A new exhibition in a Paseo art gallery aims to show how Oklahoma is as captivating as any place in the world.

JRB at the Elm is featuring the work of filmmaker and Prairie Surf Media co-founder, Matt Payne.

However, this exhibition features his work through a different medium, still photography.

The world through 105 millimeters, may give you a lens into his world.

“You’re capturing beauty in these places that are totally unique to these moments in time,” says Payne.

Payne works to capture beauty in the small and large, but he also works to see beyond beauty.

“I want there to be more than a photograph,” Payne explains. “I want there to be a story.”

There are stories across the 6 continents he’s travelled to displayed in the JRB gallery.

“Some of the most beautiful places in the world,” he says – adding there is none he finds more beautiful than where he calls home.

“To me, the Oklahoma photographs are the ones I’m most proud of. They’re the most unique,” he says. “As much natural beauty, or as much cultural beauty as everywhere I’ve been.”

Payne’s Oklahoma home called to him during his time in L.A. It’s the home where he helped open Prairie Surf Studios and started Prairie Surf Creative.

It’s a home where skies have no limits.

“These post storm mammatus clouds, these collapsing super cells, a super cell spinning up, foggy morning,” Payne says of his favorite weather events to shoot. “What ultimately I want is, I want the world to celebrate Oklahoma the way that I celebrate it; the way we collectively celebrate it.”

It’s a way to celebrate the beauty captured in 46.9 pixels. It’s all through a lens picked up when Matt’s own story took a turn.

“When a friend of mine passed away,” Payne said. “I tried really seeking out beauty to get through some of the pain that caused.”

There’s salve in each shutter and beauty in each story. The story of a unique moment in time and of the one who see it in 105 millimeters.

“They’re a deeper beauty. It’s the beauty of our people,” Payne says. “How beautiful the souls of the people are here.”

The exhibition will be open through the end of April.

National Geographic is justly renowned for its incredible photographs and eye-popping video footage, capturing all manner of natural marvels in gorgeous, jaw-dropping detail. Now the people behind those amazing shots are getting their moment in the spotlight with the documentary series, Photographer.

If you’ve ever wanted to know more about what it’s really like to be a NatGeo photographer, this series will take you behind the scenes as the photographers strive to meet the challenges and inevitable surprise obstacles to get that timeless shot. Each episode focuses on a different photographer, combining vérité footage with in-depth interviews and archival footage to help viewers see the world through their eyes—whether it be capturing a hummingbird in flight, chronicling a campaign against oil rigs in the Bahamas, or recording protests, rocket launches, tornadoes, or the behavior of whales, to name a few.

The exclusive clip above features photographer Anand Varma, who started out studying marine biology, intent on following in his father’s footsteps as a scientist, But after taking a job as a camera assistant, he fell in love with photography and has carved out his own niche at the interface of science and art. His latest project is a photographic series centered on metamorphosis—in this case, trying to capture the formation and hatching of a chicken embryo on camera.

That’s a daunting challenge, and as the opening scene reveals, Varma’s first attempt failed. “The Saran Wrap eggs are not doing very well at all,” he tells the camera after working well into the wee hours. Environmental conditions have to be tightly controlled but overnight both the main humidifier stopped working and the backup humidifier didn’t kick in. That made the embryos’ environment 18° F hotter than it should have been. But Varma perseveres and eventually succeeds, commenting that a new growing embryo after 12 days resembles “a little velociraptor foot.” The embryo is actually blinking inside its unshelled yolk.

Photographer premieres on the National Geographic Channel on March 18 and will be available for streaming on Disney+ and Hulu on March 19.

Listing image by YouTube/National Geographic

Danville, Pa. — The public will have a chance to learn from nature photographer and videographer Michael Kinney at an upcoming workshop organized by the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association.

Kinney will be conducting a special Spring Photography Workshop at the Montour Preserve on March 21 at 10 a.m.

The workshop aims to provide participants with valuable insights on camera selection, basic photography skills, and entry-level underwater photography. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a comprehensive camera and equipment demonstration, which will assist them in choosing the right gear based on their skill level and specific requirements.

The session will then proceed to cover fundamental photography techniques before delving into entry-level underwater photography skills. Pre-registration is mandatory for attendance, and interested individuals can learn more about the workshop and sign up on the official website.

Michael Kinney is a passionate nature photographer and videographer who strives to foster a deep connection between people and the natural world. His work primarily focuses on capturing vivid underwater imagery, including captivating shots of creatures like hellbenders and trout, according to vernalschool.org.

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A Colorado photographer has pleaded guilty to scamming couples and photographers out of thousands of dollars. Suzanne Neville was accused of taking money for wedding photography services and then failing to deliver.

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According to CBS News Colorado, at least 39 victims will be eligible for financial restitution if the judge accepts the plea agreement. However, Parker police say they have reports from over 120 potential victims.

One victim, Sarah Garcia, spoke to CBS News about her particular case. She paid $1,400 for a wedding package in 2020. “She had a website and definitely looked legit. Facebook, Instagram, had a huge portfolio,” Garcia said. “An engagement session, a boudoir shoot, and eight hours of photography at the wedding, with two photographers. The only stipulation was you had to pay in full the same day.”

However, Garcia says she faced difficulty contacting Neville to schedule the engagement shoot and other services. The day before the wedding, a completely different photographer reportedly showed up at the wedding. “I didn’t know her name, had never seen her face,” the bride said. “She said it was the day before that Suzanne had reached out to her and asked her to come shoot our wedding. She said someone was in the hospital with COVID or something like that.”

Not only did she and her groom not take the engagement and boudoir photos they’d paid for, but Garcia later learned Neville never paid the replacement photographer. So, she had to pay another $1,200 to get the wedding photos.

After requesting a refund from Nevill, Garcia faced several dismissals. It wasn’t until she threatened legal action that Nevill finally sent over a refund contract. “In the contract, it said things like I wasn’t allowed to leave reviews on social media. I wasn’t allowed to contact her or her associate again,” Garcia said. She added that she refused to sign the contract and went on threatening to sue. Eventualy, Nevill returned her money, and not even all of it.

“Some women say that they never got their photos and they never got their money back,” Garcia told CBS News. There’s a Facebook group warning against hiring Nevill, and it counts a staggering 16,000 members. Other than wedding couples, many other photographers claim that Nevill still owes them thousands of dollars.

In January, Nevill admitted to one count of class five felony theft, out of the eight charges she faced. As part of her plea deal, she will pay nearly $40,000 in restitution and serve a four-year deferred sentence. This means that she will not have to serve any jail time, as long as she abides by the terms of the plea agreement. If the judge approves Nevill’s plea deal on Friday, the 39 victims of her theft will receive the financial restitution they are entitled to. However, Parker police have received reports from more than 120 victims, with the most recent report being filed in February of 2023.

The sentencing is scheduled for Friday at the Douglas County Courthouse.

Choose your wedding photographer wisely

To be quite honest, “an engagement session, a boudoir shoot, and eight hours of photography at the wedding, with two photographers” for $1,400 sounds too good to be true. It should be the first red flag if you ask me, enough to keep looking for photographers. But I understand that not everyone has the budget or knows general photography pricing. Sadly, this isn’t the first case of a scam like this.

So, when looking for a wedding photographer, start by looking at their portfolios and find the ones you like. But even after you do this, make sure to double-check samples of their images. Unfortunately, there are photographers who take someone else’s work and present it as their own – but a quick reverse image search should help you here.

It probably goes without saying, but read other people’s reviews. You can find them on their Facebook pages, Google, Yelp, and specialized websites like WedingWire, Zola, and The Knot. Organizations like the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) have directories of members, where you can sometimes find reviews from past clients.

Now that you’ve made the selection, reach out to as many photographers as you can and compare the prices. This will give you an idea of the price range so you’ll be able to weed out these “deals” that end up in a disaster. I know planning a wedding is stressful and time-consuming, and this takes up even more of your time. But unless you want your Uncle Joe to take photos with his phone and shaky hands, you should take these steps first.