We wanted to take some time to look at our 5th year of operations for Visual Wilderness and wish you all a very happy holidays. Here are some of the highlights from this past year.
More About Our Contributing Photographers
In spite of their best efforts to portray themselves as super heroes on social media, all our contributing landscape photographers are humans that have lives beyond photography. Some of them more than others. ;) Here are interesting tidbits from our contributors:
Joshua Snow – I built a camper van, spent 220+ nights on the road, was able to travel a few times internationally, and forgot how to take photos in the process.
Christine Hauber – I competed in the National Senior Olympics and I am not even old! A few years ago they dropped the “senior” age to 50. Although I did not win any of my swimming events, I was happy that I did not come in last.
Kate Silvia – I started learning to paint! I never knew I could do this and it’s kinda blowing me away. Just goes to show… try new things… all the time! You never know what you might be capable of!
Artwork by Landscape Photographer Kate Silvia
Pro Landscape Photographer Christine Hauber participating in National Senior Olympics
Landscape photographer’s ultimate transportation by Joshua Snow
Chrissy Donadi – I had a baby in January so this has been the first year of my adult life with absolutely no travel. I remained in the same state for 365 days and have been a stay-at-home parent. After more sleep deprivation than photographing in Iceland during the months of almost 24 hours daylight, my husband and I are considering our first year as parents of a mini human somewhat successful.
Varina Patel – In 2019, I discovered that I had MS… and named it Grover. Bad Grover!! Go away Grover. So I decided to add water colors to keep my fingers active and combat the effects of MS.
How MS effected Varina Patel – Click to Play
Gaurav Mittal – 2019 was very challenging for me health-wise. Facing a very serious cervical spondylosis issue, I have been through multiple surgeries and numerous nerve block procedures. While I did not do anything outside of photography this year, I did learn something new about myself… a steel-like determination to not give up.
Lace Andersen – I became a full time photographer, got laid off, and started photographing people, weddings, and families etc. Outside of photography… I have been avidly going to yoga 4-5 days a week in hopes of touching my toes one day soon. Until then, there will be no yoga selfies.
Jay Patel – This year I decided to stop running and take up long-distance biking. Why? So I can make sure my knees don’t need replacing when I grow up. Which by the way, I don’t plan on doing as soon as I figure out how to stop time.
Bear, the super-sidekick guard dog watching over Chrissy Donadi’d tripod & camera.
Landscape photographer Jay Patel testing out new Shimoda Bag in Iceland
Travel photography from Japan by Ugo Cei
Ugo Cei – This year I started shooting film again with a large format view camera and learned how to develop it at home. I also started studying Japanese and was able to use what I learned during my first trip to Japan. I will keep studying the language in preparation for my upcoming fall colors tour of 2020. Finally, I learned how to dance… no, really!!
Most Popular Blog Posts
Oh yes… and our contributing photographers continued to create some fantastic blog posts. Below are some of the most popular with landscape photographers from all over the world in 2019 (in no particular order).
This was the second full year of a landscape photography streaming service offering for our customers. We have an excellent subscriber retention rate and continue to provide new content throughout the year. In addition, we introduced several new nature photography video tutorials that were available for free for streaming subscribers. Here are is what the customers are saying about our video tutorials:
Presentation was very informative
Alan Shapiro’s presentation was very informative. His combination of several texture layers certainly gives painterly results.
Marjorie Prescott
La Jolla, California
I congratulate Jay and Varina on an excellent course!
I congratulate Jay and Varina on an excellent course. Naturally the most important element is the human and I am enjoying your philosophy, meticulous attention to detail, and words of wisdom learned sometimes the hard way.
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I congratulate Jay and Varina on an excellent course. Naturally the most important element is the human and I am enjoying your philosophy, meticulous attention to detail, and words of wisdom learned sometimes the hard way. You are giving us wonderful and very effective advice and recommendations for equipment use and photographic technique. (Ultimate Landscape Photography Course)
I loved Alan Shapiro‘s class! It was really helpful just to see the little tips and tricks he uses with his still life photography. While technical classes are incredibly helpful, I really enjoyed that he presented
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I loved Alan Shapiro‘s class! It was really helpful just to see the little tips and tricks he uses with his still life photography. While technical classes are incredibly helpful, I really enjoyed that he presented the artistic side and the simplified piece. The relaxed and interactive flow of the class was really great, much more like a conversation than a lecture which made it that much more fantastic!
I’m successfully using Hyperfocal Distance all the time now!
I spent gobs of time trying to wrap my head around Hyperfocal Distance, but for whatever reason, I just never found the right teachers until I saw your class on the subject. I’ve watched it twice
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I spent gobs of time trying to wrap my head around Hyperfocal Distance, but for whatever reason, I just never found the right teachers until I saw your class on the subject. I’ve watched it twice now, and guess what? I’m successfully using Hyperfocal Distance all the time now! It’s literally like you guys opened a curtain and let the sun in.
great content from a very knowledgeable instructor
In Sharp Focus Webinar contained great content from a very knowledgeable instructor.
Paul Peters
Cobble Hill, British Columbia, Canada
I can confidently say excellent job!
This (Visual Wilderness video courses) is exactly what I didn’t realize I’ve been looking for over the past few years: the videos, case studies, raw files, and explanations are what set this so far apart from
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This (Visual Wilderness video courses) is exactly what I didn’t realize I’ve been looking for over the past few years: the videos, case studies, raw files, and explanations are what set this so far apart from anything else I’ve found. I have just started the course, but I can confidently say excellent job!
The information is easy to understand and to the point
I bought several of your Video Courses and I just love them. They are enthusiastic, the information is easy to understand and to the point. It makes me want to run out and try all your
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I bought several of your Video Courses and I just love them. They are enthusiastic, the information is easy to understand and to the point. It makes me want to run out and try all your tips . Best of all the photography from all over the world is just fantastic! Great work! Will be watching for more!
I thoroughly enjoyed the video courses by Varina and Jay Patel. Their clear presentation style and real life examples of their teaching enabled me to rapidly understand and put into practice what they were teaching. Their
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I thoroughly enjoyed the video courses by Varina and Jay Patel. Their clear presentation style and real life examples of their teaching enabled me to rapidly understand and put into practice what they were teaching. Their style is quite personal as if you were on site with them. Excellent photography in the examples supports the learning experience. Histograms were always a bit of a mystery. Seeing how to use them to improve my “in-camera” results will enable me to get the results I see in the field.
I’m enjoying your Creating Impact Course video tutorials and case studies. They’ve really helped clarify a number of areas that have always been a big vague for me – like hyperfocal distance! I’ve also really appreciated
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I’m enjoying your Creating Impact Course video tutorials and case studies. They’ve really helped clarify a number of areas that have always been a big vague for me – like hyperfocal distance! I’ve also really appreciated seeing your thought process when deciding how to photograph a location and the steps you work through in post processing. Great stuff! :)
In 2019, we expanded our video tutorial offering by becoming a multi-vendor marketplace for nature photographers. We now offer video courses from several contributing photographers on all aspects of landscape photography. Here are some of the most popular video courses from this past year...
Our latest video courses were based on fine-tuning your start-to-finish workflow for some of the most important aspects of photography. These video courses, with a razor-sharp focus on different aspects of landscape and nature photography and are sold in over 70 countries around the world.
Newsletter and Web App Notifications
We have over 46,000 subscribers for our InFocus newsletter and over 18,000 subscribers get educational content via notifications from Visual Wilderness on their mobile and desktop devices. Not surprisingly, both of these free resources have superb engagement and a worldwide audience. Here is what some of the readers have to say...
InFocus Newsletter is keeping my skills sharp
I’ve been a photographer for a long time – more than 35 years. One might think that I have plenty of knowledge and I just need to apply that knowledge. With almost
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I’ve been a photographer for a long time – more than 35 years. One might think that I have plenty of knowledge and I just need to apply that knowledge. With almost every issue of InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter, I learn something new. Or at the very least, I’m reminded of something that I should have remembered but has been forgotten. InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter is keeping my skills sharp while increasing my knowledge and challenging me to seek out new photographic experiences.
Having Visual Wilderness Nature Photography Newsletter on my PC at my finger tips is a great help and if need be I can quickly check for tips whilst out in the field
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Having Visual Wilderness Nature Photography Newsletter on my PC at my finger tips is a great help and if need be I can quickly check for tips whilst out in the field shooting.
The topics covered in InFocus Newsletter are very helpful for us photography enthusiasts and the courses offered are precise yet highly educative, informative.
JaiKumar
Oman
Keep up the great work
I have enjoyed Infocus Newsletter and have learn much that has enhanced my enjoyment and technical skills. Keep up the great work.
Richard
Chattanooga, TN, USA
Your wording is great, straight to the point
I teach with the U3A (University of the Third age) teaching the older people. Taking them through the transgression from film to digital is a big step. I find your wording is
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I teach with the U3A (University of the Third age) teaching the older people. Taking them through the transgression from film to digital is a big step. I find your wording is great, straight to the point. Thanks for your Infocus Nature Photography Newsletter.
I have subscribed to several online magazines. Your Nature Photography Newsletter is very easy to read and understand. Because of Chemical poisoning from a career in traditional studio photography, I am finding the
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I have subscribed to several online magazines. Your Nature Photography Newsletter is very easy to read and understand. Because of Chemical poisoning from a career in traditional studio photography, I am finding the articles are helping me regain what I have lost – love of photography again & learning techniques in the digital age of photography. Many thanks for your enthusiasm.
I love the easy to follow and understand information that Free Nature Photography Newsletter provide. It’s helped me tremendously as I am constantly trying to improve on the photos I take. Your post
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I love the easy to follow and understand information that Free Nature Photography Newsletter provide. It’s helped me tremendously as I am constantly trying to improve on the photos I take. Your post processing tips are awesome. Delivery to my email makes it very easy to read, whether I’m in the office or traveling.
One of the best free landscape photography resources
InFocus Newsletter is one of the best free landscape photography resources available.
Tami
Ft. Worth, USA
Helps me to learn from the experts
InFocus Newsletter helps me to continually learn from the experts in field of Nature Photography.
Prabu
San Carlos , USA
It helped me improve my photography
I really like the interesting articles in the InFocus Newsletter and the variety of tutorials in small bites which have helped me improve my photography.
Veronica
Guildford, UK
What is Coming in 2020?
Throughout this coming year, we plan to create more in-depth video courses on several aspects of landscape photography. In addition, producing more on-location video courses that feature workshop-style lessons is also part of our 2020 plan.
I could startoff like this – “Seeds of Jay Patel’s appreciation for beautiful places were planted early in his childhood….” but it would get boring really fast. I will just sum it up and say that I am a Landscape and Wilderness Photographer who loves to capture dramatic light. My photographs have been published in various magazines, calendars and advertising materials throughout the world. Patience is a virtue...unless you are chasing your dreams
Wonderful that you have put this personal touch out there. May your holidays be all you want them to be and may the new year bring healing for those in need and continued enthusiasm for all the great work you do.
keith fey says:
May all of you at Visual Wilderness continue capturing the light of our wonderful World for all of us to see and dream about. May you share your knowledge with an ever widening enthralled community of like minded photographers. May you inspire the next generation to carry photography’s colors, may you return everything you have in your power to do so… to the pool of life … these wide open spaces which become rare because of their beauty and wildness…. and may you.. one and all have a very special blessed Christmas and prosperous new year… Thank you for the year gone by… too fast.. Kind regards.. Keith Fey.
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Wonderful that you have put this personal touch out there. May your holidays be all you want them to be and may the new year bring healing for those in need and continued enthusiasm for all the great work you do.
May all of you at Visual Wilderness continue capturing the light of our wonderful World for all of us to see and dream about. May you share your knowledge with an ever widening enthralled community of like minded photographers. May you inspire the next generation to carry photography’s colors, may you return everything you have in your power to do so… to the pool of life … these wide open spaces which become rare because of their beauty and wildness…. and may you.. one and all have a very special blessed Christmas and prosperous new year… Thank you for the year gone by… too fast.. Kind regards.. Keith Fey.