Launched in 2005, Ravenwood Press, Inc., publishes stories of amazing grace. Our books and calendars combine soul-stirring photography with insightful narrative to celebrate and honor the majesty of God’s creation. When divine grace flows through us, we are fully alive, sharing our gifts and talents to lift up others while making this world a better place.
Ravenwood Press currently features the photography of Baltimore native Middleton Evans. While North American wildlife is a passionate interest, Mr. Evans has spent the majority of his 20-year career documenting the many faces of Maryland. Favorite subjects include Chesapeake Bay waterman, cities and towns, festivals, farm life and equestrian sports. A milestone was reached in 2001 when Maryland Public Television selected Mr. Evans as one of six local photographers to be featured in the documentary film Images of Maryland: 1900-2000, chronicling the state’s most distinguished lensmen of the twentieth century.
A 1982 graduate of McDonogh School, he began his professional career within a week of graduating from Duke University. Returning home from North Carolina with a degree in economics, but no defined career path, he put his imagination to work. A life-long passion for photography, ignited by a semester abroad in London, was parlayed into a two-year photographic odyssey through Maryland, with hopes of being published. In 1988 a family business was launched to realize that dream, and Maryland in Focus was released to celebrate the compelling subjects encountered along his travels.
Encouraged by rave reviews, Middleton next set his sights on Baltimore, capturing its colorful characters, charming neighborhoods, architectural icons, and vibrant cultural life. After Baltimore was published in 1992, a new challenge was sought, and the allure of nature photography beckoned. Four years of exploring roads less traveled culminated with Maryland’s Great Outdoors, an inspiring collection of wildlife portraits, lush landscapes and outdoor adventures.
In 1998 his career took yet another turn. An extraordinary 10-day Florida bird marathon served as the genesis of Rhapsody in Blue, an epic five-year adventure including 33 trips all over North America in search of miraculous encounters with native waterbirds. Over the same time frame Evans made hundreds of trips to his favorite pond in Baltimore’s Patterson Park, better known for soccer games and summer concerts than Wood Ducks and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. An astounding 120 bird species, and many other natural treasures, were discovered in this urban oasis for a book to be titled The Miracle Pond, slated for a fall 2008 release. An amazing yellow labrador retriever from Savage River Lodge in Western Maryland captured Evans’ heart for a most joyous coffee table book called Bodhi: The All American Lodge Dog, released in 2007.
Ravenwood Press will be expanding its offerings in the near future with such projects as the amazing life and adventures of pioneering National Geographic photojournalist Thomas Abercrombie; the secret lives of wild tigers in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park, by wildlife photographer Kim Sullivan; and Kristie Evans’ children’s books, including Maxwell Smellswell and his Canine Capers.
