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:
Helpful and explained very well
Mastering Exposure Webinar content was helpful and explained very well.
Dan
Madison,Wisconsin
I really enjoyed the Behind the Lens course.
I really enjoyed the Behind the Lens course. It is the best of all the courses you’ve made. I own every one of your webinars and courses and this one was as intuitive as any of
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I really enjoyed the Behind the Lens course. It is the best of all the courses you’ve made. I own every one of your webinars and courses and this one was as intuitive as any of them.
You have both brought my learning forward big time with your Histogram Exposed Course. I only got my first dslr 2 weeks ago. You have given me the skills to get results straight away. I am
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You have both brought my learning forward big time with your Histogram Exposed Course. I only got my first dslr 2 weeks ago. You have given me the skills to get results straight away. I am having so much fun experimenting in manual mode. Something I didn’t think was possible so early in my journey.
Your and Varina’s style of teaching is so amazing. You bring the workshop to my home in lucid and easy to understand style. I have subscribed to many including PPSOP, Lynda…But your team is the best!
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Your and Varina’s style of teaching is so amazing. You bring the workshop to my home in lucid and easy to understand style. I have subscribed to many including PPSOP, Lynda…But your team is the best! I have recommended The Complete Ultimate Collection to all my friends.
Alan Shapiro‘s work is inspirational. And aspirational. He is a dynamic, fascinating presenter. He is very generous with explaining how to set up the home studio, what lighting to use and why, product and resource lists.
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Alan Shapiro‘s work is inspirational. And aspirational. He is a dynamic, fascinating presenter. He is very generous with explaining how to set up the home studio, what lighting to use and why, product and resource lists. And it’s fun while you are learning! Bingo!
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 learned a tremendous amount – all the techniques Alan Shapiro covered: profiles, color checker, calibration, new curves, crushing the blacks, sketching w/virtual copies, range masking and more. Love how Alan approaches enhancing each image as a
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I learned a tremendous amount – all the techniques Alan Shapiro covered: profiles, color checker, calibration, new curves, crushing the blacks, sketching w/virtual copies, range masking and more. Love how Alan approaches enhancing each image as a new, individual artistic journey. Looking forward to learning more!
In camera exposure principles very simply explained in today’s Mastering Exposure Webinar . It was excellent!
Alan Dixon
Norwich, England
Experience you bring to your video courses was very uplifting
The fresh perspective and experience you bring to your video courses was very uplifting to me and since I have taken the course my images have really improved. I also have a renewed desire to shoot
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The fresh perspective and experience you bring to your video courses was very uplifting to me and since I have taken the course my images have really improved. I also have a renewed desire to shoot again. I continue to watch them over and over and find hidden gems in them each time I do.
You do a terrific job of explaining things clearly
I just wanted to let you know that I’m working my way through the Ultimate Landscape Photography Course and loving it! You do a terrific job of explaining things clearly, and you have a great onscreen
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I just wanted to let you know that I’m working my way through the Ultimate Landscape Photography Course and loving it! You do a terrific job of explaining things clearly, and you have a great onscreen presence and rapport with each other. Really enjoying it – looks like I’ll have to get Behind the Lens next… And I look forward to more after that!
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...
I love the relaxed way you tell your stories
I love the relaxed way you tell your stories in InFocus Newsletter, and your wonderful pictures.
Gert
Denmark
InFocus Newsletter has been part of my educational process
For me the best parts are the InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter and the Video Tutorials. The article on how to take pictures of the stars motivated me to get out there and
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For me the best parts are the InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter and the Video Tutorials. The article on how to take pictures of the stars motivated me to get out there and try it. I bought the video series on Essential Photographic Filters which I found informative. That led me to try out your new video series on the Histogram Exposed Tutorial. InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter has been part of my educational process in my quest to improve my photography.
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
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
I thoroughly enjoy each Newsletter
I thoroughly enjoy each Newsletter (InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter). They have all been interesting and informative. I love the photos I’ve seen and the text describing how the shot was made. I’ve
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I thoroughly enjoy each Newsletter (InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter). They have all been interesting and informative. I love the photos I’ve seen and the text describing how the shot was made. I’ve especially enjoyed seeing and reading how the light has changed the photo, or how the different approach of Jay and Varina to the same location will result in photos that can be dramatically different.
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
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.
Concise, well delivered and meaningful information
InFocus Newsletter is the best source on the web for concise, well delivered and meaningful information on landscape and nature photography. The blog has an amazing wealth of information photographers can use
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InFocus Newsletter is the best source on the web for concise, well delivered and meaningful information on landscape and nature photography. The blog has an amazing wealth of information photographers can use at no cost and the ebooks are a tremendous value; the best I have been able to find. If you are looking for a place to find what you need to become a stronger photographer, InFocus Newsletter is the place. Very well done Varina and Jay.
InFocus Nature Photography Newsletter is inspirational in every way, jaw dropping photos, quality advice and its free!
Marshall
England
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.