Fiery sunset over the gypsum ledges near East Gypsum Bay in the Virgin Basin in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area on the Arizona-Nevada border. © Colleen Miniuk
Colleen Miniuk didn’t follow a traditional path to photography (if there really is one). As a child, she developed a fear of water when she couldn’t see the bottom or her feet and she didn’t sleep outside in a tent until her early twenties. In college, she was a scholarship volleyball player, focused on academics and athletics. After graduation, she worked as a software engineer for Intel. So, how did she become a renown nature photographer with a passion for water who, ironically, lives in the Sonoran Desert outside Phoenix, Arizona?
In this episode Colleen talks with NANPA’s Dawn Wilson and Wild and Exposed’s Ron Hayes and Jason Loftus about how photography changed her life; how she took her fear and turned it into a passion, falling in love with the Colorado River, watersheds, hydrology and the interconnectedness of it all; how meeting Ansel Adams’ son and his wife led to an exhibition and lasting friendship; and how Colleen is continually refining her creative processes.
Learn more about Colleen Miniuk and the topics in this episode:
Colleen’s website
You Can Sleep When You’re Dead Blog
Dear Bubbles Advice Column
NANPA
More episodes
The Nature Photographer is your source for behind-the-scenes secrets of today’s top nature photographers working in wildlife, conservation, and fine arts, produced in collaboration with Wild & Exposed. See the list of episodes >