Its title, 'Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking ...Oh My!' is a nod to the fears first time campers may have trekking into the great outdoors.
The book knocks down many of those first-timer fears in its short, to-the-point confidence building style.
Currently, Sommers is documenting the region's river culture in her book, "Rivers of the Ozarks," while living and traveling with her canoe in a vintage trailer.