Jean-Louis Monfraix bought his first 35mm camera while touring as lead guitarist for the "East Coast Brass" in 1978 and has been photographing his “view of life” ever since. Jean-Louis was born in Lavaur, France, and raised in New York City, where he attended the Lycée Français de New York. His passion for observing and photographing his “view of life” grew out of a boyhood fascination with the natural world. As a child, he could be seen running around the New York Botanical Gardens with a butterfly net, collecting specimens for his insect collection (and bee stings for his immune system).

Through the name of his photography business, Jean-Louis pays homage to his lifelong hero, the famous naturalist Charles Darwin, by quoting from the last sentence of the 1859 classic "On the Origin of Species", in which Darwin wrote: "There is grandeur in this view of life, …”. Indeed, Jean-Louis is a naturalist and biologist himself: he holds a Master's Degree in Zoology from the University of Florida and has taught biology as an adjunct professor at the American University in Washington, D.C., and at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida.

Jean-Louis' photographs have appeared on the covers of publications for several multi-organizational national conferences. Some of his Florida wildlife images are part of a permanent exhibition at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Jean-Louis’ first book, “Washington, D.C.: Wonder and Light”, was published in June of 2006 by Mountain Trail Press and is currently available in most Washington, D.C., area bookstores as well as Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon.com.

Signed, fine art prints of Jean-Louis’ photographs can be purchased by visiting his booth at the outdoor markets across from the historic Eastern Market on Capitol Hill every weekend year-round or by contacting the artist directly. Jean-Louis currently lives on the Southwest Waterfront of Washington, D.C., with his wife Cynthia and their cat Smokie.