About

A family of photographers.

It all seems to have started with my dad and namesake, Frederick A. Dudderar Sr.

Dad was a Leica man, and used his camera to photograph his world business travels during the 1970s. During trips to Japan he purchased both brother Dixon and me Nikon F2 film cameras as high school graduation presents.

Dixon graduated from Indiana University’s Ernie Pyle School of Journalism and started his career as a photojournalist for a small newspaper in Madison, Indiana. He ultimately schlepped his Nikon all over the country, including wilderness canoe trips. In 1976 Dick used his photography to document a 1,900 mile wilderness canoe expedition for the Madison Courier.

Dixon’s oldest daughter, Emily Katelyn, would also become a photojournalist with the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Press and, with her Canon in hand, has now become an accomplished wedding and family lifestyle photographer. emilyzoladz.com

My son-in-law, Matt Graf, has more recently become a good photographer. Matt has developed a love for exploring Japan and is currently studying the language. We can look forward to some great photography from Matt.

For me, as I suppose it has been for many photographers, the dawn of the full-frame, digital camera changed just about everything about photography. No longer limited by rolls of black and white and color film, the ability to shoot and creatively edit unlimited, high-resolution digital photos opened the door to a world of creativity now only limited by time and imagination. The opportunities for creativity have been further enhanced with the evolution of brilliant video cameras like the Panasonic GH5 and by drones like the DJI Mavic Pro 2 that carry cameras capable of both stunning aerial photography and videography.