About John L. Dengler

John Dengler understands visuals and the power of visuals to tell stories.

John brings his experiences as a staff photojournalist at a major metropolitan newspaper, and as a graphics editor, design director, and magazine creative director at a midsize newspaper to his ability to create storytelling photographs and photo stories.

Having worked as both a photographer and as an art director, John has experienced both sides of the buyer-seller relationship and understands the needs of a designer and photographer.

Recently John left the daily grind of newspaper and magazine journalism to establish Dengler Images where he pursues his passion of photography along with his love of the outdoors.

All of John’s wildlife images are captured in the wild, not in captive situations or “game farms.” As a professional photojournalist he maintains the highest standards of showing truth with his camera. John considers the well being of an animal more important than the image and will forgo a photo if he feels that it stresses an animal or puts it at risk. His goal for photos of wildlife and wild places is to give the viewer a chance to experience these places and animals, but more importantly to be touched by them and to recognize their value and protect them.

Past published stories on the outdoors and outdoor sports have taken him from tropical rain forests in Costa Rica, to coverage of the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii, to whitewater kayaking competitions, to deep underground caves that only a handful of researchers have entered, to swamps and prairies. John has backpacked extensively in Alaska. John is just as comfortable high in the alpine tundra or at sea level kayaking in frigid Alaskan ocean waters.

John’s work has appeared in interpretive exhibits for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Flint Hills Discovery Center, National Park Service publications and websites, Organization of Tropical Studies publications, Horticulture, The St. Louis Globe-Democrat Magazine, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Missouri Life, Time, U.S. News and World Report, USA Today, Chicago Sun-Times, Midwest Motorist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Associated Press, and United Press International.

John is a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism where he majored in photojournalism. His work has been recognized with awards from the National Press Photographers Association, The Society of News Design, The Associated Press, United Press International, and the Illinois Press Photographers Association. His professional memberships include American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), Editorial Photographers (EP), and the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA).

John has been a faculty member at the world-renown documentary photography workshop, Missouri Photo Workshop, and most recently collaborated with photo editing icon Angus McDougall on their book Pacesetters in Corporate Journalism — International Harvester Magazines – reaching readers through photojournalism.

The archives of Dengler Images are being updated constantly. Please check regularly to see if there are images that meet your needs for compelling storytelling images.

John is based in Springfield, Missouri located in the Missouri Ozarks region. Where’s John now?