New Vista Enterprises Inc.

My love of photography was nurtured at a very young age by my Grandfather, Lucian F. Kneeland.  Standing at 6ft. 1in.,  I was always in awe of this stately man.  My Grandfather would never be found without a crisp white shirt and tie of course, a leather strap over his right shoulder attached to a CAMERA!  During the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1940’s, my Grandfather was among the first to start cataloging B/W as well as color slides.  He also developed prints.  At first his prints were enhanced with color ‘by hand’ and later the technology from Kodak Company resolved the color issue.  I still have possession of his early work and I cherish it.  One of my favorite pictures of all from my Grandfather is a time exposure of the moon.  Grandpa explained to me that it was necessary to adjust the camera to allow more light to be exposed across the film in order to “get the shot”.  With the use of a tripod the B/W picture

shows in detail the ridges of the craters, the depth of shadows and the fullness of the moon.  Although it was taken in the 1950’s, it still rivals similar pictures of the moon I see today.  As with my Grandfather, I grew up with a camera in my hand and always ready to ‘get the shot’.  On the evening of September 15, 1978, my Grandfather was relaxing on his couch at home watching the Leon Spinks and Muhammad Ali boxing match.  During that time at the age of 89 years, Grandpa went to sleep and passed away gracefully and peacefully the same way he lived his entire life.  I am proud to carry on his legacy of photography.  I know it sounds crazy but at times during a photo shoot I can almost feel his presence and energy.  My mother gave me all of Grandpa’s equipment, negatives and slides.  One camera in particular has the date 1919 inscribed by the manufacturer on the lens ring.  Another camera made in Ann Arbor, Michigan has the patent number of 103.  I would love to be able to sit down with Grandpa and share with him the amazing advances in technology with digital photography, high definition computers, printers, scanners and so on.  My daughter Carrie Sweitzer is prepared to carry on the family legacy of photography.  She is a world class portrait photographer in her own right and works with our company.  I am so proud of her work and accomplishments. 

In 1994 I retired from a career in law enforcement.  During my law enforcement time I was considered the departmental photographer and always had my camera at the ready to ‘get the shot’.  Now, over the past 15 years, I have developed a corporation devoted to quality commercial, industrial and aerial photography.  With a solid client base, I have continued to up-grade the business to be a major competitor in the industry.  We service clients in Southern California, Utah, Arizona and Colorado.  Our corporate headquarters is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Out of love and respect, I dedicate this website to my Grandfather.