WILLIAM ABBOTT, has had a love affair with his photography for over thirty years.
Abbott's photographic expertise ranges from architecure, portraits, advertising, catalogs, fashion, to photo essays.

Abbott's photographic expertise is artistically enhanced with years of art training. With this additional "arts perspective", he is able to create the proper setting to stage a dramatic photographs be it a portrait or land scape. Abbott lived on and photographed the Monterey Peninsula, (California) for years.

By way of background, Abbott began his art and photography studies in the late 1960's. This training gave him a solid foundation to launch a successful career in photography. Abbott trained at: the Laguna School of Art and Design (Laguna Beach, CA) and Choinard's (Los Angeles, CA) chose a major in Fine Art and a minor in photography, respectively; then the Art Academy and the San Francisco Art Institute (San Francisco, CA) concentrated on a photography major.

In 1971, before concluding his studies at the Art Academy in San Francisco, Abbott experienced a photographic bicycle tour from Montreal, Canada to Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was the "leader" of  ten teenagers, photographing along the way, documenting their travels. Abbott took from this experience to teach photography fundamentals to group.

After owning and operating Abbott Graphic & Art Supply (otherwise known as "AGAS") in New Hope, Pennsylvania 1982-1984. Abbott took time to travel extensively through the United States shooting photographs of people and various American landscapes as he went. During these travels, he became keenly aware of what we Americans what we discard as garbage. As such, Abbott witnessed our littered American landscape and it moved him to shoot a series on "What Man Throws Away", a photographic series (still in the works, as there seems to be no end to it) of what we so freely dismiss as rubbish without realizing how such actions hurt our !and.

Having enjoyed and learned from his photographic tour of the United States, in 1985 Abbott set off to Europe and spent several months traveling throughout Belgium, England, France, Germany, Holland and Switzerland to photograph Europe's countryside and citizenry.

Abbott's last long photography outing, took him to Alaska in 1989. (anything over 3 months is long).
One of his most favorite places to photograph is the "Dunes" in Death Valley, last date there was May of 2006 for a week. Point Lobos on the Monterey Peninsula is also one of his favorite place on in North America "I's as if GOD reached out and put this place (Point Pobos) here, just for photographer's".

At the current time Abbott is working on two to three series at a time. one of his latest series has been named "Home Alone", where over the years he has photograph, many things in his and other people houses, you know "just stuff hanging around". One of his favorite series is Martini Glasses, and being a Martini drinker has helped this series along. Abbott has collected many different kind of martini glasses, photographing the pouring of liquids into different kinds of Martini glasses. And then you must drink it as it's a waste to waste any good Vodka, and he only uses "real" vodka to get the right feeling (let alone the right taste).
One of the other series is the female nude, as he feels the female body is one of the most beautiful subjects he has photographed. Abbott also feels that woman in their 40's have a lot to offer as photographic subjects, "Woman in their 40's, (most) who have come to know themselves as who they are and like themselfs".   Portraits of them not only give them more self of steam, but also they see just how beautiful they are.

Each of these unique photographic adventures has provided Abbott with a strong sense of the essence of these countries the people he encountered. Abbott's desire to "travel about this country with his camera" is no less compelling, as he believes the people that inhabit our county are special and worthy of being celebrated for who they are and what they do. And has started the second limited edition of his book, entitled "We Are All outlaws in The Mind" (a book of photographs and a few words), the "few words" are as Abbott put's it, "just stuff, a poem or two, thoughts of where I was and what I saw when I was there", "nothing more, nothing less, just a few words", "all from the heart". His limited editions are for 100 books at a time, as he puts each one together by hand, signs each one. Look for this updated edition around the late part of 2007.  (if you have an insterest in purchasing one of the copies  that will be available, please contact Abbott for information)

Abbott's love of photography and the work he has produced over the years has garnered him several awards in the United States and abroad. His work has also sold in galleries in the United States, Europe and Japan.