Brenda Petrella - Vermont and Outdoor Photography School

Welcome to Episode 131 of the F-Stop Collaborate and Listen podcast. For the full liner notes, visit my website.

This week's episode features a nature photographer and educator living in the State of Vermont - Brenda Petrella. Brenda is the owner of Outdoor Photography School and is a passionate advocate for the Nature First Photography movement. Equipped with a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Brenda's goal is to get more women out doing nature and landscape photography. She runs a YouTube channel where she inspires others to love the natural world through photography.
Brenda and I explored several interesting topics this week, including:

• Her journey as a scientist and making the transition into full-time photography.
• Why she thinks its important for photographers to unite to protect the subjects we photograph.
• Her use of the Microsoft Educator Program to create the Human Geography Project.
• What its like for her to be in Nature.
• How we can shift our mindset in our culture of consumerism.
• How to get the next generation excited about photography,
• and I share a crazy camping story!

On Patreon this week:

• Brenda and I talk about her approach of non-iconic nature photography - why she chooses, her process, Guy Tal's article on Mindfulness as a photographer, and "forest bathing."

Be sure to join in on the conversation about each podcast episode over on Nature Photographer's Network. Not only is NPN the best place to get critiques on your landscape and nature photography, it is also home to some of most informative, thought-provoking, and inspiring articles on landscape photography I've found. I highly recommend you become a member today. 

Also, I wanted to announce the winner of our recent photography contest over on Patreon. The theme was "changing seasons" - we had two submissions this time - from Jarrod Hills and Michael Ryno. In the end I had to pick Michael's photograph of changing fall color here in Colorado. The vibrant colors and excellent composition won me over. Thanks Michael and Jarrod for your submissions!

I also wanted to tell you about one of the podcast's patrons - Anton Averin. He created an amazing luminosity masking panel called Arc Panel. 

You can try it for free at https://arcpanel.averin.photo

I also have some free copies to give away to listeners! To get one, share a post about the podcast on your social media account and send me a note!

One last announcement - I really need your help picking the winner of our inaugural Landscape Conservation Award. We are still accepting nominations until December 31. If you're interested in helping, please send me a note!

Please consider supporting the podcast on Patreon! There's a ton of bonus content over there for subscribers! 

Here are the photographers that Brenda recommended for the podcast:

1. Melissa Groo 

2. Ashleigh Scully

3. Cristina Mittermeier - Enoughness

4. Amy Gulick

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 $1,570. 

So far we have been able to get support from the following awesome companies:

1. Shimoda Designs: Ian and his amazing team at Shimoda have sent me the next generation of their camera backpack, the Action X series. I took it on my recent 11-day fall color photography trip and used it on a 16-mile backpacking overnight and did a review which you can check out in the liner notes. Let's just say I was super impressed with it! Shimoda is donating to the winner of the Landscape Conservation Award a camera bag of their choice, a core unit, and a roller and accessory case - a $779 value!

2. 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.

3. Reed Art & Imaging: Reed is a fine art print lab located in Denver, Colorado. They are my print lab of choice for my high-end acrylic prints. Reed is donating to the winner a $500 credit towards the purchase of a Acrylic Print.

4. Tamron: Tamron is donating to the winner of the Landscape Conservation Award a 45mm f/1.8 Di VC lens- a $599 value!

5. QT Luong: QT Luong is donating a limited edition copy of his award winning photo book, "Treasured Lands."  Treasured Lands is a book about all the 61 U.S. national parks with location/photography notes for each of photograph. This limited edition version is valued at $245.

As a reminder, you can also support the podcast by shopping at B+H for your photography gear using our Affiliate Link.