Award winning photojournalist, Shelly Katz sold his first pictures to the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS at the age of twelve, and since then, his photos have been published world-wide, he has received numerous awards, and has lectured on college campuses and to civic and professional groups throughout the world.
In the course of his career, he worked on many issues of LIFE magazine when it was a weekly, served as a contributing photographer to PEOPLE WEEKLY magazine when it was founded and as a contract photographer for TIME magazine. He is also a veteran of several DAY IN THE LIFE projects, both as a photographer and editor, and is part of the global network of photographers represented by GAMMA-LIAISON agency.
Born and raised in New York City, Katz joined the U.S. Air Force in 1961 and spent four years as a military photographer. His final assignment was chief photographer for the Audio-Visual section of the Air Force Academy, Colorado. Upon completion of his tour of duty in 1965, Katz elected to settle in Dallas, Texas where he continues to maintain his headquarters and works as a contributing photographer for TIME in addition to shooting for commercial and other editorial clients. Throughout the year he travels extensively on assignments ranging from sports-action to glamour photography to industrial environments to fast-breaking news.
He has covered every major U.S. Presidential candidate since 1959, National Political Conventions, Inaugurations of the Presidents of the United States, Football Super Bowls, Oil Fields on the North Slope of Alaska, Turmoil in the Middle East, the Banana Plantations of Costa Rica, Coal Mines in Utah, Wars, Riots, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, Volcano Eruptions, Hollywood Starlets and Benji. Additionally, he has served as a special advisor on photography to the U.S. astronauts at the request of the NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION.
Beginning with the introduction of the personal computer in 1980, Katz turned some of his attention to merging the new electronic technology with photography, and since then has worked closely with various manufacturers in developing electronic photo gathering systems as well as consulting with ABC-TV, CBS-TV and SHOWTIME NETWORK.
Additionally, he has served as the Director of Photography for the NATIONAL PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION Electronic Photojournalism Workshops in Tempe, Arizona, and Williamsburg, Virginia and recently as the NPPA Electronics Projects Chairman as well as on the Technology Committee for the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MEDIA PHOTOGRAPHERS.
As a spokesman for photojournalists, Katz served as a founding Vice-President and member of the Board of Directors of the WORLD-WIDE PUBLISHING CONSORTIUM and has recently retired from the FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FOUNDATION OF TEXAS after serving his fifth term as a member of the Board of Directors. He is currently serving on the Professional Advisory Council for the Journalism Department of the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS.