It's time for another BPW Student Spotlight! Every so often, we will highlight the story and work of a fellow BPW community member. Our students, both present and former, possess such a depth of talent that we want a chance to celebrate them! This month we will focus on longtime community member and wildlife-photography connoisseur: Michelle Avery.
In her words, Michelle shares a little about herself, how she got started with photography, her first experiences with the BPW, and her creative journey with the medium.
I’ve always had a mix of left brain and right brain interests – from loving math, science and ballet when I was young to double-majoring in dance and neuroscience in college to now having a doctorate in neuroscience and doing competitive ballroom dancing and photography on the side. I currently work for a start-up biotech company, doing investor relations and corporate communications.
My journey into digital photography began with a Black Friday sale, where I bought my beloved Sony a6000 and an upcoming trip to Costa Rica. I took my first Digital Cameras I workshop at the BPW in December of 2018 and was immediately hooked. I got a couple practice sessions in before heading off to Costa Rica that following January and after that trip, I knew I wanted to continue to hone my skills in wildlife/nature photography.
While I love to travel for fun to see all kinds of wildlife, I also happened to be traveling a ton for business at the time. If you’ve ever had the pleasure (?) of traveling for business, you know it’s mostly in the confines of a hotel meeting room. I always made it a point to explore when I had the free time. This just so happened to be at night and so, I ventured into the world of night photography, starting with the BPW’s Night Photography workshop in the Ink Block. I fell in love with how at night, the light can make what I might find to be a boring photo during the day an awesome one at night.
And so, while my interests in night and wildlife photography seem rather disparate, they are quite fitting for me. COVID-19 slowed both fun and business travel, but I’ve still been finding time to continue to practice both night and wildlife photography in New England. I am super excited to hopefully go on my postponed 2020 adventure to Svalbard to see polar bears this summer! And while I’ve upgraded my lenses, I still have (and cherish) my Sony a6000.
