Remote, rare views fill Centennial Hills man’s photographs

For Kent LeFevre, photography is just a walk in the park.

That walk may be a 14-mile round-trip trek through rugged terrain carrying a backpack full of equipment. And the park may be a 3,400-square-mile national park. But still, it's a walk in the park.

"The Fine Art Photography of the Great Southwest" is a selection of LeFevre's work, which is on display during regular library hours through Oct. 16 at the Whitney Library, 5175 E. Tropicana Ave.

LeFevre said all the photos were taken within 200 miles or so of Las Vegas, but that doesn't mean visitors to the show are likely to have seen the views before.

"There's only a few drive-bys," LeFevre said. "Most of them are a hike."

A resident of the Centennial Hills area, LeFevre has been working in photography for 30 years. Although it's not his full-time livelihood, he spends around 20 hours a week on it.

"My first commission was a $25 project for Southern Utah University where I had to shoot pictures of vegetables as part of a promotion for the university's agriculture department," LeFevre said. "I haven't quit my day job yet, but it sure is a lot of fun to do it."

Carl Hinkle, manager of Casey's Cameras, 1550 E. Tropicana Ave., said backcountry photography is usually a young man's game.

"If you've got to haul all your equipment with you, that makes it difficult," Hinkle said. "It does give you a reason to get out and see things you might not see otherwise,"

LeFevre does not intend to slow down anytime soon and plans to return to the most difficult to get to place he's photographed again this fall.

"I'm going back to the Left Fork of the North Creek cascades in Zion National Park," LeFevre said. "There's no roads. It's not an easy trail, and by the time you get there you usually have only about an hour to shoot before you have to start heading back, even if you leave at dawn or before, like I do."

LeFevre has been to the remote cascades in Utah 15 times in the last three decades, a task made more difficult by permits required to access it.

"They limit how many people can visit it on any given day," LeFevre said. "You basically put your name into a hat three months before you want to go and hope you get picked. I've only made it about half the times I've tried."

Several of his favorite places to photograph require permits to visit.

"Photographing that sort of place allows people to see something they might not ever see ," Hinkle said.

LeFevre has traveled as far away as Yosemite National Park and Grand Teton National Park but enjoys shooting locally at Red Rock National Conservation Area.

"My favorite place to shoot is The Wave on the Arizona/Utah border," LeFevre said. "There are unique sandstone formations there from the Jurassic period. There's a piece in the show from there."

Much of LeFevre's work can be seen at naturephotographynow.com , where he offers a number of services including stock nature photography, portraits and photography instruction. But it isn't primarily the business that drives him.

"I like the artistic expression," LeFevre said, "It's very rewarding."

For more information, visit lvccld.org.

Contact Sunrise/Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 380-4532.