Born in 1953 in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, William Shepley was raised in a family of photographers. His great-grandfather, Sam Wilson, was foreman of the Universal Studios still photo lab. His father was in the U.S. Army Signal Corp photographic section in World War II, and later worked at Walt Disney Productions. Shepley studied under master photographer Tom Knight at Humboldt State University in the 1980s and spent untold hours in the dark room printing silver gelatin prints. Most of his portfolio was shot with a medium format Pentax 6 x 7, on 4 x 5-inch negatives. Beginning in the 1990s, Shepley began a 15-year journey photographing the equestrian culture of the American West. His work has been exhibited in Manhattan, Los Angeles, and St. George, Utah, and he is also a noted photographer of Zion National Park.

Note written by Mary Robinson