Sequim photographer Ross Hamilton dies at age 83

SEQUIM — As one of many space’s most well-known panorama photographers, Ross Hamilton spent a lifetime on the lookout for the correct mild and moments to seize.

To associates, he encapsulated a guiding mild.

“He and his family, going generations back, have meant so much to the community,” mentioned Judy Reandeau Stipe, govt director of Sequim Museum and Arts.

“He was on the original charter board that got the museum nonprofit incorporated, and he was a bright and shining light for the things he did for the museum and the community. I personally loved him. He was just there for anyone who needed him.”

Hamilton died Feb. 10 in his Sequim residence. He was 83.

A memorial service will likely be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dungeness Community Church, 45 Eberle Lane, Sequim.

His household asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Port Angeles Symphony, Sequim Museum and Arts or Dungeness Community Church.

Hamilton’s pictures could be seen throughout the Peninsula, together with the Lodge at Sherwood Village and contained in the Sequim Museum and Arts, the place giant negatives of the Olympic Mountains dangle over the doorway.

Hamilton mentioned in 2015 he might nonetheless vividly image the primary time he noticed the Olympics.

“I came over the top of the hill in Shelton and saw those mountains and said, ‘Yes, this is where I belong,’” he mentioned.

In a 2023 interview, he mentioned he considered the Olympic Mountains as priceless jewels and that he completely loved sharing their magnificence with folks so they may higher admire the place they reside.

Life as a photographer “has been such a rewarding adventure,” Hamilton mentioned.

“It’s a beautiful world, and it was such a privilege to record it in a way that showed what it really is.”

Claus Naehrig, who was associates with Hamilton by church, mentioned whereas on hikes, Hamilton might describe all the main points of the Olympic Mountains.

“It was just a joy to have someone who knew the ins and outs of the Olympics,” he mentioned. “They were instilled in his mind.”

Hamilton additionally was identified for sharing the fantastic thing about the world by his annual calendars “The Olympic Peninsula” for two-plus a long time, and he revealed the e-book “The Olympics, a Wilderness Trilogy.”

Hamilton mentioned he would intentionally use a restricted quantity of movie to rigorously create compositions by ready for simply the correct second to push the shutter button.

“At the top of my game, it took me about a half hour to take a picture,” he mentioned.

He spent the summer season of 1966 finding out beneath Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park, which he known as the “happiest summer of his life.”

“That’s where my education really took off,” Hamilton mentioned. “I was exposed to his world, and I’ve never looked back.”

Hamilton involves Sequim

Hamilton’s household coming to Sequim dates again to his great-grandfather William settling within the space within the Eighteen Eighties. His father Oliver was Sequim’s mayor at one level, too.

However, Hamilton grew up in Burbank, Calif. He acquired his first digital camera when he was 9 from his dad and mom however mentioned in interviews he didn’t severely pursue pictures till the Seventies. He didn’t turn into a full-time photographer till the Nineteen Nineties, he mentioned.

After graduating from UCLA with a grasp’s diploma in advertising, Hamilton adopted his dad and mom to Sequim in 1969. He labored retail whereas constructing his pictures enterprise, first on the People’s Store in Port Angeles after which about 20 years between Southwoods and Frick’s.

Tim Richards, pastor of Dungeness Community Church, the place Hamilton was an elder for a lot of a long time, mentioned Hamilton was his boss as an assistant supervisor at Southwoods.

After expressing an curiosity in pictures, Hamilton taught Richards find out how to use a digital camera, and so they went backpacking collectively and developed an amazing friendship.

“I admired his artistry,” Richards mentioned.

“He was also a kind, patient, steady kind of friend, not just to me, but everyone he interfaced with.”

In January, the church honored Hamilton as Elder Emeritus for his years of service.

“Ross was a guiding influential voice in DCC for 40 years,” Richards mentioned.

“For a majority of the church’s history, Ross has been that steady, wise influence.”

Friends on the church echoed form phrases about Hamilton.

Mark Holloway, a church elder who has identified him for 20-plus years, mentioned he was a form man who had a whole lot of knowledge, was affected person and considerate about find out how to handle issues.

“He always seems to ask the right questions,” he mentioned.

Hamilton additionally was devoted and protracted in doing what he dedicated to do. He continued to host conferences for the church’s Community Engagement Team at his residence till a number of weeks in the past, Holloway mentioned.

Fellow church-goer Brenda Williamson mentioned Hamilton was an exquisite particular person and instance for everybody. Asked what stood out, she mentioned, “just the way God made him. He was such a gentleman and so kind. It was just a pleasure to know him.”

Another church-goer, Anita Kreitle, mentioned she has fond recollections of going with him and associates to the Port Angeles Symphony and on hikes.

In 2017, she and a small group went to Yosemite National Park, and Hamilton subtly advisable they put on a raincoat as a result of they may get moist regardless of it being a sunny day at Bridalveil Falls. They bought soaked, she mentioned.

“I have sweet memories of a man who lived well,” Kreitle mentioned. “He was truly a man of integrity and very humble.”

Love and imaginative and prescient

While nonetheless placing out calendars and main displays with assist from household and associates, Hamilton started to lose his imaginative and prescient to glaucoma in 2000.

With diminished imaginative and prescient, he mentioned it pressured him to work together and rely extra on folks.

“By nature I’m a recluse, but I’ve learned to really appreciate and love people and their beauty,” he mentioned.

Naehrig mentioned Hamilton claimed he was a hermit, however “it brought him way closer to people than he had ever been.”

As a lifelong bachelor, Hamilton additionally reconnected along with his childhood pal, Kathy (Haney) Barnes, late of their lives.

Originally their households met on a household trek in Montana once they had been 10 or 11, and their households would reconnect each different 12 months in Montana. Hamilton mentioned he would write to Haney whereas he was in highschool. She married Maux Barnes when she was 19 and lived in Salem, Ore., for years till Barnes’ demise in 2006.

While on a visit to Victoria, B.C., Kathy mentioned she noticed Sequim on the map and it sparked recollections. That led her to succeed in out to Hamilton and reconnect. She finally relocated to Sequim.

Hamilton mentioned he was proud of the friendship, however Kathy hoped for extra from their relationship. One day she instructed him, “I’m at peace,” resulting in a change in his perspective, he mentioned.

He requested Kathy to marry him on June 1, 2018, whereas on a picnic outing on the Dungeness Spit. They had been married a month later by Richards.

On marriage, Hamilton mentioned, “it’s incredibly nice. I never expected to find marriage so sweet.”

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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which consists of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He could be reached by electronic mail at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.