Gary Zuercher grew up in Wooster, Ohio, attended high school there, and college at The Ohio State University. He lives with his wife Dominique half the year in Paris and the other half in Washington, DC.

What drives you, Gary?

My love of photography began when I was a youth, in the makeshift darkroom I built in my parents‘ basement. It was there that I experienced the thrill of seeing my first black-and-white photograph emerge from its chemical bath. I was immediately captivated by the magic of photography. Over the years I have provided commercial photography for numerous advertising agencies and companies, produced more that a dozen product promotional films for industry, and at the same time built a number of successful businesses.

Company founder, photographer, pilot

Obviously, he has followed a career path quite different from that of most professional photographers. He has simultaneously combined a highly successful business career with a successful career as a professional photographer. He is also a commercial, multi-engine, instrument rated pilot having logged more than 2,100 hours.

Over a period of 30 years he achieved business success founding, building and developing the WaveTek group of companies. The Company was one of the pioneers in the development of WaterParks around the world. For his pioneering leadership in WaterParks, wave pools and SprayGrounds, Zuercher was awarded the Industry Leadership Award by the World Water Park Association and was in the inaugural group of inductees into the World Waterpark Association Hall of Fame.

After the successful sale of the WaveTek group, he founded and built Rain Drop Products Inc in Washington, DC. Rain Drop was one of the originators in the introduction and development of the Sprayground and water playground concepts in the public and commercial recreation marketplace. He sold that company in 2004.

Film production

At the same time, in his professional photography career he was the photographer for numerous companies and advertising agencies and was the producer on 15 commercial product films.

Award winning book project

His history and photography book, The Glow of Paris: The Bridges of Paris at Night received an IPPY Gold Medal Award (Independent Book Publisher Award) at BookExpo America and has also received awards at the London, Los Angeles, Paris, Amsterdam, and San Francisco Book Festivals, and it has been ranked as a number one best seller in its category on Amazon.

Following publication of the book, the photographs along with the bridge histories became a successful exhibition debuting at the Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster, Ohio followed by exhibitions at the Mansfield Art Center in Mansfield, Ohio, the Peninsula Fine Art Center in Newport News, Virginia and at the Evansville Museum of Arts, History, and Science in Indiana.

He has served as a board member of the Ashland County Airport Board in Ohio. He twice served as a member of the Board of Trustees of The National Recreation and Parks Association in Ashburn, Virginia, and was on the board of the Richland Bank in Mansfield, Ohio.