Turns out that famous "This Is the Place" line works for more than just pioneers. Utah's varied, stunning and easily accessible landscape, a plethora of mountain adventure sports, a climate that truly represents the four seasons, a bevy of the world's top athletes and an international airport make the Wasatch Front home to some of the best photographers on the globe.

Here's a look at three of them.

Jay Beyer

Beyer was on a six-month climbing trip when he realized he wanted to become a photographer.

"It was an accident. My wife bought a camera and wanted to learn how to use it," said Beyer, originally from the Midwest. "I helped her, and by the end of the trip, it had turned into my camera, and I had a hobby."

About that same time, he discovered Utah. Just before the 2002 Winter Olympics, Beyer visited a family member living in Salt Lake City. He spent some time on the slopes and, like so many others, decided to stay.

"Utah is a good place to get noticed. There are so many up-and-coming photographers and video people," Beyer said. "It seems like the number has grown exponentially since I moved here and for a good reason."

Beyer shoots the gamut of mountain sports, but ski images are his favorite and constitute the largest source of his income. Other favorites include mountain biking, climbing, fly fishing and trail running.

With so many professional photographers living along the Wasatch, finding new locations for shots that will turn into a check can be hard. But for Beyer, that can serve as a motivation rather than frustration.

"That is where the difference between being an amateur and pro comes in," Beyer said. "There are so many people shooting the same things. So many photographers use the same athletes, same cliffs, same powder stashes and side country. It is the hardest thing professionally about living here, but it spurs you on and pushes your creativity."

Beyer has been featured on the cover of Backcountry, Powder and Telemark Skier magazines and has also provided commercial shots for Black Diamond, Patagonia, Flylow and Backcountry.com.

"I love going all over the world to shoot, but it is nice to be home where I can go out in my backyard and shoot great ski imagery, mountain biking and fly fishing," he said. "You can do that at some other places, but Salt Lake incorporates it all together better than anywhere."

Scott Markewitz

Markewitz was always the guy providing photos for his friends, so it was only natural that when his career as a professional skier started to wind down, he spent more and more time behind the camera.

He had spent a lot of time in front of the camera as an athlete for plenty of photographers, and that turned out to be an advantage.

"I had an instant connection to some great skiers, and that helped immensely," said Markewitz. "I also had an idea of what it took to make a good ski image because I had been in many of them."

Markewitz bought his first true camera gear in the spring of 1986. He quickly produced some images and sent them off to magazine editors before leaving to coach a ski camp in Europe.

"I got back from the trip and wandered into a ski shop back East and one of my photos was on the cover of Powder," he said. "It was a good sign and a good start."

More than 2 ½ decades later, Markewitz figures he has snapped easily more than 2 million images. He also believes that a marketing degree from the University of Utah helped him with the business aspect of becoming a professional photographer.

These days, the majority of his income comes via commercial work, but he still enjoys the thrill of planning, shooting and submitting photos to editors.

"I really like watching athletes push their limits and to watch the progression of a sport as it happens," he said. "It is really captivating to see how far people can push it. You see someone do something incredible and you think, 'How can they do better than that?' A year or two later, you see that someone has done better."

The one thing that Markewitz has not seen get better is the quality of the Utah snow — because it was already the best.

"It really is the greatest snow on Earth, and I can say that because I've skied pretty much everywhere on the planet you can ski," he said. "Utah consistently gets the snow and then gets sunny days to go with it. That is hard to beat. There are only a few locations around the nation, mainly in the West, where you find the diversity of deserts and mountains and so many people participating in outdoor sports at a high level. Utah is one of them. You add the international airport and Salt Lake is the best choice."

Markewitz says he has produced more than 400 magazine covers and "has worked for almost every company in the outdoor and ski industry at some point."

"Being a photographer has allowed me to stay involved with sports. I get to work with incredible athletes all the time," he said. "I've been able to travel to spots around the world I only dreamed of. I wouldn't change anything."

Adam Barker

Barker is a local boy who followed his dream and gave in to his passion for photography a little more than two years ago by starting his own business. Barker told The Tribune in the spring of 2009 that landscape photos were his favorite.

"Landscape is the root for all my work. The action photos are just about adding a human element to the landscape," said the Highland High School and University of Utah alum. "Landscape is the connection for people. One of the challenges in landscape photos is getting a sense of scale and the grandeur. A person in the shot can really help establish that element and make a good picture even better."

Two years later, nothing has changed, barring the fact that Barker has indeed made a name for himself in the world of professional outdoor photography.

It has been a journey of ups and downs, but as a photographer Barker is accustomed to the roller-coaster ride.

"There are fleeting moments when it all comes together. Sometimes you catch them, sometimes you miss them and sometimes they don't happen," he said.

One of the most common questions Barker is asked is how he happened to be in the right place at the right time to capture such great moments. The answer: He didn't.

"Pretty much every shot was organized as much as possible," he said. "The photographer and the athlete have worked together to come up with the shot. You might throw a snowball and say 'turn there' or tell them you want them deep in the snow or on the surface. It is rarely happenstance."

One of the top requirements for being an outdoor sports photographer is being an athlete yourself. Just getting to the site of many of the best locations requires athletic skill.

"I was recently shooting at night and I shoot barehanded or with thin gloves. My fingers were so numb I had to put my finger on the button and look to make sure it was there because I couldn't feel it," he said.

Photographers must also be prepared for severe weather and consider natural occurrences such as avalanches. As the photographer, Barker feels the responsibility for a safe shoot is up to him. An understanding of what participants of the sport want to see is also tremendously important.

Barker said he enjoys interacting with the athletes he shoots, but sometimes he just likes being alone in the wild — thus his love of landscape shots.

"Just me and the camera out in the elements. There is something special about witnessing it by yourself," he said. "Then, of course, you have to hope the whole world loves it and will want to buy it."

brettp@sltrib.com —

Find the photographers on their websites

Jay Beyer • www.jaybeyer.com

Scott Markewitz • www.scottmarkewitz.com

Adam Barker • www.adambarkerphotography.com