Adventure is an area within outdoor photography that adds an element of danger and excitement to picture taking. It can range from the serene to the extreme, putting a photographer in hard-to-reach places and unfathomable conditions, while requiring good survival skills and a good sense of place, time and direction – and a great photographic eye. Bill Hatcher has been traveling to the edge with his camera since he was in college, and has shot photos for various magazines and publications, including National Geographic.

His various assignments and his Photo Adventure column in Outdoor Photographer is more like a photographic essay of his adventures, showing the viewer the experience and beauty that lies in the face of extreme conditions. Photographers like bill, that travel to the ends of the globe are inspired, not only by what they can capture, but the experience itself.

Hatcher is the consummate photo adventurer, who puts himself into challenging elements embedded with a camera, much like a photojournalist planted into a war zone will document a hazardous subject and place. Having an adventurer’s spirit, you need a strong will and the ability to find joy in what you are seeing and shooting, and that is exactly what he has.

What we label as “adventure photography” runs the gamut from extreme sports to essays on untamed and wild places. After speaking with Bill recently, he told me about his upcoming Banff Adventure Photography Workshop, which runs from September 12-15, where he and fellow National Geographic photographer, Gordon Wiltsie, and Canadian photographer, Alec Pytlowany, will be running a workshop immersed in adventure photography. The workshop is a great way to learn new skills alongside Bill and other adventure photographers, and will put a little bit of adventure into your shooting. The workshop consists of various field workshops in the Bow Valley area in the Canadian Rockies just outside of Banff, Alberta. To learn more about this workshop, visit www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/programs/adventure_photography/2008/, and to see more about Bill and his work, visit his Web site at www.billhatcher.com.

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