Leroy Simon

My name is Leroy Simon, currently your vice president. I am 75 years old and have been married to my wife, Veronica, for 46 years.

I became interested in photography when I was in the army at the end of the Korean War.  When I got out I joined the Toledo Camera Club, and I have been active in it and other clubs since.

I have competed in international salons in the slide division where I have achieved a diamond star in nature and 3 stars in color slides. I have never had any formal education in photography, but I learned a lot from camera club activities and from reading.

I have an agent who sells some of my images, mostly of insects, for textbooks and field guides.

Some of my images can be viewed at www.visualsunlimited.com.  Click that link or you can go to that site and type “Leroy Simon” in the search box to see them. I sold my film camera 2 ½ years ago and dived into digital about the same time. Most of my photography is nature: insects, birds, and flowers. I also rear butterflies & moths, mostly the Saturnidae group.

I have made several trips to Costa Rica & Ecuador in pursuit of my hobby. When I travel there I take along a white bed sheet and a mercury vapor light to attract moths (see the sheet in gallery images).  Rather than photograph moths on the sheet, I coax them onto leaves or sticks to take my images.

My latest moth images can be seen on the internet at http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/poncholeroysimon.htm