Speaker Biographies
Sarah Marino
Sarah Marino is a full-time photographer, nature enthusiast, and writer based in southwestern Colorado. In addition to photographing grand landscapes, Sarah is best known for her photographs of smaller subjects including intimate landscapes, abstract renditions of natural subjects, and creative portraits of plants and trees.
Sarah is the author or co-author of a diverse range of educational resources for nature photographers on subjects including composition, photographing nature’s small scenes, black and white photography, Death Valley National Park, and Yellowstone National Park.
Sarah, a co-founder of the Nature First Alliance for Responsible Nature Photography, also seeks to promote the responsible stewardship of natural and wild places through her photography and teaching.
Sherri Mabe
Sherri Mabe is an infrared landscape photographer with an intimate connection to the landscapes of Colorado and the American West. Growing up along Colorado’s Front Range, and spending much of her childhood on the vast wide open plains, has influenced her art tremendously.
Through her images, she strives to illuminate the austere ruggedness of western scenes, the silence of the prairie, and the soul-stirring mystery of the desert. Sherri uses infrared photography to create ethereal qualities in her images. This unique approach to photography allows her to convey a distinct and otherworldly atmosphere in her portrayal of the land she considers "home."
Sherri is an award-winning photographer and resident artist at the prestigious Gallery 6 art gallery in Denver, Colorado. Her work has been featured in many exhibitions and periodicals such as Elements Magazine.
Jen Walton
Jen is a Denver-based storm and volcano chaser, photographer, and entrepreneur.
She was always fascinated by severe weather and volcanoes, but decided to follow her “should” - focusing her energy on building a career and doing all of the adulting things one must. In 2018, a single decision changed the course of her life; she bought a seat on a storm chasing tour and was hooked. Shortly after, Jen saw her first tornado chasing on her own in Colorado. Empowered by these experiences and armed with just enough basics to be dangerous (pun intended), Jen taught herself to forecast and chase on her own, and chasing led to an eye for photography. She picked up a camera for the first time in 2020, and her work has since been published in The Washington Post, Flaunt Magazine, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, and more.
It took that leap for Jen to learn that pursuing, witnessing, and photographing mother nature’s most epic shows connected her to joy. But more importantly, she also learned that helping others understand and connect with their own insides - their own true joys, free of self-limitation and “shoulds” - was her purpose. Today, Jen fiercely believes in and advocates for gender equity and self-actualization as the proud founder and lead of the Girls Who Chase initiative, whose mission is to inspire, empower and equip girls and women globally to pursue storms, the sciences, and their passions.
Jen is the principal of JAWalton Communications, a strategic communication, and executive leadership center. She holds a BA in Environmental Communication and an MS in Journalism & Technical Communication, and, prior to taking the leap, spent the first 17 years of her career working with scientists, engineers, urban planners and other technical experts to craft communication strategies for effective climate change and science communication.
Franka Gabler
Award-winning photographer and scientist, Franka M. Gabler, developed a fascination, admiration, and respect for nature early in her lifetime.
Franka strives to convey mood and capture the essence of the scenes she photographs. Her photographs are ethereal and often evoke sentimental feelings.
Franka’s photographs have been recognized internationally. In 2022 she was the overall winner of the Landscape Photography World Awards. In 2021 she received the 2021 First Place award for the ‘Intimate and Abstract category of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards, and in 2023 she was recognized as a Highly Commended Photographer of the Year.
Her photographs have been published in several books and publications. Her black & white portfolio “Expressive Yosemite” is published in Issue No. 159 of the LensWork Photography Magazine. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibits and is represented in private collections throughout the United States and abroad.
Franka lives in the Sierra foothills, in the small mountain town of Coarsegold, not far from Yosemite National Park.
Suzanne Mathia
Suzanne is a professional freelance photographer, educator, and writer whose work regularly appears in Arizona Highways Magazine, as well as numerous national publications such as National Geographic, Outdoor Photographer, Digital Photographer, and calendars for the Nature Conservancy, Smith Southwestern and The Global Action Team.
Suzanne was born and raised amidst the green rolling hills of the English countryside but is now completely at home surrounded by the arid desert and swirling sandstone of the Southwest. She finds Arizona a land of intense beauty and preposterous contradiction. Her photographs capture the diversity of waterfalls, snow-capped mountains, autumn leaves and desert sands, from the magnitude of the immense landscape to the smallest, most discreet of details.
Her images reflect her keen sense of curiosity, patience and the ability to see the world and its magic places in new and creative ways.
Suzanne leads photography workshops throughout the Southwest and as an Adobe Certified Expert, teaches classes in Photoshop and Lightroom helping photographers gets the most from their images.
Beth Young
Residing in Sacramento, California, Beth is a practicing architect and prolific nature photographer passionate about capturing uplifting images that endeavor to communicate the therapeutic effects of photography, both for the photographer and the observer.
By employing a palette of bright colors and warm light on the landscape, Beth’s uplifting imagery seeks to conjure feelings of hope, healing, and renewal with an emphasis on wellness and the human experience. Her photography is shown in group and solo gallery exhibitions, and is featured in hospitals, clinics, cancer centers, and healthcare facilities across the country.
Through her print sales, she commits a percentage of profits to cancer causes that directly benefit patients within her community.
Michele Sons
Michele Sons is a fine art landscape and nature photographer, writer, and educator based in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, with clients including National Geographic, The Wilderness Society, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Smokies Life, and other non-profits that serve our nation’s national parks. Her work tends toward quiet, pared-down, subtle representations of her deep reverence for the natural world. Fog, mist, and soft light are intrinsic elements present in many of her images. Michele's uniquely nomadic background, advanced degrees in environmental biology and physical geography, and a 20-year corporate career in spatial analysis provide a personal perspective that informs her creative focus on connection and expression.
Michele empowers creative outdoor photographers to find meaningful connections with nature and grow in their artistry. The Art of Place is Michele’s holistic education resource for landscape and nature photographers, encompassing the entirety of the art and craft of photography. Through her eBooks, private online mentoring, and private field workshops, Michele shares her unique approach to expressive image-making. Learn how to connect with the natural world and express yourself confidently and creatively. For more information, visit www.MicheleSons.com
Dawn Wilson
Dawn Wilson is a professional and award-winning nature photographer and writer specializing in images and stories about wildlife of high latitudes and high altitudes of the Rocky Mountains and Alaska.
With more than 800 bylined articles and photo credits, Dawn's text and photography has appeared in numerous regional and national publications, including Colorado Life, Colorado Outdoors, Wyoming Wildlife, Outdoor Photographer, MotorHome magazine, Nature's Best Photography, and many others. In addition to her editorial work, Dawn leads multiple workshops each year in North and South America to photograph wildlife, such as brown bears in Alaska, birds and primates of Peru and Belize, owls of Minnesota and polar bears of Canada.
She also leads private, custom photo tours in Rocky Mountain National Park. She served two terms as President of the North American Nature Photography Association and has been the co-host of The Nature Photographer Podcast.
Charlotte Gibb
Charlotte Gibb is a nature photographer based in Northern California, known for her mastery of "Intimate Landscapes" — small scenes derived from a large landscape. Her images are frequently symbolic, with an eye towards the subtle and sometimes overlooked elements of nature.
Charlotte writes and publishes on the subject of nature photography and creativity, is a sought-after keynote speaker and educator for national photography events, and has served as a judge for several international photography competitions. Her work is represented by The Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite National Park, reflecting her deep connection to the place.
Charlotte is the author of “Get Intimate: Making a Personal Statement with Intimate Landscapes,” a book that guides photographers in capturing their unique perspectives through intimate nature scenes. She can usually be found tromping with her camera bag in the wilderness areas around the Sierra Nevada Mountain range and Yosemite National Park in her home state.