Creativity demystified

Dave Cross - Photoshop Techniques, Don Komarechka - winter magic (snowflakes, freezing soap bubbles, & more), Mo Devlin - frozen flowers, Padma Inguva - Vertoramas , Polina Plotnikova - still life photography, Rad Drew - creative editing with Topaz, Tony Sweet - Infrared photography an overview, Ilse Beunen - Ikebana, the art of Japanese floral design, Jackie Kramer - shooting and adding textures to your images and Sacred St. Augustine (taking a project from concept to execution, exhibition & publication), Christine Cook - color theory, Dewitt Jones & Flint Sparks will be sharing inspiring thoughts on creativity & community.

  • 1

    PRE-CONFERENCE SESSION: Chris Richman - THE POWER OF PERSONAL PROJECTS

    • The POWER OF PERSONAL PROJECTS
  • 2

    Pre-CONFERENCE SESSION: CHARLES MASON

    • PERSONAL PROJECTS - ZOO, KUDZU, DENALI ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE
  • 3

    Social Hour and Words Project Overview

    • Social Hour - Talent Share and Words Overview
  • 4

    10/5 - 1pm: ORIENTATION MEETING - Zoom, Accessing Recordings, & Facebook Group

    • Orientation Mtg

    • Orientation to Zoom, the Website to Access Recordings, Facebook Group, and the WORD Project
  • 5

    10/7 - 4pm: Dewitt Jones - Opening Inspiration & Interactive Discussion (followed by Craig Strong, Live with Lensbaby)

    • Dewitt Jones - Learn to Photograph with your Soul Camera (followed by Craig Strong, Lensbaby)
  • 6

    10/7 - 7pm: Jackie Kramer - Shoot Your Own Textures (Part 1 of 2)

    • Shooting Textures
  • 7

    10/09 - 1pm: Jackie Kramer - Add Your Textures in Photoshop (Part 2 of 2)

    • Add your own textures in Photoshop
  • 8

    10/09 - 4pm: Mo Devlin - Frozen Flowers

    • Frozen Flowers

    • Mo Devlin - Frozen Flowers
  • 9

    10/10 - 1pm: Polina Plotnikova - Arranging and Shooting Still Life

    • Polina Plotnikova - Still Life Photography
  • 10

    10/10 - 4pm - Don Komarechka - Frozen Soap Bubbles, Snowflakes, & more

    • Frozen Worlds

    • Don Komarechka - Frozen Worlds (Snowflakes, Soap Bubbles, etc.)
  • 11

    10/12 - 1pm: Ilse Beunen - Ikebana, The Japanese Art of Flower Arranging

    • Ilse Beunen - Ikebana
  • 12

    10/12 - 4pm: Dave Cross - Photoshop (specifics TBD)

    • Photoshop with Dave Cross

    • Dave Cross - Selections in Photoshop
  • 13

    11/05 - 1pm: Padma Inguva - Vertoramas

    • Vertoramas
  • 14

    11/05 - 4pm: Jackie Kramer - Sacred St. Augustine (project overview)

    • Sacred St. Augustine
  • 15

    11/09 - 1pm: Tony Sweet - Infrared Photography; an overview

    • Infrared Photography
  • 16

    11/09 - 4pm: Christine Cook - Beyond the Color Wheel: Bringing harmony to your images

    • Beyond the Color Wheel
  • 17

    11/12 - 1pm: Rad Drew - Creative Editing with Topaz

    • Topaz
  • 18

    11/12 - 4pm: Jackie - Summary of Word Project

    • Overview of the Words Project
  • 19

    11/16 - 4pm: Flint Sparks - Inspiring Words - The Force & Value of a Creative Community

    • Inspiration
  • 20

    11/19 - 1pm: Image Review Session 1 of 3

    • Image Review
  • 21

    11/21 - 1pm: Image Review Session 2 of 3

    • Image Review - 2 of 3
  • 22

    11/23 - 1pm: Image Review Session 3 of 3

    • Image Review - 3 of 3

Instructors

Jackie Kramer

Jackie has been photographing the natural world, with an emphasis on flowers, since the age 16. She is at home in the field shooting wildflowers, in botanical gardens, private gardens, and in her home studio, i.e. the kitchen. Jackie is a KelbyOne instructor who has received international acclaim for her images. Her work has been published in magazines, such as Photoshop User, Portfolio, LensWork, The Photographer Magazine, and on the cover of NANPA Expressions. Jackie's true passion is to encourage people to live their legacy. She maintains an active Facebook group, Phlorography - Artistic Floral Photography, with thousands of passionate floral photographers from around the world. She is committed to supporting other photographers and using photography as a medium to build relationships and enrich each other’s lives.

Dewitt Jones

Dewitt Jones is one of America's top professional photographers with a career stretching over twenty years. As a motion picture director, he had two documentary films nominated for Academy Awards (Climb - Best Live Action Short Film and John Muir's High Sierra - Best Short Subject Documentary) before he was thirty. Turning to advertising, Jones rose to the forefront of corporate creative marketing photographing national advertising campaigns for Dewar's Scotch, Canon, and United Airlines. He has published nine books, including California!, Visions of Wilderness, What The Road Passes By, Robert Frost; A Tribute To The Source, Canyon Country and John Muir’s High Sierra. His most recent book, The Nature of Leadership was created in collaboration with Stephen R. Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People). Dewitt's column, Basic Jones, appears monthly in Outdoor Photographer magazine. He is a cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Drama and holds a Masters Degree in film making from UCLA.

Dave Cross

For nearly 30 years, Dave Cross has been helping photographers and creative professionals get the most out of their software. Starting with Adobe Illustrator classes in 1987, Dave has taught Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to thousands of users around the world. He has a Bachelor of Education, is an Adobe Certified Instructor in Photoshop CC and is a Certified Technical Trainer. Dave has taught at Photoshop World (27 times), spoken at many photography events, written numerous articles and several books, co-hosted Photoshop User TV and has appeared in many DVDs and online courses for Kelby Training and PhotoshopCafe. Dave is a regular instructor for CreativeLive, and in 2016 and 2017 was named a MAX Master instructor at Adobe MAX. In 2009 Dave was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame.

Don Komarechka

Don Komarechka is a nature, macro and landscape photographer located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. From auroras to pollen, insects to infrared, much of Don’s photographic adventures reveal a deeper understanding of how the universe works. Exploring the world that we cannot see with our own eyes has been a common thread in Don’s career as a professional photographer. Don’s first mass-produced book, Sky Crystals: Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes shows his attention to detail and desire to understand the world around him. He has been featured in an episode of The Nature of Things with David Suzuki. A 2017 limited-edition one ounce pure silver $20 coin produced by the Royal Canadian Mint features one of Don’s snowflake images. His latest publication, Macro Photography: The Universe at Our Feet, is soon to be released and is likely to be the most comprehensive and current book on the subject.

Polina Plotnikova

Polina is based in London. In her own words... "I am firmly in the picture makers' club. While fully appreciating the "what you see is what you get" approach, I am much more interested in chasing an ever-elusive image that appears in my mind's eye, an image that conveys my feelings and emotions, rather than remains a mere statement of fact. My favourite subjects are: flowers, still life, and also capturing my impressions when traveling. Still life is perfect for a perfectionist like me - no one fidgets or makes faces, no sudden gust of wind or other quirk of ever-changing weather can spoil your shot. But, by the same token, you cannot count on something interesting that just happens all of a sudden - it is all up to you; the choices are infinite, and the final result is entirely in your own hands. I have ARPS and EFIAP distinctions and numerous awards, including eight Gold and Silver Gilt medals at RHS photography competitions, category winner of Food Photographer of The Year, as well as various distinctions from the International Garden Photographer of The Year and various Photography Salons."

Rad Drew

Rad Drew is a photographer, teacher, and tour leader from Indianapolis, Indiana. He makes photographs with mirrorless and infrared cameras, and assorted iPhones, and he loves to teach and inspire others to discover their hidden creative talents. His creative images have been recognized in galleries and photo competitions around the world. He was recognized in the Photography Society of America’s Who’s Who in Photography 2018 in the Editorial Awards category. Learn more on his website www.RadDrewPhotography.com.

Padma Inguva

In her own words... Who Am I? Age old question, isn’t it? I am Padma, a woman, a mother, a restless soul and lifelong focused student, and a mentor. I am forever seeking things that make me happy. What do I know? Many things... while Photography is my obsession... gardening, reading, jewelry making, soap and lotion making, aroma therapy are some of my other hobbies... I might prefer one over other for a certain period of time but all these activities make me happy. What do I have to offer? A lot of images to show my journey in photography and mentoring in photography and post processing.

Tony Sweet

Tony is a Nikon Legend Behind the Lens. After successful careers as a jazz musician/ educator, and professional magician, Tony settled on photography as his chosen means for personal expression. Over the last 30 years, Tony has become an in-demand speaker throughout the United States and Canada on Photography and creativity. Tony and Susan Milestone conduct Visual Artistry photography location workshops in the United States, Canada, and Iceland. Tony maintains an active speaking schedule to photography organizations, industry trade shows and PPA schools. He also conducts Visual Artistry Creativity Seminars. Tony’s photography is published worldwide in every medium and is represented by Getty Images. Tony’s images are also used by Nikon, Exposure Software, Singh Ray, Topaz, Lensbaby and others for national ad campaigns, as well as an interview in The New York Times.

Mo Devlin

Mo Devlin lives in Northeastern Pa. with his wife. Mo is known internationally for his work photographing tropical fish. He is also known for his frozen flower images, which have been published worldwide. Many of his friends jokingly call him H2Mo, At 82 degrees its fish. At 32 degrees its flowers.

Flint Sparks

Flint Sparks is a Zen teacher and former psychologist dedicated to assisting people in the unending path of growing up and waking up. He is an experienced therapist and a master teacher who assists people in the skillful removal of blocks to love, both inside and outside. He is a clear and caring resource on the path of freedom from unnecessary suffering. Flint has nearly four decades of experience in the practice and teaching of psychotherapy. He is also a Zen teacher who leads retreats throughout North America and Europe.

Ilse Beunen

Ilse left Belgium in 1989, after graduating as a landscape architect. She lived in Japan for 11 years. She became an apprentice of Suzuki Shigeichi (鈴木　重壱), a landscaping architect in Nagaoka. She learned the secrets of designing Japanese gardens and studied many aspects of Japanese culture, including Ikebana. After moving to Yokohama in 1995, she studied under Crivelli Joko and obtained her first Sogetsu teaching license in 1997. During her stay in Yokohama, she taught Ikebana to Japanese and foreigners. She made several ikebana arrangements and installations at the Belgian embassy in Tokyo. Together with her husband, she returned to Belgium in 2000 and started her business as an ikebana teacher and designer of Japanese gardens. Ilse began a Facebook page to raise awareness for Ikebana, www.facebook.com/ikebanabelgium, which now has over 20.000+ followers.

Christine Cook

Christine’s photographic explorations began with a pinhole camera she made for a science project in elementary school. Her photography continued to develop through the film and darkroom era, through Visual Perception training in high school and the study of the brain while she was earning a doctorate in Education. Her images have earned awards nationally and internationally. She has wide ranging interests in photography, but especially loves creative compositions. She teaches at the Naples Art Association, Florida Camera Club Council and presents on many topics to camera club. She developed and now teaches a judges certification program in Florida and serves on the following boards: the Florida Camera Club Council, the Naples DPI-SIG Photography Club and Exhibitions Without Walls, which sponsors online international competitions.