Online registration for this program has closed. To check availability, find out about future dates, or if you would like further information, please call 505-983-1400 ext. 111. Also, get the SFW E-Newsletter for updates!
We are all capable of telling an interesting story through photography, and Michelle Valberg and Kristi Odom have spent decades doing exactly that. As wildlife photographers and Nikon Ambassadors, they are uniquely qualified to assist you in creating a visual story through exploring local parks, forests, lakes, creeks, and rivers—or your own backyard.
Spring is an extraordinary time to document new beginnings, and over six weeks you develop a narrative theme centered on a particular subject in a place of your choice. Whether you focus on migrating birds, a nearby waterway, a favorite tree, or the sky, you deepen your connection to your subject by looking beyond the photograph to the experience, the environment, and the inspiration.
By offering technical advice and expert guidance, Michelle and Kristi help participants combine our unique visions with creative expression, urging us to focus on the art of observation and the discovery that comes when we transcend what we see on the surface.
You come away with a deeply personal visual story that could be published in a local newspaper, pitched to a magazine, or possibly even entered into a competition. As you push your artistic boundaries, you discover that your next great photograph is waiting just outside your comfort zone, yet paradoxically close to home.
Here is a video that Michelle and Kristi have put together:
All camera formats are welcome. Participants must be able to download, select, and transfer images to their own jump drive for class each day.
View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.
Michelle Valberg is a wildlife/nature photographer and Nikon Ambassador whose 30-plus-year career has taken her to all continents. Her award-winning images can be found on magazine covers and in publications, exhibitions, and embassies worldwide; they also appear on a Royal Canadian Mint coin and on Canada Post stamps. The founder of Project North, Michelle is a public speaker, author, community leader, and advocate for animals and conservation. In addition to being Canadian Geographic’s first Photographer-in-Residence, she is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and an International Fellow of the Explorer’s Club in New York City. She has published four books.
Website: michellevalberg.com
Conservation photographer and filmmaker, Kristi Odom, has worked in some of the most remote locations on Earth to help document stories that will help protect our planet’s biodiversity. She is an internationally awarded photographer, an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, a Nikon Ambassador, and a motivational speaker.
Kristi believes strongly in the power of photography to help create positive change and ultimately help protect the planet’s wildlife. A photographer and filmmaker, her work focuses on connecting people emotionally to animals and celebrating those who fight to protect the natural world.
Her accolades include over 60 international photography awards. Kristi also was included in National Geographic’s 2021 collection for Best Animal Photos and her work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Her photographs have appeared either online and/or in print for the following clients: National Geographic, Washington Post, The New York Times, Forbes, Rolling Stone, Nikon, Microsoft, and Outside Magazine.
Website: kristiodomfineart.com
Instagram: @kristiodom
