STL Coastal Brown Bear Workshop, AK

Despite a healthy interest in photography, I have very limited opportunity to actually get out in the field and shoot anything which obviously makes for a rather slow learning curve and I regard myself as being very much in the novice league. My solution to this has been to attend workshops and as Charles knows I initially came to him because the artistic “look” of his images was something I hoped to aspire to in my own photography.

I leave it to others to judge my images but I think the workshop situation has dramatically improved my photography in every way. The experience, knowledge, and talent pools available on these workshops have been an incredibly valuable resource, and this comes not only from Charles’ direct advice during a shoot or after shoot sessions where we can de-brief and discuss any issues, but also from discussing his and other participants shoot results. I have also found that on both workshops I’ve attended, that the other participants also had much to teach me and were more than happy to do so.

Equally important to me but beyond the photography I am also very much interested in the “experience” of the environment. I prefer locations that are secluded, where I can sink into and become part of the background, where I can observe but not be interfering and where there are few, if any, people. It is rare to find such places but Katmai is definitely one and has touched me deeply. I think I shall always remember lying in the sand, shooting a bear crashing through the surf chasing salmon, and then hearing the howl of wolves from up the beach.

A unique experience.

J.Swift

I hate to travel. I particularly hate traveling by air. Not that I mind flying, but airports have become a pain in the you know what! The other inconvenience is the limited amount of gear you can carry. Close to home I load up the back of my Trailblazer with so much gear there’s hardly room for my thermos of coffee. I said hardly, it goes with me.