By Dan McCarthy
Mail

Jim Burns’ first attempts at photography were pictures of icicles hanging from the trees in the Midwest where he grew up.

“I've always been a very visual person,” the Scottsdale resident said.

“I inherited my love of nature from my parents, and as a young adult spent a lot of time poring over coffee table books by Art Wolfe, David Muench and Ansel Adams.”

But he found wildlife more interesting than icicles, and one of his photographs appears in the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s 2026 calendar.

First there were birds, and he wanted to document the species he was seeing.

“From there I evolved from portraiture to flight and action because I wanted to share a deeper dive into lifestyle and natural history, aspects of nature that casual birders often overlook or miss.”

He’s been doing so for 40 years on and off while raising a family and pursuing a career in a different field.

“My technique has changed over time, from running around trying to shoot as many things as I could to slowing down and spending much more time observing how animals survive and interact with their environment and other species,” he said.

“I'm always looking now for things that surprise and amaze me, things I haven't seen before or know casual nature lovers rarely get to observe.”

That connection to nature has led him to some conclusions.

“This planet is in trouble.  We all have to be proactive and do every little thing we can to turn the tide.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a three-part series focusing on East Valley photographers whose work appears in the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s 2026 calendar.

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Dan McCarthy
Web content

dmccarthy@iniusa.org

Meet Dan
Dan McCarthy joined Independent Newsmedia as web content editor after a 40-plus year career as a reporter and editor in New Jersey and Arizona. During his time in Arizona, he has been an editor of daily and weekly papers in Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Ahwatukee, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Peoria and Glendale. Prior to moving to Arizona in 1984, when he was hired to be assistant city editor at the Tempe Daily News, he covered regional police/fire news, municipal, county and state governments in New Jersey, the latter as bureau chief at the state Capitol.

Community: He has served on several boards over the years, including the Tempe Community Action Agency and the Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital Board of Governors. He is a graduate of the Tempe Leadership and Scottsdale Leadership programs, serving as media adviser for subsequent classes of Tempe Leadership.

Education: Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. 

Random Fact: Set winter/summer track records in the 60-, 100- and 220-yard dashes at his high school in New Jersey. 

Hobbies: Tai chi, cooking, dining at his must-eat-once places around the U.S. and the Cincinnati Reds, his favorite team since 1961.