Hello all. I’m curious if you attend nature photography conferences and if so, what is your favorite one? I would love to attend at least one per year, and meet new friends, talk to vendors, network, and of course, learn.
As a decades-long member of PPA, attending Imaging USA just isn’t my interest anymore. I want to be re-immersed in the roots of my passion again, nature and slow mindful photography. Would love to know what your favorite way to network and meet is (of course NPN being one way! I promise to participate more). Thanks
By all means, jump in here, the water is fine! Personally, I have numerous friends, both online and in person that are a direct result of my participation in NPN over the years. While there is no official, oranized NPN “conference” per se, there has been an effort in recent years to get together locally. You could lead a chapter for the North East. Just a thought.
The only national organization I’m aware of that you might be interested in NANPA. The North American Nature Photography Association. Personally, I’ve never been a member and their may be NPN members here who are also NANPA member.
Oh, and I would be remiss in not mentioning “Nature First”, an organizing that our own David Kingham is a founding member. Honestly, I’m not sure of their status, maybe @David_Kingham can provide an update. It’s also an organization that might be beneficial to be a member of.
Hope this helps and we hope to see some images and discussions from you in the near future!
Hi Cheryl, we hope you’ll start sharing some of your work here!
Like Lon, I met many of my photography friends here on NPN. It’s a big reason I brought it back to life! Now I just need to find more time to participate myself. We’re also working to revive the Regional Chapters for local meetups, as Lon mentioned. We just need a few members willing to help get things started.
There are definitely conferences that fit what you’re looking for. I’m admittedly a bit biased toward the Moab Photography Symposium. I first attended about ten years ago, and I can honestly say it changed the direction of my photography, leading me toward a more creative and expressive approach. Two years ago, I had the honor of presenting there, which pushed me to dig much deeper into why I create the photographs I do. Then, in another unexpected turn, Bruce (the founder) invited Jennifer and me to take over the symposium. That definitely wasn’t on our bingo card! We’re excited to carry it forward, with our first symposium as organizers taking place next April. It’s centered around helping photographers discover their own voice, and I truly think it’s a special experience with plenty of opportunities to connect with other like-minded folks.
There’s also the Out of Chicago conferences, where Jennifer and I teach. They’re very well run and a lot of fun. I’ll be teaching at the upcoming Out of Grand Teton conference. These are larger events, with around 100 attendees. I like to describe them as speed dating with instructors. They’re a great way to get to know the people in your small group, though it can be a bit more challenging to connect with everyone else.
Lon, Nature First is still around, but it’s in a relatively dormant phase. A dedicated group of volunteers put an enormous amount of time, energy, and their own resources into building it into an international organization, but it ultimately became too large to sustain with the people involved. These days it’s mostly quiet aside from an occasional newsletter. @Erik_Stensland and @Scott_Bacon poured their hearts and souls into it. Erik, if I’m misrepresenting where things stand today, please let me know!
Thank you for the encouragement and I will be jumping in soon. Funny how this genre I’m such a chicken! Anyway, I love how you worked in my leading a NE chapter…who knows, maybe I will! I will look in to the two you mentioned. Thanks!
Thank you David, I will check them all out and yea, who knows that we couldn’t start a chapter here in the northeast. I was part of Out of Chicago during their streamed conference in 2020 and learned a lot and enjoyed the zoom room parties, everyone there really seemed very connected. I read the blog on occasion but need to look again to see if I can be in on one of the programs. I will look at the symposium too, that sounds like it would resonate with me. I appreciate your input and that of the others and look forward to getting to know everyone. Thank you!
So excited to hear your news, that you guys are taking over the Moab Symposium. Wow, that’s quite a big project to add to all the other things you guys are doing. You and Jennifer sure manage to keep a lot of plates spinning!
As for your description of Nature First, what you said is definitely correct. As an organization it is not really doing anything these days, but I still hope that the principles are being practiced and promoted by photographers.
I have a friend who will be joining your upcoming wildflower workshop. I think you are going to love Matt. He’s a hoot! I’ve had him come along to my last couple of workshops and assist and he’s done a great job helping folks understand some of the basic concepts of nature photography. He’s a great guy and a lot of fun.
I hope you guys manage to find at least a few flowers out there in this dry and smoky environment. This will be a challenging summer for all of us.
If the wind ever blows you up this way, give me a holler. It’s always a pleasure to see you guys.
We’re also working to revive the