New Spokane photo school answers call for wannabe nature photographers
Looking to hone your hand at outdoor photography?
Mike Busby might be the guy for you.
This summer Busby, a Spokane-area landscape photographer, opened his own photography school.
While Busby teaches the basics of digital photography – exposure, aperture, composition and more – his interest in teaching is broader than just the nuts and bolts.
“Our society really isn’t that great at teaching creativity and self-expression,” Busby said.
That focus on developing creativity has served Debbie Cole well. She has taken one-on-one classes with Busby for about eight months. Although Cole has been shooting photos for 40 years, she received little formal instruction and felt that she’d plateaued creatively.
That’s where Busby came in.
In particular, he helped her capture a long-dreamed-of shot in Ireland. The photo is of a cairn marking the grave of a young man who died of leukemia, near Glencoe, a scenic Irish village.
Before Cole went on her trip to Ireland this summer, Busby helped her figure out the best way to shoot the scene.
She returned victorious with a photo she loves and has mounted on her wall at home.
“I owe so much to Mike,” she said. “I would never be where I’m at with out him.”
Busby believes one of the biggest things holding amateur photographers back is a lack of confidence. He hopes his classes – and mentorship – can help with that.
“Start shooting for yourself” is the No. 1 thing he tells photographers.
“What I’m coming across is a lot of people with a lot of good skills, but they haven’t put it together,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there shooting good stuff, but they don’t know it’s good.”