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| Travel . Nature . Cuisine | |||
| Editorial . Commercial . Workshops | |||
Colleen Miniuk-Sperry
Email: cms@cms-photo.com
Phone: (480) 726-7961
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Website design and content © 2009 Colleen Miniuk-Sperry
October 27, 2009
Another week gone by means another set of workshops and classes completed. This past weekend, I spent 4 days in Sedona working with Steve Burger, Photoshop Extraordinare, and a group of 9 enthusiastic students on the Arizona Highways, "Sedona Fall Photoshop Seminar". We had some great light, informative Photoshop sessions, and loads of laughs. Then, we wrapped up the 5th and final "Digital Photography Basics" class at the Silverleaf Club in Scottsdale this week (photo on right). What another great group of motivated photographers! |
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With all of our scheduled workshops for 2009 completed, we're certainly looking forward to our 2010 workshop schedule. Arizona Highways Photography Workshops just published their new brochure - be sure to check it out to see the exciting trips I'll be leading next year. Hope you can join us! |
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Finally, Dancing Earth is coming back into town this weekend for the Dia de los Muertos Celebration at the Desert Botanical Gardens. This amazing dance group will be performing on Friday, October 30 through Sunday, November 1. For more information, including times of their performances, please visit the Desert Botanical Gardens website. |
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October 19, 2009
Just wrapped up a fantastic weekend workshop, the Arizona Highways "Introduction to Flash" Photography Workshop. We had a very friendly and talented set of students, some of whom had never used flash before this weekend. You wouldn't believe that after seeing some of their images from the workshop!
Here are a sample of early comments we received from our workshop students:
"Thank you very much for great worskshop. It all made sense and removed fear of the flash. You are a phenomental teacher." --Polina V.
"Thanks for a terrific class. I learned a ton of practical instruction from you. I'd take another class from you with no hesitation." --Brad F.
"I just wanted to take a quick moment to say how much I enjoyed the FoAZHFlash Workshop this past weekend and to say Thank You (as well as Ambika and Lynn) for the effort in putting on such a great photographic experience...you've helped me start to break down a technical/creative barrier that I've felt has been holding me back as a photographer." --Jay B.
Photography workshops are the perfect way to take your photography to the next level, whether it be through the Arizona Highways Photography Workshops or through a private CMS Photography workshop. Come join us sometime!
After all the fun we had this past weekend, I'm certainly looking forward to the Sedona Fall Photoshop Seminar this upcoming weekend!
October 5, 2009
So excited to have received my contributor's copy of the new book, "Winning Digital Photo Contests" today in the mail, where my photo of Andrew Henry, a skilled Navajo Silversmith, is featured on pg. 156 as the chapter introduction and on pg. 177 as a full page photo with my quote. Visit your local local bookstores or order online at Amazon to pick up your copy of this educational book.
The original photo was selected as the Smithsonian Magazine Contests' Top Ten People photographs in early 2006. "Unfortunately," I had to pull it from further consideration within the contest, as Arizona Highways Magazine published a horizontal version of this same shot in their April 2006 issue.
October 2, 2009
Lighthouse Digest just updated their website with their September 2009 content, so you can read my "Lights of the Desert" story online. Let us know what you think!
September 30, 2009
Whew! It's been an incredibly busy month for CMS Photography!! Here's what's new with CMS Photography:
Lighthouse Digest just published my "Lights of the Desert" story in the September 2009 issue, which shares a great story about the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club and their efforts to build replica lighthouses along Lake Havasu. Be sure to pick up your copy or order directly from Lighthouse Digest. Then go out and see the replicas along Lake Havasu's shoreline!
We just wrapped up shooting brand new recipes for the 2011 Southwest Cooking Calendar (yes, 2011!). While we had great recipes for 2009 and 2010, I personally think the recipes Craig developed for 2011 are some of his best. To get a taste of what we've been cooking up (sorry, had to do it!) I've posted 3 images from our last shoot in the Cuisine Gallery.
In between food shoots, we managed to sneak in trips to Zion National Park, Petrified Forest National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I've posted new photos in the Landscape galleries in the respective galleries.
In late September, I started teaching a 6-week series titled, "Introduction to Digital Photography" at the exclusive Silverleaf Club with 9 students. After 2 classes, they are picking up how to adjust shutter speeds, ISO, and apertures well! And asking some great questions!
I'm really looking forward to teaching at the now sold out Introduction to Flash weekend workshop in mid-October and the Sedona Photoshop Seminar in late October for the Arizona Highways Photography Workshops before heading out to Acadia National Park for my Artist-in-Residency stint in November!
August 31, 2009
Check out our new photos in our two new National Park galleries: Redwoods National Park and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
The photographs from Redwoods National Park were captured in late May when the rhododendrons were blooming - gorgeous time to explore the park! And the shots from Organ Pipe Cactus were snapped in late February, when the weather is much more pleasant in the desert than right now... |
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August 19, 2009
In between my many July and August travels to Santa Fe, Colorado, and Tucson, I've managed to update my Photo Gallery with photos captured during a recent escape to Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah. This little-known park is a geological gem, looking very similar to its sister park, Bryce Canyon, which sits about 65 driving miles to the east of Cedar Breaks. |
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Arizona Highways Photography Workshops has just announced a new weekend workshop that I'll be teaching called, "Introduction to Camera Flash: Environmental Portraits". Visit our Current Workshop Schedule to get more details about this class and other workshops I'll be leading in the fall. You can also view the newly announced 2010 workshops I'll be teaching as well.
In other news, Dancing Earth just re-vamped their website and used one of the pictures I captured of some of the members in Sedona on their opening page. Check out their new website at http://dancingearth.org/.
And finally, for all the golfers out there, be sure to pick up the Vancouver View magazine to read the feature story, "Mastering the Basics" complete with my photos of Scott Sackett demonstrating various techniques. A copy of the story is also online at http://viewmagazine.ca/ (feature story #4).
July 3, 2009
As many of you know, math is not really my forte. However, I do know that "holiday weekend + avoiding crowds = website updates!"
In between traveling, I've been working my way through about 40,000 digital images that had accumulated on numerous hard drives. I've picked out a handful Travel images to share on my new United States gallery. Check the new photos out and let me know what you think!
June 30, 2009
Since becoming a professional photographer, I've had some of the most rewarding opportunities to work with and photograph a number of amazingly talented and intriguing people with great stories to share with the world.
Working with the Dancing Earth group at the recent Festival of Native American cultures was certainly no exception and definitely a highlight of my career so far. Founded and led by Rulan Tangen, Dancing Earth is a collection of gorgeous contemporary dancers representing various indigenous tribes across the continent.
After being mesmorized by their athletic, storytelling performance on Saturday night, 5 of the 7 artists joined me on Sunday morning for an awesome photo shoot near Bell Rock, Sedona. You get an idea of how energetic they are by their group photo:
From left to right: Alyxis Trujillo, Jose Meraz, Rulan Tangen, Edgar Soto Garcia, & Nichole Salazar |
Rumor has it, they will be performing at Phoenix's Desert Botanical Gardens in October. As soon as I have more details, I'll post them here so you'll have a chance to see these incredible dancers in action.
June 11, 2009
We're thrilled to announce that our 2010 Southwest Cooking Calendar is available for purchase from Smith-Southwestern! While the calendar should be in stores soon, you may purchase it directly from Smith-Southwestern now.
This was Craig and my second submission for the Southwest Cooking Calendar, where Craig came up with 12 new tasty recipes for you to enjoy. Last year's calendar sold out, so don't wait too long to pick up your copy! |
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| The Arizona Highways calendars are in the final printing stages, and should be available sometime in July or August, when you can see a number of our photos, including shots from the Grand Canyon, White Horse Lake, and Canyon de Chelly in a couple different Arizona Highways 2010 calendars. | |
In other news, we spent most of the month of May on the road. Shortly after returning from San Diego, we headed north to Redwoods National Park in northern California to photograph the rhododendron bloom among the towering redwoods. Though the weather was hot and sunny most of the time in Redwoods, we were treated to spectacular rhododendrons and fog on the final day of our trip! After getting our fill of rhododendrons, we headed even further north to Grants Pass to photograph (and um, sample) some of Applegate Valley's best wineries. And did we find some great wine from Wooldridge and Schmidt Family wineries! |
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| Then it was off to the Gold Beach, a small town about an hour's drive north of the Redwoods for some rest and relaxation along one of our favorite places, the Oregon coast. | |
| All that rest prepared me for all the activities to photograph as the "Official Festival Photographer" at the first ever Festival of Native American Culture happening this week in Sedona, Arizona. Last weekend, we met Michael Blake (author of Dances With Wolves), photographed a lot of incredibly talented visual artists and musicians, and experienced southwestern Native American culture during the various festival activities so we're really looking forward to what the festival will bring this weekend. |  |
| Check out some of my photos from the first weekend and the schedule of events for this weekend at the Festival of Native American Culture website. Hope to see you out there! | |
| Finally, there are some new workshops in the works with Friends of Arizona Highways that will be announced soon! Be sure to check our Workshop Schedule in the next week or two to learn more about an exciting new weekend workshop we're putting together on using flash to be offered this fall and next spring... | |
May 13, 2009
Just rolling back in from a family vacation this past weekend in San Diego. While there was deep sea fishing, the Red Bull Air Races, and lots of laughs on the agenda, I just couldn't help sneak a little bit of "work" (or is it play?) in early before all the activities planned on Saturday and Sunday morning.
I hoped to capture a clean twilight shot of the San Diego skyline before the sun rose, but the weather had other plans for me. Fog completely engulfed the city on Saturday such that the city had literally disappeared from the horizon. We had better luck on Sunday, where the fog casted a bit of a haze over the city, but helped retain the colors and glow in the sky. Here's the result:
I captured 4 images, then stitched the RAWs together using Adobe Bridge to get the above shot (by the way, if you'd like to learn more about how to create digital panoramics, look for my Digital Panorama class on my Online Classes Catalog page). Almost immediately after this series of images, the fog thickened and the twilight glow transformed into a sea of muddy grey. It pays to get out there early!
In other news, we had a lively group of photographers for the Rails and Tales of Verde Valley photography workshop on May 2-3! Riding the Verde Canyon Railroad was a real treat for everyone, as was the knee-slappin' Blazin' M cowboy and dinner show. The group also made images in historical Jerome and the Gold King Mine. Despite the threat of rain, the weather could not have been any more perfect for photography! Thanks to Arizona Highways Photography Workshops for putting on another top notch weekend workshop for the entire group.
While it's well known among my students that I don't photograph much during their workshops (focused on them learning instead!!), here are some shots I managed to snap during the recent Rails and Tails workshop:
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My next workshop for Arizona Highways Photography Workshops is in October. Check out my upcoming schedule, including two recently announced 2010 workshops, on our Workshop Schedule page. Hope to see you on one of our upcoming workshops!
April 1, 2009
As you probably already noticed, CMS Photography has a fresh new look! We've updated the overall design of our website and newsletter, as well as added a brand new Student Gallery, showcasing some of our workshop students' best work while on a CMS Photography workshop. Let us know what you think!
A couple weekends ago, we had a great day out at Bartlett Lake with 15 students photographing the wildflower blooms with the Arizona Highways Photography Workshops. While we don't have any formal workshops scheduled for April, there are still a few open spaces on the May 2-3 "Rails and Tales of the Verde Valley" workshop through Arizona Highways Photography workshop. Come join us for what will be an educational, but wild time!!
Art Holeman and I also recently completed the travel portion of the TEOE Mexico exchange, with Enrique Yescas and Juan Luis Fernandez visiting the best sites in Northern Arizona. We traveled almost 1200 miles across Arizona to see mining towns, wildlife, and Navajolands. With our travels complete, we are now in the planning stages for our exhibit this fall. Stay tuned for more information!
In other news, I recently learned that I have been selected as an Artist-in-Residence at Acadia National Park for this fall! I will be spending 3 weeks photographing the land, the history, and the culture of this highly scenic park. I'll also have the opportunity to work with 5th-8th graders during my stay, encouraging them to get behind a camera to tell their unique story and to help with preserving our valuable lands and parks. What an opportunity!
I have never been to Maine or Acadia, so if anyone has any recommended "shouldn't-miss" places to see out that way, please send me a note!
February 20, 2009
Be sure to check out the next Arizona Highways magazine issue, where they published a 2-page spread of one of my Mexican Poppy photographs on their Table of Contents pages! The original can be viewed in my Flowers gallery.
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I'm in the news again! This time in the Tucson Citizen for the Becoming an Outdoor Woman camp where I teach the Outdoor Photography class. Check out the article where I have a couple of pretty funny (but true!) quotes about this fantastic women's program.
The next Becoming an Outdoor Woman camp is on April 3-5 at Friendly Pines Camp in Prescott. Once again, I'll be teaching the 4-hour Outdoor Photography class on April 3. For more information, visit the Arizona BOW website. Hope to see you out there! |
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February 3, 2009
It's only been a week since I've returned from an eye-opening experience in Sonora, but things are still buzzing. We just found out that Enrique, who is the Editor for Sonora Es magazine, is publishing a 3-page story on our journey through Sonora. It's in Spanish, but even if you can't read it, you can still see photos of Art and I in action in the February 2009 issue.
Yep, that's me on the cover!! (If I knew we were going to be featured in a national magazine and interviewed on a Mexican TV station in Alamos, I would have at least worn make-up! Geez!). I guess it's a sign that my language blunders didn't offend our hosts too badly...
For those who have asked, "when will we get to see the photos?" Staying true to the spirit of the exchange, the |
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images captured in Mexico will be revealed first at our exhibit in Fall 2009. Only after then will I post to my website. Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming exhibit! What I can tell you now, though, is that my time in Sonora was eye-opening and life changing, much as it was with our Japan exchange in 2007. My photographs from Mexico reflect much deeper stories and character than ever before. When you see the images this fall, I hope you see how friendly and giving the Mexican people truly are and how beautiful the state of Sonora is. Hopefully, it encourages you to visit Mexico yourself!
In other news, this past weekend, I had the opportunity to lead a fantastic Watson Lake photography workshop for Arizona Highways Photography Workshops. We met 16 new energetic and enthusiastic photographers, explored Watson Lake from a variety of viewpoints, and learned new tips and techniques for making effective nature photographs. |
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Don't miss out on your chance to have a similar experience! There's still space available on the Southern Arizona Sampler, Sedona Fall Photoshop Seminar, and Fall Color in Zion workshops. If you don't have 4 or 5 days to spare in your crazy work schedule, be sure to check out the TEOE 1-day Photography Seminar. Check out our Photo Workshop page to learn more!
January 27, 2009
Happy New Year to you all! Our 2009 has started with a bang, and we hope yours has started off just as well.
I've just returned from 10 days in Sonora, Mexico, where my friend and fellow photographer Art Holeman and I photographed ranches and cowboys at the foot of the Sierra Madre, life in Hermosillo, and the festivities of the annual Ortiz Tirado International Music Festival in Alamos for the 6th Through Each Others Eyes photographic exchange with Mexico. I captured about 5,100 images during the trip!
We'd like to thank Enrique Yescas, Juan Luiz Fernandez, Jesus Soto, Errol & Carolyn Zimmerman, and all the warm, giving Mexican people for hosting us during our remarkable stay through Sonora.
While Enrique and another photographer will be arriving in Arizona in early March to complete the Mexico/Arizona exchange, stay tuned for more information about the upcoming exhibit in Phoenix this fall.
In the meantime, be sure to check out the newly announced 1-day photography seminar sponsored by Through Each Others Eyes. This exciting $99 seminar will feature top notch photographers presenting on topics like developing a personal style, photographing people, post-processing digital images, and more. I will be presenting on "Shoot, Print, Sell!" during the seminar, so I hope to see you all out there!
For more information on this seminar and the other workshops on my schedule this year, please visit my recently updated Photo Workshop page.
December 15, 2008
We wrapped up our 2008 shooting season this past weekend with a great adventure to South Coyote Buttes despite weather reports of a "100 year storm" blowing across Arizona. Over the course of the weekend, we had some great light, 50-60 mph winds, and an inch of snow out in the Buttes, something neither Craig nor I had ever seen before atop the Sand Hill. An amazing and breathtaking experience!
(That's me on the left in green and Craig on the right in red...it was 10 degrees!)
Check out the new photos from our final trip of 2008 in the Landscape gallery under Vermilion Cliffs.
We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous, exciting New Year in 2009!
November 28, 2008
We've had an extremely busy fall season chasing storms, fall colors, and light all over Arizona and Utah. Be sure to check out our Landscape gallery to see new photos from Canyon de Chelly, South Coyote Buttes, Escudilla, Capital Reef National Park, Zion National Park (my 1st ever solo overnight trip!), and Deer Creek/Thunder River off the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (our 1st hike into the Canyon!).
I've even posted a slew of new wildflower, water, and Glen Canyon photos from this past winter and spring (yeah, yeah, but better late than never!). All in all, there's about 200+ new photos posted in a number of Landscape galleries.
The Arizona Highways Photography Workshops have posted their 2009 calendar, where I will be leading 3 amazing photography adventures: Southern Arizona Sampler, Sedona Fall Photoshop Seminar, and Fall Colors in Zion.
There's still a few spaces left on the Watson Lake weekend workshop on January 31 - February 1 that I'll be leading and uncovering my favorite locations around Watson Lake while sharing special techniques for capturing stunning nature photographs. If you're interested in signing up, now is the time to call the Arizona Highways Photography Workshops at 888-790-7042.
Happy Holidays to everyone! We thank you for your continued support of CMS Photography!
September 29, 2008
It's here! The October 2008 issue of Arizona Highways features my first article with the magazine on page 7! It was an honor to be able to write and photograph the article for the Cliff Dwellers Restaurant in the Marble Canyon area. If you'd like to visit the Cliff Dwellers, please visit their website for more information: http://www.cliffdwellerslodge.com/. You won't forget a delectable meal or an overnight stay at Cliff Dwellers. If you visit them, please tell them I said hello!
And for those who haven't seen me in awhile, you can check out my mug shot on page 3 on the Contributors Page. It's my husband's, Craig's, first published photograph!
July 22, 2008
For those who get Arizona Highways magazine, you might notice Craig demonstrating perfect fly fishing technique on page 16 of the July 2008 issue in the Fly Fishing article. This marks the second time Craig has modeled for Arizona Highways. Though he's thrilled to be in the magazine again, he's still not thinking about quitting his day job...
There are some really exciting developments with late 2008 and 2009 photography workshops through Friends of Arizona Highways. Keep a close eye on our Workshop page in the next couple weeks to learn more about the workshops I'll be leading to NEW locations around the scenic West.
Since it's been terribly hot and humid in Phoenix, I've had a chance to spend some time at home editing and prepping images from a number of trips from this Spring. Be sure to check out our new Bisti Badlands gallery.
June 19, 2008
So far, the first half of 2008 has been full of excitement for CMS Photography!
First, our much anticipated 2009 Southwest Cooking Engagement Calendar has finally arrived! Each month features a new, easy to prepare Southwestern-style recipe and colorful photograph to entice your taste buds throughout the year.
This calendar was truly a family affair. After I joked about getting into food photography at Christmas 2006, my husband, Craig, and I decided this food calendar project would be the perfect opportunity to collaborate using our two individual passions. Before I could photograph the recipe, Craig developed, refined, and cooked each recipe featured in the calendar - no small task! One of the recipes, Fish Tacos, came directly from the kitchen of Todd and Chanira Sperry, Craig's brother and our sister-in-law. We tasted this delicious dish at Christmas 2006 and knew we had to submit it for consideration in the calendar. Sure enough, Todd and Chanira's Fish Taco's made the cover!
Over the next few weeks, the calendars should start appearing on store stands across the Southwest. If you just can't wait to see it, you can order directly from the publisher at Smith-Southwestern's online shop. If you'd like a signed Southwest Cooking Calendar, please send me an email and we'll get a signed copy out to you at the publisher's price of $9.95 plus an additional $4.00 to cover our shipping costs.
In addition to the Southwest Cooking calendar, a couple of other 2009 calendars feature my work. The 2009 Sedona Pocket Calendar displays one of my Bell Rock photographs on the cover and as the August photograph, while my Mom and Dad's colorful inflatable kayak is making its debut in the 2009 Arizona Pocket Calendar as the October photograph. These two pocket calendars should be available locally in stores in next few weeks, but you can also purchase online at Smith Southwestern's online shop.
Second, be on the lookout for the July issue of Arizona Highways, as my photo of Craig fly fishing is on page 16 as a part of the feature article regarding Fly Fishing in Arizona. Stay tuned for October’s Arizona Highways, as my first article will be coming out then!
Third, Arizona Highways recently released their Photography Guide, where three of my digital images were published in the Digital chapter. This guide book features indispensable insight into how and where some of the most recognizable photographers capture their vision. To get your copy, please visit the Arizona Highways online shop.
March 27, 2008
Whoo-hoo! Our new website has finally arrived!
You probably won't notice major changes, but we've done some reorganizing and added a bunch of new photos to the gallery section - including those long awaited photos from our wonderful Japan trip last year! To see the Japan exhibition prints, visit the Travel Gallery.
In other news, check out the latest Golf Illustrated magazine. CMS Photography provided images for the article starting on page 16 - "11 Easy Ways to Improve Your Short Game," by John Hughes. Both John and our "model", Terry Hales , were fantastic to work with so if you're in the market for some golf lessons while in the Phoenix area, be sure to give them a call at Advantage Golf School (877-239-6609, http://www.advantagegolfschool.com)
I've been working hard on my very first assignment from Arizona Highways, where I am writing and providing the photographs for a Restaurant article about The Cliff restaurant at the Cliff Dwellers Lodge in Marble Canyon - a true oasis if you've never been up there (http://www.cliffdwellerslodge.com). The article is currently slated for the October 2008 issue, so stayed tuned!
We've also completed our two scheduled art shows for the year. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see our newest releases. With our focus on more editorial assignments and commercial jobs, it's been a challenge sneaking the art shows in to our schedule. We'll see what the fall brings.
If you'd like to stay informed of the CMS Photography happenings, I encourage you to join our quarterly email newsletter list, where you can get first hand information about news-worthy events, updates to our website, notifications of our show and exhibit schedule, and special offers not offered to the general public. Your personal information will never be sold to a third party.
If you're interested in joining the newsletter, please send an email to newsletter@cms-photo.com.
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