Joseph Rossbach Photography: Featured Workshop Client: Debbi Koplen

Name: Debbi Koplen
City: Vienna
State: Virginia
Country: USA
Website:http://www.debbik.smugmug.com/

BIO:

My name is Debbi Koplen and photography is my passion, which I manage to work into a hectic schedule of being a single Mom with a full-time job. I live in Northern Virginia and work for the federal government as a Contracting Officer. When I get a break the first thing I do is grab my camera! I am interested in all kinds of photography and I try to keep it fresh by frequently attending workshops, lectures, and trying new things. Although intrigued by photography most of my life, I never pursued it much. My real interest was spawned by a brief illness in 2001, which forced me indoors during most of the summer. That led to a craving to be outdoors again, so when I was finally able to get out, the first place I headed was deep into woods-deeper than I’d ever been before. From there, I took up day-hiking which created my desire to capture the beauty that I was seeing for the first time on film. I’ve not been able to put a camera down since then. My father’s lifelong interest in photography made him a natural teacher for me and I am still learning from him. I currently shoot with a Nikon D300 and various Nikon lenses.

Workshop Experience:

I introduced myself to Joe at the Meadowlark Expo and was very impressed with the time that he took with me on that very busy day to explain his teaching technique and how it could satisfy my requirements at my skill level. I signed up for his class on Abstract Photography at Meadowlark and took his Great Falls weekend workshop. Between the two classes, I learned so much not only conceptually but I also developed new hands-on skills in the field. What makes Joe Rossbach stand apart from other instructors is his obvious desire for his students to come away with more skills than when they entered. He pours a tremendous amount of energy towards his students’ needs and unlike many of the other area instructors; he spends very little time behind his camera while out in the field with his students and very little time selling the class on gear and equipment. I look forward to taking many more workshops with Joe in the future.