Award-winning photographer Dietmar Krueger was born and raised in Berlin, Germany. His lifelong passion began at the age of twelve when his parents gave him a Zeiss Ikon box camera.

In February 1984, Dietmar came to the Southwest for a three-month expedition to capture images of historic mining towns. Taking photographs of the abandoned structures of Bodie, and traveling on to other locations in California and the Southwest, Dietmar realized his true home was the United States, specifically the west coast. It was also during this trip that he saw Mono Lake and Death Valley for the first time and set about capturing their natural beauty.

Over the years, Dietmar's work has been featured in gallery shows in Bolinas, San Francisco and Solvang, California, in Newport, Oregon, and Orlando, Florida, and now at Riverine Gallery here in Wheeler. Since 1986, he has been conducting workshops and photo expeditions, sharing his expertise and knowledge with other photographers. Dietmar's study of photography began all those years ago at the age of twelve in postwar Berlin and has continued to expand as he stays current with today's latest photographic technology. Dietmar currently resides in Manzanita, Oregon, where he and his wife Stephanie opened Salt and Paper; and where he continues to operate "dstudio-images."

In addition to photographic expeditions, Dietmar's current work includes studio photography, digital photo restoration, graphic design, and custom printing. The Zeiss Ikon he received in his youth is still a proud member of his vintage camera collection, and remains fully functional.