Gary "Zolle" Stone has been located in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area since 1996, but was born & raised in Louisiana. Moving to New Delhi, India, with his parents just after entering high school, his love for art & photography grew exponentially with art instruction from Dorothy Rahman, at the American International School. She continued to be a strong artistic influence until his graduation. During his four years in India he photographed a wide variety of subjects, from village and city scenes to the Taj Mahal, and though just a teenager, felt that he had captured on film a small part of the character of the people, and unique beauty of the scenery and architecture of India.
Following graduation he traveled throughout India, Yugoslavia, and other European points, and attended college at Franklin College, Lugano, Switzerland, where he lived for two years. After leaving Switzerland he returned to the U.S. and attended Windham College, Putney, Vermont, with a split Art/Language major, after which he traveled to East Africa in 1974 and was based out of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. During this time he went on various photographic adventures to several game preserves (Mikumi, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha), and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. After returning to the U.S.A. he began work in construction, then worked in offshore oil drilling for five years, as a roughneck and driller, taking industrial and landscape photographs as a hobby. Upon moving to Georgia he was given a digital camera as a birthday present, which opened a new artistic world. As an art student in college, and an artist at heart, he had always felt the need to be creative, but was never satisfied with his technical ability. This first digital camera allowed him to finally discover the medium where creative ideas and love of color, coupled with newly developed expertise in this digital medium, allowed him to create unique images only previously conceived.
Since 2001 he has been professionally photographing weddings, events, families and children, and enjoys the long-term relationships developed, over the years, with the growing families and children. He also has done extensive photography for new models, and most recently extensive food & restaurant photography.
On the digital art side, creating a surreal image that is unlikely, or artistic rendering of everyday and common objects are recurring themes that he consistently produces, and use of the female form can also be seen in many of his works. His passion for art and photography is evident to those individuals he works with, and he states, "it is my belief that God grants all of us the ability to be good at many things, but to be best at that which we love to do. Photographic art is that to me".
Following graduation he traveled throughout India, Yugoslavia, and other European points, and attended college at Franklin College, Lugano, Switzerland, where he lived for two years. After leaving Switzerland he returned to the U.S. and attended Windham College, Putney, Vermont, with a split Art/Language major, after which he traveled to East Africa in 1974 and was based out of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. During this time he went on various photographic adventures to several game preserves (Mikumi, Ngorongoro Crater, Arusha), and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. After returning to the U.S.A. he began work in construction, then worked in offshore oil drilling for five years, as a roughneck and driller, taking industrial and landscape photographs as a hobby. Upon moving to Georgia he was given a digital camera as a birthday present, which opened a new artistic world. As an art student in college, and an artist at heart, he had always felt the need to be creative, but was never satisfied with his technical ability. This first digital camera allowed him to finally discover the medium where creative ideas and love of color, coupled with newly developed expertise in this digital medium, allowed him to create unique images only previously conceived.
Since 2001 he has been professionally photographing weddings, events, families and children, and enjoys the long-term relationships developed, over the years, with the growing families and children. He also has done extensive photography for new models, and most recently extensive food & restaurant photography.
On the digital art side, creating a surreal image that is unlikely, or artistic rendering of everyday and common objects are recurring themes that he consistently produces, and use of the female form can also be seen in many of his works. His passion for art and photography is evident to those individuals he works with, and he states, "it is my belief that God grants all of us the ability to be good at many things, but to be best at that which we love to do. Photographic art is that to me".