Tony Hayden was raised in a small town, Lebanon, in Oregon's fertile Willamette Valley. Early beginnings in photography were under the guidance of his father, Robert M. Hayden, who owned the twice-weekly Lebanon Express. Later, after a session as an Army Public Information Specialist/Photographer and hitchhiking through Europe for a year, Hayden returned to Oregon and was a feature writer and photographer for a county daily. He attended Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, but it was at the University of Oregon where he met W. Eugene Smith and took a course in photography from him. At the U of O Hayden attended a lecture given by Timothy Leary who advocated "turning on, tuning in, and dropping out." Influenced by this sage advice Hayden left his job, then with a large Seattle area daily, and traveled around the States and Mexico, his camera in his backpack. Arriving in New Orleans and signing on with the Inarcane Logus an underground press, Hayden traveled around the South covering rock and roll and blues festivals. In August of 1969 he went up to the original Woodstock Festival in New York State where he ran into his idol and former teacher, Gene Smith. Hayden traveled extensively over the next fifteen years, roaming overland from Europe to South Asia, eventually returning to the United States on a tramp steamer where he was a deck hand. He was also a porter and dishwasher for several months on the Delta Queen river boat. Returning to Lebanon, after living among the Suquamish Tribe in northwestern Washington State, he now owns and operates a fine arts photography gallery which also features art from around the world. He hopes that his photography and gallery pay tribute and honor to the great photographers who came before us.