Joel Belmont is the lead instructor of our Lake Powell workshops.
Having made over a dozen landscape and figure photography trips on Lake Powell over the past five years, and having explored and hiked much of the best terrain on the lake, Joel has packed these workshops with the best and most photogenic locations available.
After receiving a BA in Photography from Principia College, he’s spent over a decade working in, teaching, exhibiting and curating fine art photography (full resume)
Working in both digital formats and large format film (4×5 inch negatives), his focus is on both the landscape and the human form. In addition to focusing on the obvious and compelling aesthetic of the Lake Powell landscape, lectures and attention will be devoted to finding more meaning in the images we make – helping you to realize your particular voice and strengths, and reinforcing them. He will present lectures on more unique photographic techniques, such as Light Painting, creating Panoramic images from stitches, and making star exposures.
He currently lives near Aspen, Colorado with his wife Lili (an accomplished German painter) and works routinely on new projects domestically and internationally.
Kim Weston joins us for The Dynamic Nude workshop at Lake Powell. Kim is an excellent teacher, master photographer and meticulous printer, who specializes in photographing the nude.
Kim has been a fine art nude photographer for over 30 years. He is a third-generation member of one of the most important and creative families in photography. He learned his craft assisting his father Cole in the darkroom making gallery prints from his grandfather Edward’s original negatives. Kim also worked for many years as an assistant to his uncle Brett, whose bold, abstract photographs rank as some of the finest examples.
Kim uses an 8×10 Arca Swiss, and also uses a Mamiya 67 that he inherited from his father. His main body of work consists of silver gelatin contact prints made from 6×7, 4×5 and 8×10 negatives. In addition to the 8×10 format he prints in 11×14 and 16×20 sizes. He also prints in Platinum and lately he has added paint to his photographs.
Kim and his wife, Gina, live at Wildcat Hill – the former home of Edward Weston in Carmel, CA, where they specialize in teaching several unique photography workshops throughout the year.
Allen Birnbach has been working in photography for over thirty years. The common thread that runs through all of his work is a passion for the art and craft of photography.
Early on, he had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the luminaries of the field, and learned the values of creating thematic bodies of work – and the secrets of exemplary film processing and printing. He continues to shoot large format film cameras because of their connection to those traditions. At the same time, he revels in the new worlds opening up in the digital arena, both in capture and printing.
Over the last five years, along with shooting assignments and personal projects, he’s brought that passion for the medium to teaching photography. Allen is an instructor at UCLA Extension in Los Angeles, the Panasonic Digital Photo Academy, The Anderson Ranch, The Santa Fe Workshops and Working with Artists. Allen lives in Denver, Colorado and joins us for our Dynamic Landscape workshop.
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Testimonials:
“Joel did a great job of scouting out the best locations for photography, being aware of local conditions, access and photographic opportunities at each site. He was available to provide help and guidance to those who needed it, and generous with his time, while leaving more experienced photographers free and unencumbered to pursue their own photographic inspiration. The locations covered a wide range of photographic possibilities, from the grandiose to the intimate: sand dunes, slot canyons, panoramic vistas, monolithic sandstone cliffs, lake reflections, night skyscapes and light painting.
The atmosphere on the trip was friendly, relaxed and informal. There was a full and demanding schedule of activities for every day of the trip, morning and evening, but with ample time for relaxation, sport, socializing, introspection, sharing and discussion.
The group size was small enough to be intimate, and most of us now consider each other friends for life. I would have no hesitation in going on this trip again or recommending it.” ~Dr. N. Sukumar
“Joel and Lili are the most amazing people. They are so friendly and welcoming and relate well to everyone. Joel lets you do your own thing yet he’s there for tons of great guidance and instruction when needed. He has a great way of pulling great things out of you when you really didn’t know you had it in you. He really built my self-confidence in my photography skills. Joel has become a great friend to me.
You enter this workshop having only photography in common with those involved. You leave this workshop feeling like family. You also learn years’ worth of self-taught experience in a weeks’ time. I left this workshop a different person then when I got there. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone at any level of your photography journey.” ~David Oldeen
“Participating in the Fall Workshop was one of the most enriching experiences of my life! Joel and Lili are both so knowledgeable about the Lake Powell environment and all the intricate details of how to shoot there and produce the best possible images. They are also experienced hosts who can cook delicious food and provide diverse entertainment throughout the trip. What more could you ask for?” ~Lily Kennedy
