Wayne Suggs - Photographing the Desert Mountains of New Mexico

Welcome to Episode 122 of the F-Stop Collaborate and Listen podcast. This week's episode features a photographer living in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Wayne Suggs.  Wayne was introduced to the wonders of nature at an early age by parents who knew the importance of having a relationship with the Great Outdoors. Wayne captures the beauty of the Southwest and shares his images not only for others to enjoy, but to help increase awareness of the necessity to preserve our precious surroundings.  Wayne is a workshop leader for Muench Workshops and an all-around great guy. Wayne and I covered a lot of fun ground this week, including: His journey as a landscape photographer. The role we photographers can play in teaching how to respect and protect the natural world. The push to privatize our public lands. The role that workshop leaders should play in teaching protection and minimizing overuse. Talking about one's heroes and how their style influences the way you shoot. How different styles and techniques change in popularity, from processing to intimate landscapes or grand scenes.  Having a private facebook page with good photographers to critique ones work. Over on Patreon, Wayne and I talked about his passion for photographing rock art (petroglyphs). Please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon! There's a ton of bonus content over there for subscribers!  If you're a listener and have not yet made a pledge, there's more reasons to pledge now than ever. We have over 80 bonus episodes over on Patreon for anyone supporting the show at the $5/mo level.  Additionally, Patrons of the podcast are encouraged to participate in our themed photo contests by submitting them to the "community board" on our Patreon Page. The current theme, which ends on August 30th, is "Nemesis." I know we all have our own photo nemesis, whether it be a scene we have shot a thousand times that never had good light, or something else. Let's see those awesome shots over on our community board! Here are the photographers that Wayne recommended for the podcast: 1. Marc Muench. 2. Dewitt Jones. 3. David Muench. I love hearing from the podcast listeners! Reach out to me via Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter if you'd like to be on the podcast or if you have an idea of a topic we can talk about. Join the discussion over on Nature Photographer's Network! We have weekly discussions about each episode of the podcast. It's also free! We also have an Instagram page and a Facebook page for updates. Let's talk about who is coming up on the podcast! I am really excited to announce some of our upcoming guests and episodes. It should be a really good fall! Christian Heeb, a Swiss photographing living in the United States. Alister Benn, a photographer from Scotland. Tim Parkin from ON Landscape magazine. Franka Gabler - a photographer from Croatia living in California. Ian Plant... Dylan Fox... And lots more! I'm really excited to announce that we have finally reached our $1,000 / mo goal on Patreon and we have officially launched our Landscape Conservation Award.  The “F-Stop Collaborate and Listen” podcast Landscape Conservation Award will recognize an individual photographer who is highly involved in conservation issues within their local communities or within the landscape and nature photography community. This can be through their writing, speaking, photography projects, or community organizing efforts. Additionally, this award seeks to recognize an individual that is actively practicing the Nature First Principles. In partnership with our Patreon supporters, the “F-Stop Collaborate and Listen” podcast presents the prestigious honor, which currently consists of at least $1,550.  We aim to grow the total award amount through donations and sponsorships. We are looking for nominations for the award. You can nominate yourself or someone else through the google form found here. Since our launch we have raised $550 towards the award and have garnered some great sponsorships from some great photography brands.  So far we have been able to get support from the following awesome companies: Shimoda Designs  Shimoda Designs is an adventure camera bag company designed as a reaction to real world adventures rather than those imagined from a comfortable office environment. Shimoda founder Ian Millar is a lifelong explorer, snowboarder and product designer known for developing some of the most innovative camera bags in the world. Shimoda is his new venture which represents the culmination of all his experiences and utilizes the most advanced materials and technologies available to minimize the pain, fatigue and suffering that comes with foul mountain conditions. Shimoda products are a direct reflection and reaction to the outdoor lifestyle that Ian and his adventure photographer friends love so much. Shimoda is donating to the winner of the Landscape Conservation Award a bag of their choice, core unit, roller and accessory case. Viewbug  Viewbug is a popular photo sharing and contest website. Members of Viewbug can submit their photographs to specialized contests and win amazing prizes. There are a lot more benefits of membership as well, so check it out. Viewbug is donating a viewbug PRO+ membership to the winner of the award. This is a $179 value. We are working on getting more in-kind donations and financial donations to sweeten the pot for the deserving award winner. If you are interested in either, please check out the award page on our website.  Thanks for stopping in, collaborating with us, and listening. See you next week. As a reminder, you can also support the podcast by shopping at B+H for your photography gear using our Affiliate Link.