Born in Santa Monica, CA, Van grew up often traveling with his family throughout the western states. When he graduated college with a degree in physics from UCSB, he had a burning desire to explore the deserts and mountains of the western United States, especially southern Utah and the desert southwest. Pressures to start a career and raise a family, however, interfered with that desire. Instead, Van established a very successful career in Software Engineering in Silicon Valley.

In his 40’s, he finally had enough time to seriously explore interests outside of work. Photography became a passion when he had an opportunity to join a photography workshop in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of California. He found the experience so fascinating that he signed up for courses at the local college, learning black and white film photography, composition, and fine art printing techniques. Later, when his instructor retired, he took over running that very same Bristlecone Pine workshop.

Van’s passion has always been photographing natural landscapes and wildlife, and what better place to do it than southern Utah. So, in 2019, Van retired from software engineering and moved with his wife to St. George, Utah where they have both spent full time exploring, hiking, and photographing this beautiful area. Van is now a professional photographer participating in his first art festival in 2022. He joined the Southern Utah Art Guild the following year. Over the past few years, he has won multiple awards at local art and photography shows. He has his own website, VanStrohmPhotography.com, with prints for sale and a blog, the “Red Rock Wilderness Chronicles,” also available on the website.