Photojournalism brought William Cates into the world of photography during the protest years of the 1960’s. He went on to establish Camera, Inc, a center for photographers in Virginia that included a camera store, studio, custom black & white processing lab and a counter-culture news journal for photographers and writers. When Cates later turned to commercial photography, his work was represented by two New York photo agencies with horses and nature as his specialty. His art photography has been, chiefly, black & white figure studies which have won him a number of awards at exhibits in Virginia. A book of figure studies is in preparation.
In addition to photography, Cates has worked in theater, directing and writing stage plays. He holds degrees in philosophy and theater. Cates has also written three collections of humorous short stories (see calavira.com for reviews). Having been a home winemaker for many years, he moved from Virginia to California in 1997 to start Tantara Winery (listed in “National Geographic’s Ten Best of Everything”). He lives on a small ranch near Santa Ynez with his wife, the artist, Gwen Cates.
