Steve Traudt

"Photographing lets me see and feel a part of the environment, whether a soaring mountain or a tiny wildflower," says Steve Traudt. "This seeing leads to more awareness, which in turn enhances the seeing yet more. The whole process is addictive!"

Raised in Nebraska, Traudt moved to Grand Junction in 1987 where he and wife, Fay Timmerman, established Quilt Junction and Gallery 412 which they operated for 9 years. He teaches photography at 13 Photography Gallery and Western Colorado Community College, conducts photography workshops and seminars, is a certified scuba diver, a writer and a pharmacist.
In a dusty attic at the age of 10, Traudt chanced upon some old darkroom items belonging to his father. He ordered fresh paper and chemicals from the Monkey Ward catalog and a lifelong interest was soon born.

He's exhibited photographs extensively around the world, lectures locally and nationally and especially enjoys sharing his enthusiasm through teaching. Steve has been invited to lead photo trips to such exotic locales as Costa Rica and the Galapagos. His magazine articles have appeared in various publications including Nature Photographer magazine. He's a member of The North American Nature Photography Association; The National Assoc. of Photoshop Professionals and The Photographic Society of America from which he holds the honor of Associate.

Traudt calls his photographs Synergistic Visions. He explains synergism as the cooperative interaction of several elements to yield a superior result. For Traudt, photography is synergism of such elements as the brain, emotions, vision, film, lenses and the camera. Since photography is both art and craft, Traudt views this synergism as a marriage of left-brain and right-brain activities.

"In today's world, we're in such a hurry; never looking up or down, only straight ahead. I make photographs which cause the viewer to pause, even for a moment, and realize all the remarkable events in our world awaiting discovery."

Call WCA at (970) 325-4005 or email for a registration form, or Register

April 17, 2008

The GO date is the date when, if the minimum number of students has registered, we know the class will be held. If the minimum number of students has not registered by the GO date, the class will be canceled. So be sure and register early to help ensure your class will be held.

Synergistic Visions Seminar

Morning Session: 9 AM to Noon

Share Thyself: With simple software, photographers can now create amazing slide shows which can then be shared in many ways including the internet, email, CD and DVD. Steve explains all the elements, from start to finish including optimizing images; music; psychology and more. The lecture features the use of ProShow Gold software but the knowledge applies to any other software as well. Steve will also share some of his favorite slide shows.

Photoshop Workflow: The key to "taming" Photoshop is to work in a consistent and orderly fashion. A workflow provides a road map allowing the photographer to produce quality images in less time. Steve discusses such topics as: evaluating the image; adjustment layers; cropping; resizing; saving; sharpening and printing. Perfect companion to the first program

Afternoon Session: 1:30 to 5 PM

Wide-Scapes: The Magic of Panoramas. Until recently, making panorama images required specialized and expensive cameras. Digital cameras now bring this exciting style of photography to everyone! By using software to "stitch" together multiple images, high quality enlargements can be made, using any digital camera. This program examines the history of panoramas, tools and techniques, software, composition and more. The emphasis is on how easy and fun it can be.

Boxcutter 101: Unleashing Your Creativity. An inspirational and thought-provoking program that examines the artistic side of photogrpahy. Steve shows a variety of ideas and tricks to get "outside the box", photographically.

Dirty Pictures: A very practical program that explains the issue of dust on the SLR sensor and examines the various methods to clean it off. Learn how to safely clean your own sensor and save money.

Pay in full before the GO date and receive a 10% discount on the price of the class.

$ 115 non-members WCA - $104.50 if paid in full before GO date
$ 104.50 members - $95 if paid in full before GO date

We must receive your registration and a 50% deposit by the GO date in order to know if the class will make.

The instructor will supply a resource CD covering the material presented

Note: There will be a $5 materials fee payable to the instructor at the time of class