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:
I have learned so much from the videos
Visual Wilderness Streaming Service is the one service that I subscribe to that I truly would be heartbroken to lose!!! I have learned so much from the videos and love that I can go back and
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Visual Wilderness Streaming Service is the one service that I subscribe to that I truly would be heartbroken to lose!!! I have learned so much from the videos and love that I can go back and re-watch them to refresh myself whenever I want. I knew the videos were outstanding, but I’m in awe at how amazing your customer service is.
Thank you so much Kate Silva for the valuable information you provided in the Creative Post Processing online class! Questions from participants were answered fully, lots of examples were provided, the pace was perfect & Kate
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Thank you so much Kate Silva for the valuable information you provided in the Creative Post Processing online class! Questions from participants were answered fully, lots of examples were provided, the pace was perfect & Kate was a personable & well-informed & the information was provided in a logical order. Thank you! I will certainly consider registering for another Visual Wilderness Online Class.
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.
Passionate hobbyists should follow Jay and Varina Patel
Passionate hobbyists interested in learning the technical aspects of photography in a simple and understanding way should follow Jay and Varina Patel.
Jaikumar Menon
Mumbai, India
I learn better with your focused approach
I have used both your free and paid video tutorials. What I really like about your approach over some of the many others I have read, is that you concentrate on one small topic (such as
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I have used both your free and paid video tutorials. What I really like about your approach over some of the many others I have read, is that you concentrate on one small topic (such as hyperfocal distance). I found that I was more likely to go out and practice and thus retain what I learned better than when attacking a much broader topic.
I am not particularly creative but after watching Kate Silvia‘s online class I feel like that I, too, can become creative. I enjoyed watching how she analyzed the scene to made creative decisions. Well done.
Alicia Hoegh
Broomfield, Colorado
What a refreshing approach in an ever changing industry!
I have been an outdoor photographer for 25 years and really enjoy tuning in to Varina and Jay’s tutorials, they are leading the way with their technical knowledge and philosophy on composition, what a refreshing approach
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I have been an outdoor photographer for 25 years and really enjoy tuning in to Varina and Jay’s tutorials, they are leading the way with their technical knowledge and philosophy on composition, what a refreshing approach in an ever changing industry!
Mastering Exposure Webinar content was helpful and explained very well.
Dan
Madison,Wisconsin
Easy to follow and replicate for your students
Once again, a wonderful course (Getting it Right in Camera) that you have created here, in stunning locations, and by means of your intuitive style of teaching all the concepts and techniques can be properly digested.
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Once again, a wonderful course (Getting it Right in Camera) that you have created here, in stunning locations, and by means of your intuitive style of teaching all the concepts and techniques can be properly digested. The case studies provide invaluable insights in how you work your cameras and the thought processes behind creating those wonderful images – easy to follow and replicate for your students.
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
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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.
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 provides great inspiration
InFocus Newsletter provides great inspiration, help and source of information in easy-to-understand language for beginners like me. You gave me that little push to always have my camera with me when I’m
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InFocus Newsletter provides great inspiration, help and source of information in easy-to-understand language for beginners like me. You gave me that little push to always have my camera with me when I’m out and about. Keep up the great work!
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
It’s full of useful and well-presented info
The site is a pleasure to view and read, and it’s full of useful and well-presented info. The photos, of course, are a great source of inspiration. We always look forward to
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The site is a pleasure to view and read, and it’s full of useful and well-presented info. The photos, of course, are a great source of inspiration. We always look forward to receiving our InFocus Nature Photograph Newsletter updates, and we saved each one for future reference.
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.
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.
One of the best free landscape photography resources
InFocus Newsletter is one of the best free landscape photography resources available.
Tami
Ft. Worth, USA
I have learned many great tips and tricks
I have been following InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter for about five years and have learned many great tips and tricks and have been inspired by many of your images. You have always
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I have been following InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter for about five years and have learned many great tips and tricks and have been inspired by many of your images. You have always been an very good instructors when I attended your seminars.
InFocus Newsletter provides simple, easy to read and follow articles that both beginner and Intermediate advanced photographers can benefit from.
Sajjad
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
It gives me encouragement
I just enjoy reading Infocus Newsletter. It gives me encouragement to try new things.
Brian
Darling, South Africa
My landscape photos have improved greatly
My landscape photos have improved greatly from the help from InFocus Newsletter from Visual Wilderness.
Earl
Montgomery, Alabama
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.