Ammar Dashti was born abroad in 1967 and arrived in Austin, Texas in 1985. He first visited Big Bend National Park in 1989 during Thanksgiving week and became a regular visitor to the area in 2011. Returning to Austin after his Big Bend trips soon taught him that “you can take Ammar out of the desert but you can’t take the desert out of Ammar". Ammar became interested in photography in 1987. He attended St. Edwards University, taking photography classes with Michelle Campbell, Sybil Miller, Bill Kennedy, and Joe Vitone. He graduated in 1993 with degrees in Computer Science and Photo Communications: one degree to support his career and the other to support his soul. Ammar has been inspired by friends and photographers like Jack Rehm, James Evans, and Matt Baker. They helped make him the photographer he is today.