About John Koerner

Hello and welcome to my website :)

This website is a conglomeration of all the things that fascinate me in life, things that I feel passionate about, and/or things that I enjoy doing. What's funny is that my interests have never changed since I was a kid. I have always loved insects, spiders, and snakes ... I have always loved dogs ... and I have always loved nature and photographing nature. And thus I have turned what I love doing into a business.

As a background, I graduated UCLA in 1988 with a BA Degree in Philosophy. After I graduated, I began to philosophize that I probably should have taken a different (and more practical) major in school, as there didn't seem to be a whole lot of "real world" need for philosophers. However, one thing the art (or is it discipline?) of philosophy did teach me was the art of debate. Thus, after I graduated college, I got a job as a "litigation specialist" where I investigated injury claims and negotiated with doctors and lawyers day-in and day-out. In this capacity, I was employed by major insurance companies for over 10 years, where all I did was investigate, debate, and haggle the truth or falsity of major injury claims that people made ... ranging from the false and fraudulent all the way to the grave and fatal. Back then, I wore a suit and a tie, I used to work in a cement building in the middle of Los Angeles, and like millions of other "working stiffs" (who have gotten lost in the insanity popularly known as "civilization"), I used to spend the greatest majority of my waking life either getting ready for, driving to (or from), winding down from, or actually working for some other person/company whom I didn't even know ... and spending the vast majority of my time doing something I really didn't enjoy.

As I look back to those days, it is remains absolutely astounding to me how many people are like I used to be, people who devote almost every waking moment of their lives "working at a job" doing something they don't like doing, for somebody they don't even know, all so that they can receive "a paycheck." Fortunately, one day the philosopher in me made me quit my job, and right there I decided to devote 100% of my waking hours and life to doing only those things that I absolutely love. Things I would do for free. Things I would still be doing, all-day, every day, even if I won a hundred-million dollars. In short, the things I am doing now.

Almost at the same time I started working in 1988, I got my first pit bull terrier. Little did I know at the time that I would become one of the
major breeders of this great breed. By mid-1999, I was making more money selling dogs, and information about dogs, part-time than I was working
for a Fortune 500 Company full-time, so this is when I quit my job to commit to breeding a superior strain of bulldog. After 10 more years of breeding
these dogs exclusively, I had enough. While I will always be thankful for all the wonderful dogs I have had, and created, the enormous responsibility
of caring for over 80 dogs, all-day, everyday, had taken its toll. In 2008, I sold out most of my stock, down to about 10-15 dogs, and have given
myself a much-needed break. Having 10-15 dogs might seem like a lot of dogs to some, but compared the volume I am used to, my 50 acres of
property seems almost bare. I still enjoy my dogs, but having so many meant that I could never take a vacation. Rather than breeding dogs, I now
earn most of my living by selling a book on breeding and raising sporting dogs entitled, The Dog Owner's Little Black Book, and you are welcome
to read the HUNDREDS of "testimonials" this material has generated from sporting dog owners and breeders all over the world. In addition, I
have also developed some wonderful new herbal-medicinal products for dogs under the brand name Nature's MagicŽ. These products are
likewise excellent, competing with (and providing a better value than) such household names as Adams, Cut-Heal, and Nu-Stock. Moreover,
I likewise have put together a few DVDs on dog breeding and animal husbandry that will give you decades of experience in a few hours of
time spent. So, if you are a dog owner, you might want to read some deep insight on feeding and breeding dogs optimally, and you might want to
try my products, as they are backed by more than 20 years of intensive dog ownership and knowledge from a top breeder of world class dogs.

Well, all this new-found freedom has given me a lot of time to pursue my other interests in life also :). I have always enjoyed photography,
and as I have had more time to pursue this passion of mine, this interest has taken off into yet another business venture, now that I have
more time to devote to it. There simply is no greater joy for me than getting out into nature and capturing the beauty I see, forever, in
my camera. They say "a picture's worth a thousand words, and I have taken thousands of pictures :). My interest in photography began
in grade school; however, my "serious" interest bloomed in 2007, when I began photographing butterflies in TN for a hobby, which transferred
to Florida when I moved there in 2008. I upgraded my equipment to a professional level, and since that time I have (for fun) created a butterfly
website that represents my Butterfly Collection, but I have also started taking images that are nice enough to offer for sale to the public.
In this capacity, I have generated a series of Nature Calendars, and I have also captured some truly stellar images worthy of being called
Fine Art Photography. These images can be purchased to enhance your home/office or they can be licensed for use in nature books,
calendars, or for other forms of publication. For particulars, you can email me via the link below to discuss the form and volume of photos
that will fit your needs or desires.

I travel all over the State of Florida with my girlfriend (Tina) to capture my images. Unlike typical "working couples," who only see each other in the morning before
they go to work, and after they get home from work, my girlfriend and I get to enjoy our time together all-day, everyday, all throughout the year. She is an artist,
painter, she designs her own line of jeans, and she also has her own product line of "Earthly Delights" bath & beauty products for women. She has her own web-
site that you can visit: Fine Art by T. So if your wife or girlfriend would be interested in a really glamorous and fashionable pair of designer jeans, or if she
would like to try some wholesome and natural bath & beauty products, check out T's website for particulars. Tina is not only an artist, a designer, and a wonderful
homemaker, who not only grows most of our vegetables ... who prepares all our meals from scratch ... and who makes her own jams, jellies, and even our soaps
and shampoos ... but she is a great friend as well, who enhances my travels in so many ways that it would be impossible to imagine doing this without her. This year,
we have plans to visit every National Park in the State of Florida, as well as other remote and undesignated regions. Along our travels, I photograph everything
from landscapes, to butterflies, to fungi, to reptiles and amphibians, to insects and spiders, to flowers, to the incredible diversity of scenery that Florida offers
that it is simply impossible to describe in words ... which is why I leave it up to all of these wonderful photographs to describe it all for me in much more detail :)

One of the aspects of Florida that I am trying to capture is the incredible diversity of its landscapes and ecosystems. Many
people view Florida as a land of beaches and Everglades, a tropical haven, but although this is true in some areas, in others
it is the opposite of the truth. The regions of the Florida Panhandle are as different from the regions surrounding Miami as are
the regions from central Ocala. Part of the majesty and appeal of Florida (like California) is how incredibly different one end of
the state is from another, which differences I am trying to capture on film. (Well, digitally :). I have an ultimate goal of putting
together a book that celebrates these differences and which, not incidentally, shows the vastly different selection of wildlife that
is found in each region. As a person travels even a hundred miles down the road in Florida, not only is the terrain different but
so too is the diversity and species of wildlife. What is abundant and teaming in one area is completely absent in another.

Among the subjects that interest me the most are the incredible diversity or insects and spiders, as well as reptiles and amphibians. It could properly be said that
Florida is THE mecca for the reptile trade in the USA, and it is home to more species of spider and praying mantis than any other state in the union. Since my first
pets as a kid were praying mantids and black widow spiders, I consider myself to be a "kid in a candy store" being surrounded by such incredible diversity of these
kinds of animals ... but now that I am in my mid-40s I take the blessing of being surrounded by these incredible animals much more seriously. It is a sad fact of
life that the rapid "devolpment" in Florida is destroying the natural landscapes and ecosystems at an alarming rate, with many species becoming endangered and
threatened along the way. So not only do I try to photograph every possible species I come across, wherever possible, but I am taking these photos and compil-
ing a detailed book on their descriptions, their range distributions, as well as their (little-known) contributions to what make Florida so beautiful. I also breed
and sell non-threatened species via yet another business of mine called Exotic Oddities. Many of the species I work with I release back into the environment,
making sure they get a good start on life. Other species are so common that they can be sold (responsibly) and have their species ensured via the captive
propagation efforts of serious collectors. Many species of arthropod and reptile endemic to Florida are rare and highly-sought-after by fanciers in other areas
of the world, and so I offer these for sale to the fanciers of "alternative pets" as well as to many scientists who study their ecology and behavior.

Another interest I have taken up is that of photgraphing flowers, in particular Florida wildflowers. If you stop and think of it, Florida got its very
name from flowers: FLORID-A (which essentially means "flowery" or "replete with flowers"). It is a fact that Florida has over 3,500 species
of native wildflower, making it home to more diverse species of wildflower than virtually any state in the union also. As I have traveled and taken
photos of the multitude of various species I have encountered, I have bought several books to assist me in my being able to identify them properly.
As I have looked through the various books that have been offered, I have noticed two things: (1) many of the photographs are terrible and don't
really show enough detail to assist with identification, and (2) the most species described in any 'one' text is 1,250, which means that more than
2/3rds of the existing species are left unillustrated and undescribed. Well, as they say, "If you want something done right, you have to do it
yourself," and so that is yet another goal of mine, which is compiling a book of "Florida Wildflowers" that has clearer pictures, and comprises
a broader and more diverse array of specimens, than any other book currently offered in print. My target number will be 2,500 species described,
and my secondary goal is to make sure each specimen is photographed perfectly, from many different angles, to let there be no doubt or
ambiguity as to its ID. This will probably take a few years to put together, but it sure will be fun to do every step of the way. In the meantime,
I offer for sale several Fine Art photos of some of the select images I have taken of Florida's beautiful wildflowers to enhance your home.

All of this traveling I do is very time-consuming and (it can be) very expensive. With the thousands of dollars I have tied-up in photography equipment, the
thousands I have tied-up in in publishing software, books, miscellaneous equipment, etc., etc. Living my dream life can get pretty expensive. But it is most
definitely worth the time and effort, and there is nothing like the ride home from a long day's "work" out there surrounded all day by the glory of one of our
country's most beautiful and diverse states. With the top down in the convertible, and holding my girl's hand, we sit for hours on the way back home, talking
about all the wonderful sights and creatures we've seen, and then getting to re-live it all again when we get home and go over all the wonderful images we took.
It isn't always fun & games, with the enormous amount of flies, fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and biting insects we've encountered on our ventures, but every bit of
hardship and toil we've faced is forgotten the moment we capture yet another increbile photo or document yet another fascinating creature we come across.

This new spring and summer offer us yet another warm and wonderful opportunity for adventure. The road ahead is crystal clear and full of the infinite
magic of possibility. If your working life is such that you can't afford the luxury of getting enough time out in the wild for yourself ... or if you simply
would like to take "a piece of Florida" home with you ... go ahead and purchase one of my beautiful photos, calendars, or even one of the beautiful
animals I am offering for sale. I would also be willing to sell both the seeds as well as grown specimens of any (non-threatened) Florida wildflower,
as I have received several requests from people wanting to know if I would do so. The answer is "yes," so long as there are no laws against doing so
with the particular species in which you are interested. But what I mostly enjoy selling are the brilliant "captured moments" of Florida's enchanting
natural wildlife on print. A beautiful photo requires no "care" or maintenance and it will last you a lifetime. So if you see any image I have to offer
that would brighten your day to have hanging on your wall in your home or office, having it sent to you is just a click of a mouse away, and I truly
hope you derive as much enjoyment viewing it as I enjoyed in capturing it. For that is what it's all about, ultimately, is sharing moments. God Bless.

Email:

John A. Koerner II