On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, 7:00 pm, Steve Balke will share his “Life Appreciation Photography” presentation. We have partnered with our friends at the Minnesota Valley Photography Club. This will be a virtual program and links to the meeting will be sent to all members before the program. This program will not be recorded.
Photography enables us to recognize, enjoy and understand life around us. Accomplishing this for lifeforms other than our own, from bugs and birds to flowers and landscapes, during a nature walk, is the subject of this presentation. In this mobile form of Nature Photography, what Steve terms “Life Appreciation Photography”, we commune with nature and many lifeforms observe us while we observe them. Our objective is to capture beautiful images of them that communicate the emotion we feel. However, we don’t control the subjects or the environment. Identifying the subjects and image capture with portable equipment that has significant limitations are also challenges. Furthermore, we know what we consider a beautiful image but are less certain about what we mean by “capturing one that evokes emotion”. In this presentation, Steve shows how he currently attempts to overcome these issues in his Life Appreciation Photography and test the results in his club competitions.
Steve retired in 2006 after forty years in engineering research and development, including being a Principal Engineer with Xerox Corporation and a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto. In retirement, he’s taking the time to appreciate life around him using photography. The health benefits of walking amongst nature are important to him too. So, he’s focused on a mobile form of Nature Photography that he terms “Life Appreciation Photography”. In the Mississauga Camera Club (near Toronto, Canada) he has held various positions, including President. He now regularly delivers photography workshops in the Club and helps in running the competitions. Steve has been very successful in those competitions, winning many trophies and awards. Life Appreciation Photography has been a wonderful activity in retirement for Steve and it is a life-long learning project for him. Here is his inspiring website.
