2017 – A Year In Review
/in Blog/by Jay PatelWe want to take some time to wish you happy holidays and say thank you for another great year.
What began as just another year at Visual Wilderness produced some significant changes in how we do business. Here are some highlights from 2017:
VW Membership
The biggest change at Visual Wilderness came this past Fall when we launched our membership service. We were unsure how this would go, but it proved to be highly effective. Starting at ONLY $19.95/month, Visual Wilderness Members get unlimited access to ALL current and future video courses.
Expanded Product Offerings
The second biggest change this year was that we transformed Visual Wilderness into a multi-vendor site; we now offer landscape educational material from our highly-talented contributing photographers. Here are some of the most popular offerings from our contributing photographers in 2017.
Varina and I added more video courses to Visual Wilderness this year then any previous year. Wide Angle Lenses, Creating Impact Vol-2, and Getting it Right in Camera Vol-2 were brand new video courses in our 2017 collection. We also updated our two most popular video courses: In Sharp Focus and Hyperfocal Distance Course.
Landscape Photography Blog
Contributors’ articles were more popular then ever. Be end of 2017, we had over 660 articles with various contributing authors. We also had the opportunity to share stories and technical articles from a number of talented guest authors. Here are a some of the articles from our Visual Wilderness blog in 2017.
The Rollercoaster Ride of a Social Media Photographer
Jay Patel embarks on a whimsical journey of the aspiring social media photographer’s quest for social media stardom and self-discovery.
About Author Jay Patel
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
Finding Your Creative Spark for Nature Photography
Whether you’re an experienced photographer or just starting out, here are some ideas to find inspiration for nature photography.
About Author Jay Patel
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
Exploring Artistic Nature Photography with Camera Lenses
Pro photographer Jay Patel shows you how to unlock the artistic potential of nature photography using camera lenses.
About Author Jay Patel
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
The Rollercoaster Ride of a Social Media Photographer
Jay Patel embarks on a whimsical journey of the aspiring social media photographer’s quest for social media stardom and self-discovery.
About Author Jay Patel
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
Sean Bagshaw’s Photoshop Workflow for Landscape Photography
Sean Bagshaw shares his Photoshop workflow to create stunning natural looking landscape photos with Visual Wilderness Readers.
About Author Jay Patel
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
What’s in Peter Coskun’s camera bag?
Professional landscape photographer Peter Coskun explains the essential camera gear and other items he has in his camera bag.
About Author Jay Patel
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
Essential Spring Photography Tips to Capture The Magic
How to effectively immerse yourself in spring photography to capture the beauty of emerging life by pro photographer Jay Patel.
About Author Jay Patel
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
Free InFocus Newsletter
Our InFocus Newsletter continues its incredible growth. With over 38,000 subscribers, we received some incredible feedback from our readers. Here is what people are saying.
What People Are Saying
It was excellent!
In camera exposure principles very simply explained in today’s Mastering Exposure Webinar . It was excellent!
Varina is an exceptional teacher
Varina is an exceptional teacher (I’ve experienced hundreds over the years and she is among the very best, if not at the top). These case studies are an exceptional complement to the fieldwork teachings where both Varina and Jay excel with their skills and explanations. The Ultimate Landscape Photography Course is a MUST HAVE EXPERIENCE for anyone wanting to get into or improve their skills in this field.
Jay was very clear and to the point
The material is presented in easy-to-digest
I have been using filters for many years and still learned a number of helpful tidbits of information I didn’t already know or hadn’t thought about from the Essential Filters Course. The material is presented in easy-to-digest segments of video that you can sit down and watch all of back-to-back, or if you only have a few minutes you can watch them one at a time. The way the segments are divided makes it easy to go back and find specifics you want to review.
Passionate hobbyists should follow Jay and Varina Patel
The very best possible way to teach
I retired from forty years of teaching elementary and middle school math/science students. As a former Indiana Teacher of the Year and and inducted member into the NATIONAL TEACHERS HALL OF FAME, I know what makes great teachers, and believe me, you and Varina Patel are excellent at what you do because you take complex topics and make them so simple to understand. Better yet, you teach your lessons directly from the field, on site—the very best possible way to teach.
You guys do a fabulous job teaching
You guys do a fabulous job teaching the Essential Filters Course in a fairly easy and straightforward manner that we can comprehend quickly. I have already learned a lot about different tips and tricks just by watching some of your video courses. Kudos to both of you and I deeply appreciate it.
Keep up the great work
I didn’t know Histograms could be so easily manipulated with such awesome results. I purchased this a few weeks, ago, and have viewed all the videos five or six times. Having been a public school teacher for 40+ years before retiring, I know what makes excellent teaching, and you, two, are some of the best instructors I’ve seen in the field of photography. Keep up the great work, and keep adding new additions to your ebooks and videos collections.
I thoroughly enjoyed the video courses
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.
Very informative and well presented
In Sharp Focus Webinar was very informative and well presented.
Contributing Authors
Finally, we want to say "thank you" to all of our talented contributing photographers on Visual Wilderness. Here are a few examples of some of their inspiring articles and stories.
Once again, we want to take this time to thank you and wish you all a Creative and Inspiring 2018!
About Author Jay Patel
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