Lance Varnell started working in the darkroom at the age of 13 when his father offered him his first part time job. While growing up in Indianapolis Lance earned a living photographing a variety of subjects. Weekends were just extra time to get out of town and shoot more pictures. The back roads and rural scenes of his home state soon became a favorite subject.

"I would go out without a map and just drive all day and try to get lost."

Somewhere along the way, the State Parks and National Forests in Indiana became his destinations of choice.

"I would go to a new park or stumble across a trailhead parking area in the Hoosier National Forest. I started collecting all these trail maps. My weekend trips became better planned day hikes and then I started getting into some short backpacking trips"

Lance's weekend trips started to take him as far away as the Smoky Mountains and other natural areas in the region. Landscape photography was quickly becoming his passion. Traveling on foot gave him time to slow down and become much more involved in the subject.

"I started to discover all these miles of trails waiting to be hiked. To me, they were just little roads that took a lot longer to explore. I wanted to see them all."

In 1992, Lance moved to Texas. The states varied terrain and open spaces provided endless photographic opportunities.

"I don't know what it was about the move to Texas. I just wanted to get out and see as much as I could. I really got busy when I got to Texas."

Lance continued to shoot commercially in Houston. In August of 2003, he made the decision to make a full time career from his landscape photography. Lance continues to travel the country shooting landscapes from the wild places he loves. He has traveled to every corner of the U.S. yet specializes in images of the Texas landscape. Lance's photos are published in national and regional publications including magazines such as Texas Parks & Wildlife Magazine, Texas Highways and National Geographic Adventure.

"Living in Houston I see first hand wildlife habitat lost every day in the gulf coast area. I hope that my photography can help people see the beauty and fragile ecosystems that exist in the places where they live. If my images make even a few people take a second look at areas that they may have taken for granted, then I've succeeded."