In 2007, I fled the grey cubicle walls—and an unfulfilling job as a software engineer/project manager–at Intel Corporation to pursue a meaningful and rewarding full-time outdoor photography and writing career. My purpose as an outdoor communicator is help others live their most meaningful life–with or without a camera in hand.

My credits include National Geographic calendars, Arizona Highways, AAA VIA, OnLandscape, National Parks Traveler, and a broad variety of other publications. I write an online advice column called Dear Bubbles. I have served three times as an Artist-in-Residence with Acadia National Park.

I’ve authored and photographed the award-winning guidebooks, Wild in Arizona: Photographing Arizona’s Wildflowers (1st and 2nd ed.) and Photographing Acadia National Park: The Essential Guide to When, Where, and How (1st and 2nd ed.). I also authored the instructional eBook, Seeing the Light in Outdoor Photography. My first adventure travel memoir, So Said the River: Life, Loss, and Pie on the Colorado, will be published in June 2024.

I offer photography workshops across the United States, including the popular “Sheography™” all-women’s photography workshops, through my own company, CMS Photography. I have taught for renowned organizations such as Out of Chicago, Arizona Highways Photography Workshops, Arizona Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, camera clubs across the country, and numerous private engagements. I’m proud to be an active member, the past Secretary and Treasurer on the Board of Directors, and past interim Executive Director (in 2017) for the Outdoor Writers Association of America.

I’m also fluent in sarcasm, love French Chardonnay (though I don’t discriminate against any type of wine), and am addicted to stand-up paddleboarding. I squeal while photographing bubbles (which happens to be one of my nicknames). A recovering perfectionist, I now live by the motto, “If it’s fun, keep doing it. If it’s not fun, stop and find something fun to do.”

Learn more at www.colleenminiuk.com.