All my life I've been encouraged to specialize. Just "do one thing and do it well". My manner of living has been an experiment in not following that guidance.
When I was in high school Mr. Carmen, our art teacher, drew a circle and a box next to each other on the blackboard. He asked which would roll though life better. He encouraged us to be well rounded and cautioned against trying to be really good at just a few things at the expense of everything else. Perhaps that chalk circle, all those years ago, encouraged me to find comfort in a diversity of pursuits.
Lloyd Grotjan is a professional photographer, musician and the owner of Full Spectrum Photo and Audio in Jefferson City, Missouri. Lloyd became interested in photography at an early age and worked for local studios while in high school.
Lloyd writes and records music in several styles but his favorite is that which conveys the positive feelings associated with being out of doors. As a musician Lloyd has been in Guitar Player, Awareness and Progression magazines. In addition to his CDs Lloyd has released a DVD of material from his live Part of the Circle audio visual performances. His original composition Apogee from the album Twelve Moons has been performed on stages from Broadway New York to Verona Italy in the production Botanica by MoMix. Lloyd composes and records songs and soundtracks in his rural studio Meda.
Lloyd's photographs have been published in magazines, books, calendars and online. A sampling of credits include the magazines Outdoor Life, The Smithsonian, Wildlife Art, Outdoor Photographer, Mens Health, Old Home and Digital Photo Pro, and the books Colorful Missouri, Dogwoods, Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Images of Missouri, Images of St Louis, Mandalas, Art Museums and Galleries of Missouri, The Art of the Missouri Capitol, Somewhere in Time and most recently in the book Art and Place. Lloyd’s fine art prints are in private collections and have been in local and international exhibits in museums and galleries including the Brandywine River Museum, Columbia Art League, Morven Museum and Garden, Museum of Dundee Scotland and the Rozier Gallery. His work for the National Park Service is on permanent file with the Library of Congress.