Sequim photographer Ross Hamilton dies at age 83

Published 1:30 am Monday, February 23, 2026

SEQUIM — As one of the area’s most well-known landscape photographers, Ross Hamilton spent a lifetime looking for the right light and moments to capture.

To friends, he encapsulated a guiding light.

“He and his family, going generations back, have meant so much to the community,” said Judy Reandeau Stipe, executive director of Sequim Museum and Arts.

“He was on the original charter board that got the museum nonprofit incorporated, and he was a bright and shining light for the things he did for the museum and the community. I personally loved him. He was just there for anyone who needed him.”

Hamilton died Feb. 10 in his Sequim home. He was 83.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dungeness Community Church, 45 Eberle Lane, Sequim.

His family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Port Angeles Symphony, Sequim Museum and Arts or Dungeness Community Church.

Hamilton’s photography can be seen across the Peninsula, including the Lodge at Sherwood Village and inside the Sequim Museum and Arts, where large negatives of the Olympic Mountains hang over the entrance.

Hamilton said in 2015 he could still vividly picture the first time he saw the Olympics.

“I came over the top of the hill in Shelton and saw those mountains and said, ‘Yes, this is where I belong,’” he said.

In a 2023 interview, he said he thought of the Olympic Mountains as priceless jewels and that he thoroughly enjoyed sharing their beauty with people so they might better appreciate where they live.

Life as a photographer “has been such a rewarding adventure,” Hamilton said.

“It’s a beautiful world, and it was such a privilege to record it in a way that showed what it really is.”

Claus Naehrig, who was friends with Hamilton through church, said while on hikes, Hamilton could describe all the details of the Olympic Mountains.

“It was just a joy to have someone who knew the ins and outs of the Olympics,” he said. “They were instilled in his mind.”

Hamilton also was known for sharing the beauty of the area through his annual calendars “The Olympic Peninsula” for two-plus decades, and he published the book “The Olympics, a Wilderness Trilogy.”

Hamilton said he would deliberately use a limited amount of film to carefully create compositions by waiting for just the right moment to push the shutter button.

“At the top of my game, it took me about a half hour to take a picture,” he said.

He spent the summer of 1966 studying under Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park, which he called the “happiest summer of his life.”

“That’s where my education really took off,” Hamilton said. “I was exposed to his world, and I’ve never looked back.”

Hamilton comes to Sequim

Hamilton’s family coming to Sequim dates back to his great-grandfather William settling in the area in the 1880s. His father Oliver was Sequim’s mayor at one point, too.

However, Hamilton grew up in Burbank, Calif. He received his first camera when he was 9 from his parents but said in interviews he didn’t seriously pursue photography until the 1970s. He didn’t become a full-time photographer until the 1990s, he said.

After graduating from UCLA with a master’s degree in marketing, Hamilton followed his parents to Sequim in 1969. He worked retail while building his photography business, first at the People’s Store in Port Angeles and then about 20 years between Southwoods and Frick’s.

Tim Richards, pastor of Dungeness Community Church, where Hamilton was an elder for many decades, said Hamilton was his boss as an assistant manager at Southwoods.

After expressing an interest in photography, Hamilton taught Richards how to use a camera, and they went backpacking together and developed a great friendship.

“I admired his artistry,” Richards said.

“He was also a kind, patient, steady kind of friend, not just to me, but everyone he interfaced with.”

In January, the church honored Hamilton as Elder Emeritus for his years of service.

“Ross was a guiding influential voice in DCC for 40 years,” Richards said.

“For a majority of the church’s history, Ross has been that steady, wise influence.”

Friends at the church echoed kind words about Hamilton.

Mark Holloway, a church elder who has known him for 20-plus years, said he was a kind man who had a lot of wisdom, was patient and thoughtful about how to address things.

“He always seems to ask the right questions,” he said.

Hamilton also was faithful and persistent in doing what he committed to do. He continued to host meetings for the church’s Community Engagement Team at his home until a few weeks ago, Holloway said.

Fellow church-goer Brenda Williamson said Hamilton was a wonderful person and example for everyone. Asked what stood out, she said, “just the way God made him. He was such a gentleman and so kind. It was just a pleasure to know him.”

Another church-goer, Anita Kreitle, said she has fond memories of going with him and friends to the Port Angeles Symphony and on hikes.

In 2017, she and a small group went to Yosemite National Park, and Hamilton subtly recommended they wear a raincoat because they might get wet despite it being a sunny day at Bridalveil Falls. They got soaked, she said.

“I have sweet memories of a man who lived well,” Kreitle said. “He was truly a man of integrity and very humble.”

Love and vision

While still putting out calendars and leading presentations with help from family and friends, Hamilton began to lose his vision to glaucoma in 2000.

With diminished vision, he said it forced him to interact and rely more on people.

“By nature I’m a recluse, but I’ve learned to really appreciate and love people and their beauty,” he said.

Naehrig said Hamilton claimed he was a hermit, but “it brought him way closer to people than he had ever been.”

As a lifelong bachelor, Hamilton also reconnected with his childhood friend, Kathy (Haney) Barnes, late in their lives.

Originally their families met on a family trek in Montana when they were 10 or 11, and their families would reconnect every other year in Montana. Hamilton said he would write to Haney while he was in high school. She married Maux Barnes when she was 19 and lived in Salem, Ore., for years until Barnes’ death in 2006.

While on a trip to Victoria, B.C., Kathy said she saw Sequim on the map and it sparked memories. That led her to reach out to Hamilton and reconnect. She eventually relocated to Sequim.

Hamilton said he was happy with the friendship, but Kathy was hoping for more from their relationship. One day she told him, “I’m at peace,” leading to a change in his perspective, he said.

He asked Kathy to marry him on June 1, 2018, while on a picnic outing on the Dungeness Spit. They were married a month later by Richards.

On marriage, Hamilton said, “it’s incredibly nice. I never expected to find marriage so sweet.”

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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.