Debbie Hooper always loves a new challenge. She has commissioned custom prints in color, black & white and sepia. Tries new fine art papers, canvas, premium luster, enhanced matte, whatever. She aims to please. From hanging out the plane window to chasing alligators on St. Vincent Island, she is after those one of a kind shots.  In 2008 she and Jon went to Costa Rica for their 35th wedding anniversary and Jon talked her into flying  in an ultralight with Pedro.  So of course she got some cool beach shots then back over the muddy river she captured some 21 foot long crocodiles.

She has become a bird watcher by default just to get whatever bird she sees with her 400 mm stabilized zoom lens. This spring she photographed three baby eagles in one nest near the Indian Pass Raw Bar.  That was a first.  She had seen one and two but never more in one nest.  So that was a real treat to see.

She provides photography for websites, brochures, billboards, local magazines and newspapers. Plus she has her own line of postcards and seven series of note cards sold in stores from Carrabelle, Fl., St. George Island to Mexico Beach.

She has her camera with her wherever she goes and when she does not, she gets questioned as to where it is.

Local events such as the Kids Win Fishing Tournament, parades and the Halloween Costume contest are treats for her and the kids to see their pictures on her new online galleries, where photos can be purchased from the storefront shopping window.  Go to the banner on her home page of www.joebay.com  that says view online galleries.

She also schedules beach portraits any time of the year.  Families love the fun they have on her shoots.  See samples.

As a kid she used to make cards for her family members and her father thought she had real talent. It took 40 years for her to realize it, too. First she had to teach some school, direct some day camps and raise two wonderful children, Kelly and David.

Despina Williams from The Star wrote "Aerial Photographer Makes PAPA Proud". That was back in 2006.  Since then Debbie has been a judge for  the annual PAPA (International Professional Aerial Photography Association) aerial photography contest.  Being trained as a judge has taught her how to take better photographs herself.  Photography, like any passion, is a learning experience.  She enters contests, belongs to a local group of photographers called The Guild and provides photos for the local Must See Magazine, The Star, and fund raisers such as the Bow Wow Bash for the St. Joseph Bay Humane Society and the Gulf County Chamber’s Ghosts on the Coast.  She also contributed and designed her Trinity church directory in Apalachicola.

She is working on new postcards for next spring, waiting for those nice crisp fall and winter days to get aerials of the cape, lighthouses, Apalachicola, Mexico Beach, Carrabelle, and St. George Island. 

Thank you for reading this.  “From my eyes to yours ...aren’t we lucky to be here?”  Debbie Hooper