OUTSIDERS Panel Discussion - Creativity & Artistic Vision

Panel discussion on Creativity and Personal Expression.

SPEAKERS:

DAN BALLARD - Dan Ballard is a pro landscape photographer, avid traveler and educator. He has been to over 60 countries across the globe in search of a great image or a memorable experience. Influenced by his early years growing up in a small town in Colorado, Dan’s love for photography comes from a strong desire to share a sense of wonder for the world with others. Dan has been invited to speak around the world at photo events and festivals, and he has sold images to major publications and clients globally, including The National Geographic Society and The Travel Channel. He teaches photo workshops year round. \

ERIC BENNETT - I believe that landscape photography has the power to cause people to fall in love with the remarkable, natural beauty of our planet. My travels are motivated by this idea that if I can capture a place in the right way, I can give the world a glimpse of its true value in its unaltered, natural state. I hope that my imagery can inspire a desire in others to protect and conserve the little wilderness we have left. Following the Outsiders photography conference, I will be teaching a 2 day virtual workshop. This workshop will focus on creating concise and powerful imagery both through compositional and lighting techniques as well as post processing. You can learn more and sign up here: www.bennettfilm.com/LessIsMoreWorkshop

NICKI FRATES - Nicki Frates is a landscape photographer who blends a deep reverence for nature and an appetite for adventure with an intuitive eye to create images that offer a distinctive and passionate perspective of the physical world. Nicki’s immediate following in the landscape photography world was accelerated by the release of an image she shot in Yosemite entitled “Fire Falls.” The photo sold to many publications and was chosen from among 45,000 other registered images from around the world and was displayed at the exhibition in Siena as well as published in the official Collective Photo Book entitled Beyond the Lens. Nicki has also been featured on Pixels “Art My Way” docu-series, an inspiring video series which tells the stories of modern American visual artists and how they established themselves creatively. She has sold her work to numerous media publications, and has been a finalist in a variety of other national contests, such as Outdoor Photographer’s "The American Landscape 2016.” Nicki is no stranger to art. She comes from a background in fashion design where she honed her skills of bringing visions to life, as well as exercised a keen awareness about the market. Her vision has been enhanced by her spiritual connection to the natural world, and her intention is to share a bit of that magic through each photo. Nicki calls Los Angeles home and regularly travels globally to explore new destinations and capture the next shot.

DAVID JOHNSTON - I started my journey in photography in 2004 when I took a film photography course in high school. It was an amazing experience to shoot with film and then bring those images to life in the darkroom. There is definitely an enormous difference in film and digital photography. Film cameras taught how to get my light correct in-camera as best possible. However, it was in 2010 that I really became obsessed with photography after I got my first DSLR camera. I decided to put all of my energy into photography to make it my life career. I knew I couldn’t quit my full-time job right away, but I could hustle with photography on the side until I could do photography full-time. In 2014 I started my first blog and podcast called Photography Roundtable. I had a good run with the podcast and it enabled me to meet some of my best photography friends, teach, and run photography workshops in national parks in the United States.

RYAN SMITH - Combining his professional experience as a corporate trainer with his passion for photography, Ryan has a knack for sharing the technical aspects of photography in an easy to understand way through various workshops, and events through the west and beyond including the Hawaiian Islands. He enjoys adapting to the various needs of his attendees whether it's in the field learning the technical side and composition techniques, or if it's in the classroom focusing on perfecting post editing techniques to help achieve a print ready image. Ryan also enjoys sharing his print selling success as experience as a gallery represented artist .