PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURE VACATIONS

Guest Showcase

The World’s Most Creative and Inspiring Photo Adventure Vacations

NATALIE HOOGASIAN

PHOTOGRAPHY ENTHUSIAST

United States

Natalie did back-to-back workshops in Madrid and Barcelona-Catalonia. She enjoyed herself so much that she joined us in Cuba just three weeks later. I guess you can say that she got a good taste of Spain’s Old and New Worlds. So along comes this retired luxury jewelry saleswoman, turned artist, photographer and book author, running her own gallery and studio in San Francisco. Perhaps intimidating, but more like inspiring. Natalie asked all the right questions, and you could quickly see why she immediately excels at whatever interested her. Her work covers a broad spectrum from textures to florals, details to grit, landscapes to safari, and so on. She a business woman too, turning many of her images into sellable works of art. Thank you Natalie for you elegance and grace, great memories and your beautiful outlook on life. We adored having you.

This photo was taken at Caixa Forum in Madrid. I loved the architectural angles and light of this stairway. I just waited until people had passed and made the picture using available light. In Barcelona I was challenged to photograph horses in a stable in very low light. It was my first time shooting horses and I wanted to create something more artistic so there was a lot of post production work done on that shot, and in Cuba my favorite work was done on the magnificent crumbling old buildings and stairways of Havana. (see more photos below)

ABOUT NATALIE

I was born to Armenian parents who had emigrated to NYC. We moved to San Francisco when I was eight and I have remained in this beloved city ever since. I have traveled all over the world since 1983 which is when I began documenting my travels shooting film. That is when I fell in love with photography. I soon became aware that I wanted more of an artistic element in my work. Digital photography came along and I was hooked.

A CONVERSATION WITH NATALIE

Why did you choose Photo Workshop Adventures?

A friend who was urging me to go to Cuba turned me on to Photo Workshop Adventures (PWA). They were offering trips to Madrid and Barcelona and since Spain had been a destination I dreamed of for ten years, I signed up for the back to back trips. I like the idea of traveling with people who share my passion and who know where to go for the best shots. I found that Michael is such a good teacher with an immense knowledge of photography and experience who is never impatient or demeaning to his students.

What do you enjoy most about photography?

I was a fine jewelry buyer in my previous life. Being surrounded by such incredible beauty everyday fueled my passion to bring beauty to others. Photography has been the vehicle for that passion. My unique cards were the beginning of this manifestation. “In This My Beautiful Egypt” is the title of my book born out of my travels to Egypt. Now my prints and cards are in the homes and estates of clients all over the globe. Money has never been the objective.