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Donald M. Jones of Great Gray Imagery has been a full-time Wildlife Photographer for the past 25 years. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 10 seasons following college (B.S.’ Forestry and Finance) before his Photography career. It was during those years that he honed his skills and began selling images to outdoor publications around the country.

With the blessing’s of his wife, he went full time and didn’t look back. Donald M. Jones’ coverage spans the North American continent rather than the entire planet, as he thought it was more important to be a good husband and father than a globe trotter – he has no regrets…

Jones’ specialty is mammals, though birds are very close to his heart – just tougher to make a living with. All his subjects are wild – no Game Farms, pets or zoo animals. Jones’ clients are varied from most all the larger Natural History and sporting magazines to calendars, advertising companies, etc. His 12th book “Wild Montana” was just released this past March.

Q&A with Donald M. Jones

Q1: How would you describe the aesthetic of your website in three words?

DMJ: Simple – Clean – Vibrant

Q2: How often do you typically update your website?

DMJ: I update my “Recent Adventures” Portfolio about every 6-8 weeks. I add new images to my existing portfolios as I produce images that I feel will bolster a particular portfolio.

Q3: How do you choose the photos that you display on your homepage?

DMJ: My homepage is simple. The name of my business is “Great Gray Imagery” Named after the largest Owl in North America. As a kid I always wanted to see a Great Gray Owl, I was fascinated by them so I named my business after them – yet I still had never seen one. Time has past and I have had the opportunity to spend a good deal of time with them (I will this weekend as a matter of fact) so what better homepage image than a full frontal of the “Gray Ghost” the Great Gray Owl.

Q4: What is your favorite feature of liveBooks?

DMJ: The uploading of new images is very simple and having the ability to design from my office desktop, awesome.

Q5:What’s one piece of advice you’d offer to someone designing their website?

DMJ: I’ll comment on what I know and that’s Wildlife. If you are showcasing portfolios on a certain species be sure you show your depth of your coverage. I see too many sites where an individual wants to showcase a certain species, i.e. Elk – yet there coverage is all taken from a two week period once a year – I feel you don’t want a portfolio to look like you shot it over the holiday week. You want to have your perspective clients to say “if he has this, this, this and that, what else might he have.” I find it’s better to have 10 subjects done well than 100 subjects superficially done.

I find my website to critically important to those new clients but it’s my searchable database through my website that is the gift that keeps on giving with old and new clients alike. Let your website be a sampling of who you are but let those that care to review your entire library (or nearly entire library…) at there whim day or night.

See more from Donald M. Jones here: https://www.donaldmjones.com/