Craig Bill

I am most self taught and experimental, however I have had several photographic classes growing up and more recently achieved my Master of Photography in Fine Art in 2019 from MPIO or Master Photographers International Organization.

I remember a photograph of a pet ferret I took on the sand dunes of White Sands (now) National Park. In that shot, I got a light flare from the sun and fell in love with it. I was my first artistic photograph even by mistake. But that photograph angled me even more into a future fused with photographic science and endeavor. I have always believed that even one photograph can change the world. This little photograph was very powerful for me.

I use all of Sony's flagship cameras, currently Sony A7RIV, Sony A7RII, as well as DJI Mavic 2 Pro, Sony 24-70mm, Sony 24-105mm, Sony 70-200mm, Tokina 11-16mm, Rokinon 14mm, Andoer TB81X Head, Mavic 2 Pro +NDs, GoPro Fusion, LumeCubes, LED Lights, Cine Backpack, Cokin Filters (ND & Grads), Wireless Remote Shutter Release, Care & Clean Supplies, Lightning Trigger, Benro Tripod, Mini Tripod, CP Polarizers, Big Stopper, Extra Batteries & Cards, Cell Phone, Seafrogs Underwater Housing, Underwater Dome Housing, Beanie Hat & Hand warmers, treats!

Personally, I hope to achieve what I call "Shots of a Lifetime" - a body of work to look back on as well as work that is used as inspiration to others to initiate a similar journey.

Oddly enough, it was when I received a phone call from a couple famous photographers after achieving a number of first award titles. One of these calls was not really congratulatory, but more condescending. This let me know that I was on the right track, at least, to get on the radar of well known photographers competition lists.

I love seeing inspiration and excitement from people whether from collectors or first time camera experimenters. In my mind, being out and about in nature and the night is well placed - but it is not so much for a majority of people. So, it helps me think that, in some small way, that I have elevated the quality or sense of discovery and wonder.

High impact Experimental Discovery

I consider receiving an award at this year's 2022 MUSE Photography Awards to be a huge honor. I also use contests like this to further teach myself to push boundaries and be inspired overall among other prestigious winners.

The images that received awards this year were mostly from recent work in New Mexico's desert - a favorite place of work. Another is a panoramic of a recent trip to Cambodia's ancient Angkor Wat. Of course I'm bias, but these images are well placed among my style of work.

Winning awards has helped me develop my career over time in several ways. One is the push to get new work onto the stage, another way is that collectors and critics expect to see your work show up among higher judged ranks. I also view them as part of an image's journey and thus it's collectability - like an image's unique marketing path.

Marc Adamus is always in mind, and of late, Lincoln Harrison and Derek Sturman.

I remember some advise from a photographer friend earlier on that said, "Keep shooting and don't come back with unused film or memory cards, because there is always a perspective less taken or never taken before. Find it".

Get to failing as soon as possible! Develop a tolerance for failure and know what great things come from ignoring the frustrations of failure. I began to get more technical with photographic science while I was doing fitness modeling in my 20s'. I got to examine and share many photographers workflow and business as it pertained to a photographic enterprise. Being an entrepreneur myself, I was especially interested in seeing the actual raw guts and gears of various photographer's business - from camera to finished product. That's also when I became familiar and comfortable with the amount of failure there is behind the scenes to be able to finally experience a successful outcome, like a profoundly shared social media image or world class photographic artworks. Yes, a picture is really worth a thousand words - way before it is ever served to a larger audience.

Entering contests for one, but watching style and equipment technique trends and experimenting on my own.