I’ve been following my passion for photography since I was eight and was given my first camera, a Brownie Hawkeye. I’ve had multiple careers, but I’ve never lost sight of my love of making photographs.

It is sometimes hard these days to follow one’s passion for photography. For amateur photographers, there’s the economy, challenges of raising kids or visiting grand kids scattered across the country, busy schedules, and life in general. For professional photographers, there’s all the above and more.

Last April, for example, a photographer received a mere $30 for a Time cover that he sold through a stock agency. Twenty or so years ago, a Time cover would have brought the photographer $1,500-2,000 in creative fees plus expenses.

Because so many people have wanted to see our images from the various workshops, I’ll start with a few from Canyon de Chelly. For those who don’t already know, it is pronounced “Canyon d’SHAY,” from the Spanish mangling of the Navajo word for canyon, Tséyi, that literally means “inside the rock.” It is second in size only to the Grand Canyon and is unique among National Park Service (NPS) units, because it is comprised entirely of Navajo Tribal Trust Land that remains home to the canyon community. NPS does not “own” the park, rather works in partnership with the Navajo Nation to manage it.