Your Name: Janis Connell

Type of Camera:  Nikon D7100

What do you love to photograph the most?   I retired from Corporate America in 2014 and am now living my dream of traveling (mostly by RV) and photography. I love being outside and exploring new places and photography is a natural offshoot of that. I have a goal of seeing every US national park before I die. Our national parks are amazing and so are the lesser known monuments and historic sites. In 2016 we visited nine national parks and we were in Great Sand Dunes National Park on August 25, 2016 when the National Park Service turned 100 years old. My goal with photography is to capture a sense of the places I visit so I can share these wonderful places with others.

What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography?   I think the concepts of composition and design have had the biggest impact on my photography.  I have never considered myself an “artist”, but studying photography has allowed me to explore that part of myself.  Over time, I have gained confidence in my skills and have started exploring my creativity both through photography and mosaic art.  I now find it easier to trust my instincts and see where my creativity will lead me.  Sometimes you just have to start with one small idea and work out from there by trying different angles and perspectives.

What catches your eye?  Start with that.

Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills:  To grow in photography, make sure you have the technical and fundamental composition concepts mastered.  Then go on some photography workshops.  I found my skill level increased dramatically with the first workshop I took (with Kevin Gourley!).  There’s nothing better than spending dedicated time shooting with a professional photographer by your side to help you.  If conditions are not great, you are forced to get creative.  And, you will learn a lot from the other workshop attendees.  So much fun!

Your Name: Barb Harvill

Type of Camera:  Sony A7R II

What do you love to photograph the most?   I love to photograph nature, landscape and wildlife.  I love to travel and can combine the two. I am currently fascinated by water photography because of the variety of ways you can photograph it.  I recently started playing around with ND filters and long exposure photography.

What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography?   For me continuing to take lessons that involve hands on practice where I get feedback has done the most to improve my photography. (It’s doesn’t hurt that I get to go to great locations like Kevin’s Rocky Mountain Photography Workshops).  I believe that nothing is better for improving your skills than learning from others in a hands on environment.

Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills:  Other than taking classes and learning from experts – shoot as often as you can and shoot what moves you. For technical skills – You can do this without spending a dime (you already have the equipment). Play around with settings – don’t shoot auto. Take repeat shots of same subject but play around with settings to see the impact of those changes – without worrying about the subject.

For subjects –photograph what you love – I believe that having an emotional response to the subject translates thru your lens. You know when you get that great photograph, and when the right technical settings combine with the right subject… magic happens!

Your Name: Donny Greenway

Type of Camera:  Canon EOS 6D and 70D

What do you love to photograph the most?   Wildlife, kids, and dogs. Sometimes small weddings.

What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography?   It’s all about light. Oh yeah and practice, practice, practice!

Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills: Take as many classes as you can. Don’t be afraid to be critiqued by your peers. When I started I made myself take and edit (in Lightroom) 300 pictures a week for one month. Lastly don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Your Name: Mary Kathryn

Type of Camera:  Canon 5D Mark II

What do you love to photograph the most?   I love to work with animals, couples in love and children. I have an eye for raw moments and details.

What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography?   I’ve learned to always anticipate a moment and to allow clients to feel comfortable around me to bring out those natural smiles and moments.

Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills: Don’t play the comparison game and stay true to what you enjoy shooting.

Your Name: Don Simpson

Type of Camera:  Canon 1d Mark IV, Canon 6d and my newest camera is the Lumix GH5

What do you love to photograph the most?   I find myself drawn most to wildlife and nature.  But more recently I have been spending the majority of my time learning and telling stories via the use of “Hybrid Photography”.  This allows me to engage more of the viewer’s senses as I create a short video stream composed using still images, video clips, music, voice over, native video clip sounds, graphics and text.  Furthermore, through the use of “Live Portraits” I can tie an entire video story to a single photo hanging on a wall or even printed on my business card.  This permits a viewer to first see and feel one of your favorite photos and then, through the use of their iPhone or Android, see it come to life right before their eyes or even displayed on their TV or computer.

What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography?   Early in my photography adventure it was learning how to use my camera.  Then I progressed to learn everything I could about color and light (both natural and man made).   From there I advanced into composition, perspective and point of view.  Still I wanted to evoke even stronger emotions through my story telling so I learned about “Gesture”.  Not gesture in the traditional sense as most people identify it.  Gesture can be found in everything not just a person doing something.  I found gesture in nature, wildlife, people, architecture and even still life.  I listened as people looked at photographs and paintings to see what grabbed them or conversely what made them move on and not stay in front of a particular piece of art.  All of these things have lead me to “Hybrid Photography”.  I can now use even more of my viewer’s senses and tell an even broader and deeper story.  At the end of the day why do photography at all?  Isn’t it about making a memory, telling a story, evoking an emotion or reaction, recording an event?  So I endeavor to use everything I can to help the viewer through their own journeys.  Over the last year I have even found myself in classes in sculpture, drawing and painting.  Each of these “cousins of photography” have allowed me to become more intimate with the detail in front of me.  I believe over time my photography will take yet another step.

Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills:  Get the technical stuff out of the way quickly.  Join others in your craft and participate in field trips and adventure workshops.  Visit museums and galleries paying attention to what does and does not move you.  Chances are it will move others as well.  Create your own style and immerse yourself in those things that bring you the most pleasure.

Your Name: Bob Varnell

Type of Camera:  Pentax K-5 II

What do you love to photograph the most?   I’ve always loved exploring the world’s natural beauty so it follows that I enjoy photographing landscapes and wildlife.  The most fascinating aspect of nature photography for me is trying to capture the ideal lighting on any given subject, and I enjoy the fact that sometimes it’s extremely fleeting!   There’s nothing more beautiful than watching a mountain, sky, flowers, and trees illuminate with the first rays of light or catching the glow of the clouds as the sun is setting.  I also enjoy trying to photograph wildlife at the perfect moment: a whale breeching or an eagle grabbing a salmon or a hummingbird drinking the nectar from a flower.

What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography?   Kevin and others have emphasized the importance of not being too focused on your main point of interest and what’s directly in front of you, but turn around and look at all of your surroundings.  We were in the Rocky Mountain National Park photographing Bear Lake during sunrise and someone said “look behind you”, and there over our shoulder was the moon setting over the mountain with the Aspen reflecting the sun in the foreground.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills:  Have fun!  Unlike many of our daytime jobs it’s OK to mess up again and again and again.  Keep trying and when you finally get it right it’s that much more enjoyable.  Workshops are great.  Kevin’s workshops are top notch and highly recommended but also branch out and try other workshops.  Even if they’re not quite as good you usually pick up a couple of pearls along the way. With many aspects of photography there’s not a right or wrong way to do things, but you just need to find the way that works best for you and develop your own style.  I’m working to achieve my own photographic style and I hope we cross paths in our pursuit and we can share what we are learning!

Your Name: Kendall Schmidt

Type of Camera:  Nikon D810, D700

What do you love to photograph the most?  In my film days, when I was first learning photography, I’d shoot any and everything, which wasn’t that much as film cost money and I was a money strapped teenager. Fast-forward a several decades to the digital era, when I got back into photography, I started out shooting my kids doing soccer and gymnastics. A decade or so later I find myself loving landscapes/nature and wildlife.

What is one thing you have learned that has improved your photography?   Know your camera and become comfortable with changing all the various settings it provides. Once you have the triangle down (ISO, shutter, aperture), explore the various metering, focus and white balance modes. Play with exposure compensation and learn how/when it can benefit an exposure.

When you see something you feel is image-worthy and you start to formulate your composition, run through a mental checklist of all your settings to ensure you are leveraging your camera to its fullest potential to capture in-camera the best possible exposure.

Too many times I’ve rushed a shot, only to find later that I had overlooked a setting tuned for a previous exposure. Ever leave exposure bracketing on when trying to capture a bird in flight? What the heck? In my defense the day started very early and it was a very long hike…

Advice you’d give to others wanting to grow in their photography skills:  Objectively critique photographs; yours as well as others. Ask yourself, what is it you like or dislike about a photograph? And like anything, practice, practice, practice!