Holding a deep appreciation of the natural environment, Jim Oltersdorf had set an early direction as a youth to promote the highest quality of photographic work possible. As early as eleven years of age, Jim would scramble up towering trees to take pictures.

Today as a pilot, he uses airplanes to reach even higher but it would not be uncommon on any given day to find him in the trees, either. Jim specializes in creating photographic high-risk & extreme imagery which of course, involves highly specialized formal training and experience.

Highly acclaimed as an aviation photographer/author for the nation’s largest pilot magazines, his well-rounded talents also have taken him to the bottom of the oceans in both Australia's Great Barrier Reef and The Pacific. He's a graduate of the College of Oceaneering and holds a certificate in air-mixed gas deep underwater diving as well as advanced certificates in open water scuba diving.

Along with his work in the extreme high-risk areas of photography, Oltersdorf is widely known for his photography in ornithology and mammals. Jim was also licensed to care for raptors such as the noble eagles of the United States...

Mr. Oltersdorf also represents some of the largest companies in the nation with emphasis in creating on-location product photography in the wilds of the Yukon and Alaska. Jim resides on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and working on future projects involving photographing in Africa, an ABC special on Eskimo whaling in the far reaches of the ice flows in the Artic and then a major shoot in Costa Rica's jungles.