Milt Hawes was born in 1953 in Hartford, Connecticut.His family later moved to Raleigh, NC where he attended NC State University. He studied Communications, Art History and Theater. He spent his years as a young man photographing and backpacking in the lush and beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. He met his wife of 25 years, Deborah, on a backpacking excursion into the Linville Gorge Wilderness area. It was in that great wilderness that a passion for nature photography was born and flourished in him.

Exhibiting his characteristic fierce independence, Milt was self-taught.

 

He spent his evenings poring over books on photographic technique by the great masters Minor White, Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Paul Strand, and Edward Steichen. These were his greatest influences. He was thrilled to discover the partnership of his namesake Josiah Johnson Hawes (1808-1901) and Albert Sands Southworth of Boston. The two partners are considered to be the first great masters of photography in America. Their priceless and beautiful collections of daguerreotypes are currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the George Eastman Kodak Museum. 

     In Ansel Adams and Galen Rowell, he found kindred spirits. Like them, he recognized the sacredness of pristine wilderness areas, and the need for conservation of them. Walking silently in nature’s cathedrals, free of the cares of everyday life, one can easily draw close to God. He is well aware of the power of nature photography to inspire love for and stewardship of nature’s sacred shrines. Milt’s photographs have been utilized by the National Park Service to aid in the conservation of fragile ecosystems in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is his wish that his work will  continue to serve this vital purpose.

      Later in his life, Milt spent several summers at the Penland School of the Arts, refining his craft with world class artists Alida Fish, Yvonne Streetman and Robert C. May. The best advice, however, came from photographer and long-time friend James Labrenz, who told him "Just go out and shoot film." Milt has found this to be true, experience has been his best teacher. Winter, spring, summer or fall, every spare moment would find him in the mountains, with his cameras, lost in the joy of his craft. He was always accompanied by his wife and two sons, Milton and Thomas, who share his love of nature.

    His passion for nature photography has taken him to places of natural beauty in countries around the world, including the USA from coast to coast, Canada, Hawaii, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Spain