Home & Office: Los Osos, Calif.

Employees: Six.

Stock agencies: Corbis, Getty, Photo Researchers, AgStock.

Books: Cannibal Soup, 1978; Bonneville Salt Flats: Speed Limit 1,000 mph, 1988; Vintage Automobile Racing, 1990; Beyond the Basics, 1993; Beyond the Basics II, 1997; Golden Poppies of California, 2004. Next project: Tulips, due out in spring 2006.

Awards: Honorary master of science degree in professional photography, Brooks Institute of Photography, 1985; Progress Medal, Photographic Society of America, 1998; NANPA Recognition Award, North American Nature Photography Association, 2002; California Poppy Award, California Department of Parks and Recreation, 2004; Image Award, Native Daughters of the Golden West, 2004.Commercial affiliations: Lepp is part of the Explorer of Light program for Canon USA and a member of the Epson Stylus Pros program. He also is involved in a similar new photographic program at Microsoft called Rich Media. "As far as I know, I am the only photographer involved in all three," he says.

Favorite equipment: The Canon EOS 1Ds camera. Also, Singh Ray's new Vari-X neutral-density filter. "It allows a variable ND filter to 10 stops," Lepp says. "I use it for long exposures on water and where I want a long exposure to make moving people and cars disappear."

Favorite place to shoot: Mono Lake, in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.

Inspiration: "I learn from my students, my staff [Tim Grey and Jeff Greene], exchanging information with colleagues like John Shaw and Jack Davis, from books on subjects I'm interested in and from experimenting."

Advice to new photographers: "Know your gear and use a tripod."

Website: georgelepp.com