About
About Me
A native Kansan, I grew up spending time outside hunting and fishing and from that developed my interest in nature. My passion (addiction?) for photography grew from a desire to simply be outside. I love to drive the back roads and explore places I’ve never been before while “hunting” for the right moment to stop and take a photograph. Being behind the camera helps me to “be in the moment” and to truly experience what is right in front of me. A side benefit of taking pictures is that I get to share what I see with others and hopefully somebody once in awhile will like my photos enough to pay for one…which enables me to selfishly head back out to lose myself in the landscape again.
I have to say something about where I take photographs, my home state of Kansas. Many people think that Kansas is simply one large, flat wheat field. Certainly wheat is important to Kansas and wheat fields hold their own beauty, especially with a gentle breeze blowing across them right before harvest. But that is not everything that Kansas has to offer. Kansas actually has many diverse landscapes across the state. And as for flat, well most of Kansas is not that flat. I’ve now lived in the Flint Hills longer than any other area of Kansas and I’m constantly stunned by the beauty of this area. If you haven’t experienced the different landscapes of Kansas then you are missing out on something special.
I know it is cliche, but I sincerely hope my images will inspire you to “stop and smell the roses.” We are surrounded by beauty but seem to rarely take time to notice it. If we aren’t careful it is going to be gone before we know it. I can be so attuned to the light and shapes, texture, and colors when I’m out photographing and feel so alive…only to be lost in the noise of our ever increasingly complex world when I return after a session of shooting. I hope you can find some time to get away from the rat race with me and enjoy these photographs.
Workshops and Classes
I teach introductory photography classes (for both film and digital) at a community education center in Manhattan as well as an introductory image processing class. I’ve been teaching photography since 2002 and I really enjoy helping people learn about their cameras and the basics of photography and image processing. I’ve also started doing 1 day workshops in the region and have really enjoyed those.
I’m available for personalized workshops for up to 2 people. These workshops can cover any topic you would like to learn more about including the baiscs of photography, camera operation, improving your composition etc. and can be shooting trips or more discussion type learning or a combination of both. I can also teach Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Lightroom, printing techniques, and color management. Please contact me at scott@scottbeanphoto.com if you would like more info on individual or group workshops.
