Apex Studios Beginnings

July 4th, 2000 was a painful day for us as friends and family of Carl Zach. Carl was leading the final stretch of the Independence Day Race in Fox Point, WI, when he collided into the back of an ambulance that had entered the racecourse. Carl was killed on impact.

A co-worker later presented me with two photographs. One was a photograph of Carl and me with huge smiles on our faces. The other, was a photograph of my brother Brian, Carl, David, and Marty (my closest friends) at a restaurant celebrating a recent Birthday. These photographs, which were taken a few months before, are the only photographs that exist of Carl and me together.

It is difficult to explain how much the photographs mean to me as they exceed monetary value. Ask a firefighter what people try to save from a burning house and you might be surprised to hear that they often try to gather their photographs.

At the age of 27, Carl had touched the lives of many while working as a teacher. Young people came forward after he was gone with stories about how Carl had “never given up on them” and described how he had spent many extra evenings at school to help them with their problem areas.

In addition to working as a teacher, Carl worked at a bicycle shop to teach others about his true love of bicycle racing. This was definitely not the path of highest financial return. After college, I began my career as a Product Manager for a large corporation. Carl often teased me suggesting that I had “sold out”. He knew that I had received an art scholarship, loved art and photography but chose to pursue a corporate career because of the financial rewards.

When Carl was killed I decided to follow my dream instead of the path of greatest income. I resigned from my Product Management position, started Apex Studios, and have not looked back. I capture fleeting moments in people’s lives as beautiful images that will live on long after their time on earth. What could be better than that?

In Loving Memory of Carl Zach July 27, 1972~July 4, 2000

“Friends Forever Captain”

Craig Wilson Apex Studios, LLC