MIKE WHYE
USA

Mike Whye is a rarity in that he works as a writer-photographer, a double-barreled occupation in which few excel. As a writer, he has written for various publications such as the Des Moines Register and Omaha Newspapers; the Iowan and Home & Away magazines and since 2001, has written two guidebooks about Iowa. As a photographer, his works have been used by local, regional and national publications, a variety of books, calendars, informational literature, state and federal agencies and state tourism departments; he has also exhibited his works in fine art galleries in the Upper Midwest. After working as a reporter and editor on the staff of an Omaha newspaper and then directing the publications and public relations of a 150-person design firm, Mike went on his own in 1983 as a full-time freelance writer-photographer. Since that time, he has experienced assignments and trips in the sub-zero colds on northern Minnesota lakes, the warm Pacific beaches of southern Mexico, the windswept cliffs of western Ireland and out on the plains and farm fields of Iowa and Nebraska. Wherever he has worked, Mike has earned praise from editors, photo-editors and those people he has met along the way as he worked on his assignments as one of the more personable writer-photographers they have met and one who has shown a genuine interest in their projects and stories.

Among his professional accomplishments are serving four years as president of the Midwest Travel Writers Association (the oldest association of professional journalists in the United States); earning MTWA's top award, the Mark Twain, four times for excellence in photo-journalism; and being named to "Who's Who in Advertising" and being selected by Industrial Photography magazine (now Photo Design) twice as being among the top ten industrial photographers in the United States. He was also selected as the only photographer aside from the White House photographer to accompany President Bill Clinton during his December 2000 visit to the Great River Road Archway in Kearney, Neb. Although Mike usually supplies articles and photographs as a package with his assignments, he also has worked solely as a writer on some projects and as a photographer on others. Lately he has been engaged in various projects involving the bicentennial celebrations in Iowa and Nebraska related to the 1804-6 expedition led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Mike has actively been involved in giving workshops and seminars about photography and writing and has served as a consultant to Western Iowa Tourism Region and the Omaha (Neb.) Convention and Tourism Bureau. Besides the above work, Mike has been raising a family of two sons and a daughter with his wife, Dorie; helping with Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and various civic projects; and, on the home front, helping to tend the family's cat, dog, hamster, hermit crabs and, depending on the season, a garter snake or two. Mike's portrait by Meredith, his daughter.