Award winning photographer Steve Snyder grew up on a small farm outside of Mount Vernon, MO. It was there he started to really study and look at how light played on objects and shapes, created shadows, forms and textures, and how they all worked together. As a child he took many trips to his grandparents house south of Ava, MO, spending a lot of time exploring the mountains and scenery of the Ozarks. Today he resides in Republic, MO using SW Missouri for his homebase.
In high school he excelled in art and decided that his life path needed to follow art. He attended Drury University majoring in Studio Art with emphasis in Graphic Design and Illustration. Following college Steve went to work for newspapers, printing companies and in corporate marketing departments as an award winning graphic designer.
His career as a designer gave him the opportunity to work daily in studio environments with commercial photographers. This time allowed him to rediscover his love of photography and art. His career as a designer also gave him the opportunity to learn and use many of the latest technologies available while incorporating them into his photography.
This career path eventually led to his present career as a commercial and art photographer, creating his business, Images of the Ozarks, Photography by Steve Snyder, in 2006. In recent years Steve has reduced his commercial workload and only works directly with one client as their Marketing Photographer. This has allowed him more time to spend growing his art. He’s been fortunate to have art pieces residing in collections around the US and Europe and has received several awards at photography shows around the US. In 2019 Steve received the “2019 Individual Artist” award from the Missouri Arts Council, at the Missouri State Capitol, for his work in the arts. Also in the fall of 2019 he received an Ozzie Award for Regional Impact from the Springfield Regional Arts Council, Springfield, MO for his work in the arts.
Steve is a founding member of the Mount Vernon Regional Arts Council, which has been promoting the arts in Mount Vernon, MO since 2008. He was assistant director of MVRAC in 2013 when they received the “Arts Organization” award from the Missouri Arts Council in Jefferson City, MO.
Throughout his photography career he’s been able to meet and learn from amazing artists and photographers, many becoming his mentors and friends. Without them he would never be where he is today. His path in the arts has allowed him in recent years to partner with many organizations on photography projects. Organizations such as the Kansas City Symphony and the Smithsonian.
Pursuing art since an early age I have constantly tried to capture the beauty I see all around me in everyday life. Whether in the country or in the city, art is all around us, all we have to do is look. As time has passed my art has evolved to where I always strive for a simple quiet, a peacefulness, in my work. So much of this peacefullness can be found wherever we are if only we open our minds to it.
