KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS
Josh’s programs are engaging, motivating, and funny. While Josh is a photographer and outdoor adventurer his talks appeal to a wide audience due to the passion he exudes for his subjects and his many years of experience as an educator. He regularly addresses businesses, photographic organizations, and students throughout the world.
Some of his most popular topics include….
604 Days Around the World: The Art of Unconventional Parenting & Risk:
In 2022 Josh and his wife rented out their house, pulled their 7 & 10 year old kids out of school and spent nearly two years traveling around the world with just a backpack on their backs. Spending 7 months in South America, 3 months in Eastern Europe & Egypt, and 5 months in South East Asia, 4 months in India & Nepal. They trekked and photographed their way around the world on local buses, local trains, slow boats, donkeys, and even camels. Josh entertains audiences with stories from their adventures and talks about how travel and taking risks leads to a life well lived.
The Value of Struggle In Finding Passion
While everyone’s life is filled with challenges, some people choose to be defined by these challenges while others rise above. Josh will tell his own story of the challenges he faced with mental health growing up with ADHD, low self-esteem, and regular bullying. He will talk about how he eventually found success in the outdoors and how a summer camp job changed his life direction. With more than 20 years of high school teaching experience and youth work, as well as expeditions and photography work around the world, Josh knows a thing or two about challenge. Josh will talk about the importance of self-esteem and how it can only be gained through overcoming obstacles. Sometimes life sets those obstacles in front of us and sometimes we choose them ourselves, but overcoming these challenges leads to self-confidence, and self-confidence leads to self-esteem and better mental health.
Josh will share stories and images from his travels around the world as he address the importance of struggle and failure in eventually finding passion and success in art, the boardroom, and in life.
Dynamic Landscape Photography: Where Passion and Craft Intersect:
What separates average photos from amazing photos? Passion! Do you struggle creating photos that rise above the crowd? Do your images all feel the same? Along with telling the story of his own photographic journey, Josh will focus on helping listeners find their own path through photography with passion. He will address how passion when applied to technical skill and craft can lead to truly spectacular results. He will also talk about light and composition, and how they work together to create drama, and how to create "photographic luck"
It's Not All About Technique: Great Photos That Are Technical Failures:
All too often we as photographers are too focused on the technical and forget about the creative side of photography. Often some of the most technically perfect photos are boring and quickly forgotten; while some of the greatest photos of the 20th century are technical failures. Josh will show examples from throughout photographic history of photos that have serious technical flaws, but yet connect with audiences decades later. Perhaps we should be more focused on creativity and emotion rather than technical perfection.