NECCC 2018 Photography Conference Presenter Spotlight: Hector Astorga (Texas)
Sponsored by Santa Clara Ranch
Preconference workshop: “Quick 10 Minute Workflows in Adobe Photoshop CC for Nature Photographers”
Program #1 “Making Better Nature Photographs”
Program #2 “My Approach to Nature Photography Contests”
Bio:
Hector D. Astorga is a professional nature photographer based in South Texas. His love of nature and the outdoors began as a child in his native country, Honduras. He is a professional guide for visiting photographers at the Santa Clara Ranch and also serves as the ranch manager. He conducts photography workshops there and at other locations in North America, Central America, and Africa. He is a four-time Grand Prize winner of the Texas big nature photography competitions. In 2013 and 2015, he was the Grand Prize winner of the Wildlife in Focus Nature Photography Contest. In addition, he was the top recipient of the Valley Land Fund Nature Photography Contest in 2010 (Professional and Open Divisions) and in 2008 (Small Tract Division). He won top honors in the 2009 National Wildlife Federation Photography Contest and in the 2012 Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers Photography competition. In 2016, one of his images was selected as a “Best of Show” by the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) in their Annual Showcase competition. His work has been featured in Nature’s Best Magazine, Audubon Magazine, National Wildlife Federation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Magazine, National Geographic Guide Books, The Chicago Tribune and other national and regional publications. Hector is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers (RMOWP), Texas Nature and Environmental Photographers (TexNEP), Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) and of Nikon Professional Services (NPS).
Preconference workshop: “Quick 10 Minute Workflows in Adobe Photoshop CC for Nature Photographers”
Hector D. Astorga is a professional nature photographer, photographer guide and photography workshop instructor. Tired of spending hours in the computer working on your images? In this on-hands workshop we will show you how to create great images using quick 10-minute workflows in Adobe Photoshop CC. We will show how to go from Adobe Bridge, to Adobe Camera Raw, and finally to Adobe Photoshop CC in quick and easy workflows that will produce great images in little time. Note - this workshop will NOT cover Adobe Lightroom. Prerequisites: Participants will be expected to have Photoshop CC pre-loaded and activated on their laptops and know how to open and save files. Those who prefer to use Photoshop CS6 may still participate, but need to understand that some features covered in the class may not be available or may be implemented differently in PS CS6. This Pre-conference workshop is for all skill levels.
Program #1 “Making Better Nature Photographs”
Hector D. Astorga is a professional nature photographer, photographer guide and photography workshop instructor. In this workshop he will share with us the guidelines he follows when he creates and composes his images. He will cover guidelines like leading lines, backgrounds, depth, rule of thirds, and others. He will demonstrate how by following and combining these guidelines you will create better nature images, both wildlife and landscapes.
Program #2 “My Approach to Nature Photography Contests”
Hector will share the process that he goes through when creating images for a contest. He will demonstrate his approach to selecting images based on what he thinks a judge is looking for in a contest. We will see his step-by-step planning and creating of his photographs. This is a “must see” presentation if you are interested in entering nature photography competitions. Hector D. Astorga is a professional nature photographer, photographer guide and photography workshop instructor. Since 2008 he has had success in photography contests. He has won many regional and national Nature Photography competitions including: Grand Prize Winner 2008 Valley Land Fund Nature Photography Contest, Grand Prize Winner 2010 Valley Land Fund Nature Photography Contest, Grand Prize Winner 2011 Wildlife in Focus Nature Photography Contest, Grand Prize Winner 2013 Wildlife in Focus Nature Photography Contest , First Place 2009 National Wildlife Federation Photo Contest, Connecting People and Nature, Grand Prize Winner 2012 Rocky Mountain Outdoor Writers and Photographers Photography Competition Highly Honored 2014 Nature’s Best Windland Rice Awards Smithsonian Competition, Wildlife Best of Show 2016 NANPA Showcase Macro and all other wildlife, First Place 2016 NANPA Showcase Macro and all other wildlife, Judges Selection 2017 NANPA Showcase Birds Division.
