From the time Peter Fisher of Orcas Island was a child, he knew he wanted to share his love of nature and become an artist.

“I wanted to celebrate and honor my love for the beauty in nature,” said Fisher.

As a high school student in Tacoma, Fisher was fortunate to learn black and white photography technique from a talented teacher who was a student of famed photographer Ansel Adams. Fisher exhibited five photographs in a juried show at the Tacoma Art Museum in 1975 as his senior project and his career was born. In the summer of 1975, he attended an Ansel Adams photography workshop in Yosemite where he was mentored by five top photographers.

As a college student at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Fisher continued to pursue his dream of becoming a photographer and had his first solo show in the fall of 1976 at the college’s Olin Art Gallery.

While he was in college, Fisher’s parents lived in Japan, Indonesia and Belgium. Travels to visit them gave him prime opportunities to become a citizen of the world and perfect his craft in beautiful settings. As a college junior, Fisher spent a year in Norway taking a specialized photo course. “I learned Norwegian, met my cousins and made new friends. I loved the slow pace of life, the skiing and the culture,” said Fisher.

“One of the most extraordinary experiences I had was working in India for noted teacher, social reformer and writer Gopi Krishna as a writer and editor shortly after college,” says Fisher.

Fisher came to Orcas Island in 1982. “My grandparents moved to Grindstone Harbor east of the ferry landing in 1964. I spent summers there and played on Madrona Point as a kid.”

Fisher opened a commercial photography business on the island called Mantic Arts in 1984.

In 1985 he produced and sold seven copies of his first edition of the handmade book “Madrona Point,” which was used as part of the fundraising campaign to preserve Madrona Point. Copies are now held by Senator Dan Inoue of Hawaii, Congressman Norm Dix, publisher Randolph Hurst and the Seattle Art Museum.

In addition to his photographic arts, Fisher has been a tireless environmentalist and dedicated to land preservation and affordable housing on Orcas Island.

From 1984 until 1990, Fisher spent countless hours on the Madrona Point Preservation campaign, and as President of Friends of the San Juans, helped organize the purchase of Madrona Point through U.S. Congress to prevent development and return the land to the Lummi Nation for preservation.

Beginning with a circle of 35 friends in 1988, and later as president, Fisher assisted in the creation of Of People and Land (OPAL), a non-profit organization providing permanently affordable housing for the Orcas Island community. OPAL neighborhoods are currently home to over 65 Orcas families.

Working with realtors, businesses, politicians and environmentalists, Fisher went on to design the education and research project that lead to the formation of the San Juan County Land Bank to ensure that the distinct environmental, agricultural, historic and recreational value of the islands is protected and future sources of potable water will endure.

Recently, Fisher joined the board of the Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF), whose mission is to address the emerging needs of community non-profit organizations and individuals seeking ways to donate to the well-being of Orcas Island. Fisher is the past-president of the Eastsound Planning Commission.

In 1992, Fisher incorporated as Outer Island Inc. Fine Art Photography and had been a full-time fine artist since 2003. His works are on permanent display at the Edna Gallery, Roses Restaurant and Orcas Realty in Eastsound and at Artworks in Olga. His works are available for purchase at those locations and copies of his two most recent portfolios are online at www.petercfisher.com.

Fisher has a 15-year-old son who is a high school student, skateboarder and videographer.