Editor’s note: This is the third in a four-part series on Austin artists. This series celebrates artists who do their art as a passion rather than a career. Versions of these stories appear in the July/August edition of Austin Living magazine.

Dr. Tim Rietz rode his bike to northeast Austin during a past Austin ArtWorks Festival to snap photos of the festivities and the downtown power plant. One of his favorite shots from that day — an image of two fishermen in a boat on Mill Pond — was a bit of an accident.

“I didn’t know anything about it; I didn’t know who they were,” Tim said. “I just happened to do it.”

When Tim displayed the photo at the Mower County Fair, he learned there was a deeper significance. The photo is of a father and son and the last time they went fishing together. The son is now stationed overseas, and the father passed away after an illness.

“That was a touching story,” he said. “I just happened to catch the moment.”

Tim and his wife, Bonnie, have become well-known community faces since they moved to Austin in 1979, when Tim became a family practitioner at what’s now Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin.

But when Tim isn’t treating patients, he often has a camera in his hands — either his Sony a6000 or Nikon D300S.

Tim, a North Dakota native, bought his first single lens reflex camera, a Miranda single lens reflex, around 1973 from his medical school roommate.

After his schooling, Tim and Bonnie moved to Madagascar, where Tim worked as a doctor for three years and where many of the kids from an American school near his hospital enjoyed photography. That helped spark Tim’s interest as well.

“Going from North Dakota to this tropical island was an eye opener, and I just found beauty all over the place,” he said.

Tim started taking pictures of the beautiful sunsets and tropical islands, and he also took family pictures of his children, which he eventually used in videos when his children were married.

Now, several of the images from Madagascar hang around the Rietz’s home, along with other shots Tim has snapped on various trips.

He snapped one of his favorites a few years ago when he and Bonnie took a bike tour in Portugal, where he saw a man sitting against a wall after finishing a pilgrimage

“This guy was just so expressive,” Tim said. “I just noticed him out of the corner of my eyes as we’re rushing across this huge area full, and I had my camera out and I took a shot. Never did see it again until I got home, and he’s got this beautiful look.”

People in Austin became more aware of Tim’s photography hobby through ArtWorks. He’s taken several shots during the annual festival, and he took many photos during the transformation of the old bank building into the ArtWorks Center. A few of his photos are also on display at the medical center.

Rietz isn’t necessarily a purist when it comes to his photography, as he referenced a photographer who said he paints with pixels.

“Why should I accept what a camera tells me?” Rietz said.

Rietz has dabbled with some computer effects and filters.

Rietz admitted it can be hard to find the time for his photography, and it can be difficult to find enough time to organize and save his photos. The Reitzes have printed out some albums, just in case they lose any of the digital versions.

Rietz hopes his photos tell stories, and the soft-spoken photographer says he feels he can articulate some stories better through the images.

“They’re kind of my babies; they have stories to them,” he said. “Pictures are like worth a thousand words.”

As a doctor, he’s heard many people’s different stories and has treated a variety of people. That develops an empathy and a concern, and he said that may come through in what he tries to express in his photos.

He’s taken photos during Paint the Town Pink, including some where he can block out all the colors except pink. As a doctor of more than 40 years, he’s been on the delivery end of bad news and can see how that can drain the color from life.

“Most of the time I’m trying to portray things that adds value to life,” he said of his photography.