Tony Blei

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Tony Blei was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and wasn't able to escape until he was in his mid thirties. This probably explains the vivid use of light and color that is often seen in his work.

Tony is a self-taught photographer whose first job was at the Las Vegas Sun newspaper, where, for ten years, he worked and won many awards for his photography. In 1994, he loaded up his family and moved to the Phoenix area where he continued his award-winning photojournalism career working for the East Valley Tribune.

During his newspaper career, Tony has photographed six U.S. Presidents (four of them seated), countless celebrities and a zillion members of his community. Tony feels that, It’s the real people in our society that give us the best pictures. For him, pictures aren’t taken, they’re given.

In July of 2005, Tony, with the help of his wife, Susan, launched SmartAzPhotography A Studio Without Walls. Tony is very innovative. He has been described as a “problem solver.” Though he typically travels with a truckload of lighting equipment and an assistant, it isn¹t unusual for him to use something as non-traditional as a flashlight and camera to create his art.

For Tony, photography has deep intrinsic value. He can often be found photographing things like the surface of water, birds, or a pretty girl. When he’s not taking pictures, he’s a full-time college student. During the 2005-2006 school year, 10 of his 28 credits were math credits. He has a cumulative GPA of 3.5. He¹s a fairly smart guy who lives in Arizona you can say he’s a real SmartAz!