I'm Craig Bill, a biologist and a photographer residing in Austin, Texas. The introduction of a little "110" camera from my mother. She gave me this super-used, old film camera and taught me how to load it with film. From there, it was all experimentation. Later on, I was able to try one of the first digital cameras: the Casio QV10 that produced very crazy low-resolution images - but was a total marvel to me. I completely wore that camera out. Throughout my life, I've used images to construct words. I've always felt at home artistically among nature. Influential family and friends during my youth vastly encouraged my passion for natural world exploration, travel, soul-searching, and beauty. one that has continued to elevate my sense of conservation and love for photography overall through the years.

I am a self-taught photographer. I started studying photography by myself at such a young age, out of curiosity. Then when I got into my 30's, I did some modeling and became even more interested in photography as a business pursuit. Recently, I finished my Master Photographer of Fine Art from MPIO.

So funny...yes! It was my white ferret on the white sand dunes of White Sands National Park with a sun flare.

I have always used the Sony's flagship cameras with a variety of lenses.

I hope to achieve a body of work over my life that not only is of merit but uniquely creative which I call Shots of a Lifetime. I hope that this will inspire more people to reach into the world of photography.

Getting a call from one of the top photographers in the world of landscape photography.

What always inspires my creative and unique storytelling is purely the interaction of other people - seeing there excitement and wonder about the world around them that they were not aware of.

Creative, Impactful, Discovery

Thank you, these awards mean so much to me. These awards also help let me know that I am in the right direction for impactful world-class images.

Most of the photographs that won this year's award consist of highly technical images, and the process involved hundreds of exposure to achieve the final result. Each photograph is an entire project in itself.

Reaching for a higher personal standard with images that require more complicated approaches is often rewarded with an award of some kind. It's also a way to break out of the usual photography everywhere. And winning images guaranteed me that they are unique and hard to emulate.

Some photographers that have inspired me are Marc Adamus, Lincoln Harrison, Ansel Adams, Galen Rowel, which are a few that come to mind.

Some great advice given to me early on by several mentors was that I would be successful in taking more exposures from different angles. And to make way more than you think you need because often you find the winning one composed differently than you initially imagined.

You may use the camera as a visual diary for beginners. This will give you plentiful reasons to shoot and become comfortable with many creative and technical aspects of photography.

I believe most of my success is creative uniqueness and not being defined by only one style of photography. It will help you grow as an artist and expose your content to various people to experience your work.

I join many groups and organizations that showcase new advances in equipment, theory, and process.

Definitely the aforementioned inspired photographers of mine above.

Abe Blair - abeblair@me.com

Michael Shainblum - Shainblumphoto@gmail.com

Thank you to all the people at MUSE. I'm not sure who you are, but I will find out soon!