Meet the Instructors

Gene Balzer
www.photosouthwest.com

Gene Balzer's passions are photography and teaching photography. He has lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, since 1972 and has been inspired by the landscape and culture of the Southwest. His subject matter ranges from desert scenes and northern Arizona's mountains to Indian architecture and old Spanish missions to Native American artwork. His use of morning and evening light enhance the vibrant colors in his images. 

Dr. Balzer is the senior photography faculty member at Northern Arizona University, where he teaches portrait and commercial photography, among other classes. A sabbatical in 1993 allowed him to photograph National Parks and Monuments on the Colorado Plateau. His second sabbatical, in 2000, took him to Boston to pursue fashion photography and forge industry connections for students interested in post-college internships and jobs. 

Balzer's clients include Arizona Highways Magazine, Babbitt Brothers Trading Co., Hasselblad USA, Hualapai Indian Tribe, Justin Industries, Museum of Northern Arizona, National Geographic Society, Northland Publishing, Readers Digest Books, Time-Life Books, Treasure Chest Books, and W.L. Gore and Associates. 

Tom Gamache 
www.wanderingaroundoutdoors.com

During the past 25 years the name Tom Gamache has become synonymous with natural and cultural landscape photography of the highest quality.  His images are a delight of color, scale, shape and intimacy. He began his adventures during the endless summers and eternal winters of his youth wandering about exploring the evergreen hills and White Mountains of his native New England . His company Wandering Around Outdoors was named for his legendary western road-trip adventures, often traveling many thousands of on-the-ground miles discovering, rediscovering and finally resolving his experiences into images that capture the art, the power and the ever-changing personality of nature.  

He has photographed extensively throughout the country’s public and private lands including more than 100 units of the National Park System.  His most recent book is a monograph with the highly regarded western writer Matthew Jaffe. The book titled “Range on the Edge / The Santa Monica Mountains ”, is published by Angel City Press. www.angelcitypress.com It is available at bookstores nationwide. 

Recently Tom received a commission from the Death Valley Natural History Association to create and install in the Visitor Center a 23-foot by 5-foot panoramic mural of Death Valley ’s own “Mesquite Flat (Stovepipe Wells) Sand Dunes”. Tom’s work continues to be added to the collections of corporate, public and private collectors.

Van Webster 
www.vanwebster.com 

Van Webster is founder and president of Webster Communications, a full service media production company, serving the broadcast, business and educational communities.  Van's photographic work has focused on landscape and architectural subjects in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii and Europe .  His early photographic efforts were in journalism and documentary areas.  Later commercial projects included corporate portrait, studio product, and multimedia slide presentations. Current production emphasizes video and computer presentations. Webster has been a clinician and technical consultant to artists and business in photography, presentations, audio, video and computer displays. Van is a Fine Arts graduate of Claremont McKenna College and did his graduate work in Architectural Design at California State University , San Luis Obispo, CA .  He studied landscape photography under noted architectural photographer, Julius Shulman. Webster has been a UCLA Arts Extension faculty member and a program chair for over 20 years.