Del Hope

Del was born and raised in Colorado, living his childhood years in Fort Collins and Estes Park. His professional career consisted of 36 years in aviation as a pilot in the Air Force and with the Federal Aviation Administration in the air traffic control field. During this time he became interested in photography and established a part time commercial photography business. Del took early retirement in 1995 and returned to Loveland, Colorado to continue pursuing his photographic interests.

Del instructed at the Colorado School of Photography for two years. He has also enjoyed teaching photography to grade school children. His commercial photography business includes nature, industrial, sculpture, portraiture, and fine art photography. He works in black and white as well as color. His playful attitude and ability to help clients relax, captures their true personality on film. Del has been photographing models of all ages for the last few years. Models seek him especially for his ability to create high fashion images for their portfolios and web sites. Photographing high school seniors is his newest venture.

A compact disk produced in Nashville selected eight of Del's images exclusively for one album. An especially exciting commission that he experienced involved flying in formation with a deaf pilot. His photograph was the cover image on Deaf Life magazine. His fine art photography hangs in businesses and homes in the US, Australia and in Japan.

Some competitions that Del has been successful in are the Oregon State Fair, the Thompson Valley Art League, Lewisville Art Gallery and the Business of Art Center in Manitou Springs. He won second place in the portrait division at the Hays Kansas 2000 five-state photography competition. Del is past president of the Loveland Camera Club and was active in an Oregon camera club.