I am a confident, engaging, and knowledgeable speaker. The topics listed below have each been given several times. I always tailor them to the specific venue with your input. I am happy to put a new presentation subject together at no extra cost. Each of these presentations fills a 60-90 minute time slot that includes the presentation (about 45-60 min) plus a Q&A period. I am very willing to negotiate fees when I can and am especially empathetic to arts and land preservation organizations that want to entertain bringing me in as part of a fundraiser.
A Gesture of Kinship: Photographing American Indian Cultures
From 1978-1979 I lived on the Utah strip of the Navajo Reservation where I taught in an elementary school and photographed with the children. In 2004, returned with the aid of a grant from the Documentary Studies Program at the University of Utah to re-photograph and interview my former students, who are now parents. This presentation summarizes that work and also outlines the work I've done photographing Indian artists and arts for the past 20+ years. The program is filled with great images, cultural information and insightful personal experiences.
Ancestral Homescapes: Photographing the Ancient Southwest
I have photographed dwellings and rock art for over 20+ years and recently completed a book of Rock Art and Ruins on the Colorado Plateau for the Canyonlands Natural History Association working with Impact Photographics. I have worked on several major archaeological projects and was the photographer for the Wetherill-Grand Gulch Research Project. I photograph sites to be in better connection to those who lived in a land I love and also call home. This presentation features large format B&W and Color photography. I discuss field techniques for both and B&W darkroom techniques. I also offer a commentary on the ethics of photographing, writing and publishing site information.
Art Lessons for Photographers: Basic Universal Art Skills & Concepts as Applied to the Making of Stronger Compositions
I first created this presentation for the 2006 Moab Photography Symposium. A good portion of my life as been spent teaching art to children. This requires that I have a good working knowledge of basic art concepts, principles and skills, which I do. In this presentation we look at the basic visual skills that painters employ when making 2D images inspired by a 3D world and apply them to the world of photography. There area also some ideas on how to "play" with the rules. This is a good presentation for photographers who've never had an art class.
What Am I Responding To? A personal inquiry approach to the making of stronger, more personally revealing photographs
The world is full of photography books that teach the "rules" of composition and elements. But these are usually someone else's rules. I have found success in making photographs by following a creative thinking process of inquiry that starts with the question, "What am I responding to?" This presentation follows that thinking process and results with the individual better able to make personally meaningful photographs.
Rainbow at Night - Where There Is No Name For Art: the Art of Navajo and Pueblo Children
I consider myself quite fortunate to have spent a decade on the Navajo reservation teaching art and photography and another 7 years teaching children's art and photographing among the Pueblo Indians of northern New Mexico. This talk is based on those experiences, which resulted in two award-winning books.
All presentations are now digitally based. (Bye-bye Ektagraphics!) They require an appropriate room with screen and a digital projector (sound system option). I can provide a good portable sound system.
Fees
Single presentations: $350 plus expenses
Multiple presentations: negotiable, please call
Presentation plus field workshop: negotiable, please call
Expenses = round trip mileage at $.30/mile plus lodging plus meals
