Jack Bartholmai has gone from a career focused on medical imaging to a retirement hobby of capturing images of nature with his camera. He enjoys photographing the wildlife and scenery of Dodge County, Wisconsin. Although he has always enjoyed wildlife photography, his hobby began to occupy more time and have a purpose when his church began to rely on Jack and his wife, Holly, to produce a slide program as a part of an annual Earth Day Celebration beginning in 1993.

Jack is known to describe himself as a "born again photographer". When Jack became involved with the Horicon Marsh Bird Club and the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas, he found himself spending more time photographing the birds of the Horicon Marsh and surrounding area of his atlas block, documenting breeding bird activity and rare or unusual bird sightings. Jack is a volunteer photographer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and enjoys spending many hours on the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge.

Wild bird photography offers Jack the kinds of challenges he loves from climbing 50 feet up to a tree blind to photograph Great Blue Herons nesting to sloshing his way through hip-deep muck to document breeding Black-necked Stilts on the Horicon Marsh. His work has been published in the Daily Citizen and various programs and brochures published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Waupun Chamber of Commerce, Dodge County seasonal travel guides, Horicon Marsh guides, the WSO Passenger Pigeon as well as the WBBA Web Site. He has also had his photography on display at the Seippel Homestead and Center for the Arts autumn wildlife show and Christmas gift gallery.

Holly Bartholmai, Jack's wife, takes Jack's photos, in slide format, sets them to music and readings to create a meditative experience of the natural world. Jack and Holly are Presbyterian for Restoring Creation Enablers, and as such share their love of and sense of awe and wonder for the Created world through slide programs given to church groups, civic organizations, retreat groups, schools, bird clubs, nursing homes, residential homes, libraries, etc. For information about obtaining Holly and Jack's meditative nature slide programs, contact Jack at jack@bartholmai.com.