Dan Hugos opened the Dakota Ridge Gallery in December of 2002.

A veteran of various street shows such as the Washington Square Outdoor Art Show in New York City and the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival, he has twice won second place for photography at Washington Square. There is nothing like these sorts of shows to test your interest in art, and they were key in the development of Mr. Hugos' work.

Shooting primarily with a Pentax 67, he has branched recently to digital, primarily to document the beauty of his home town, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, where he is president of the local chamber of commerce. Mr. Hugos also sponsors weekly music performances through his production company, JTAMS, Inc.

"Jim Thorpe has a beauty that you can not only see," he says, "but also feel. It is a challenge to shoot here as opposed to out West, for example. I love the challenge of conveying how I feel about the area. When I get an image that is good, it's especially satisfying because it testifies to a very unique and magnificent place."