Who I am
[Image above and in rotation both courtesy of Alyce Bender Photography]
I began my photography experience as a child when my parents purchased a Ranger Ready camera and I visited the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Oklahoma. At age 16, my mother gave me a Canon AE-1 with a broken meter. I read John Shaw’s Nature Photography Field Guide and learned the sunny F/16 rule. Using Kodachrome 64 and doing all the exposure calculations in my head, I was forced to learn using manual mode with no assistance from a camera meter. Looking back, this was a huge blessing. I shot with Canon for 25 years until making the switch to Olympus (now OM System). After a year with the new system, I was invited to become an OM System Ambassador in 2019. This is one of the photography accomplishments of which I am most proud. The OM System family of ambassadors, employees, and hobby photographers is an amazing group of people with whom I have the pleasuring of sharing many aspects of my photographic journey.
Another pivotal moment in my life was my first visit to Big Bend National Park in August 1989 with my grandparents. During that visit, a Canyon Towhee caught my eye in the Chisos Basin. Since then, I have traveled to all 50 states and 7 Canadian provinces in search of the birds and wildlife of North America. I also have led photography workshops in Central and South America, as well as Africa.
Big Bend is one my favorites, and I have been on every trail and road in the park. My primary role is serving as the senior photography workshop instructor for Wildside Nature Tours (Owner, Kevin Loughlin) with destinations such as the Galapagos Islands National Park, Zimbabwe/Zambia, Ecuador, Amazon Riverboat Cruise, Costa Rica, Alaska Inside Passage Cruise, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park in winter, and more. You can see some of my images from these destinations in my portfolio page. I also serve as a photography workshop instructor for Precision Camera & Video in Austin and Houston, Texas,
In the past, I have served as transportation planning coordinator; roofing contractor; church planter; and supervisor of the Judge Roy Bean Visitor Center in Langtry, TX. My heart has always been in photography , but life circumstances had prevented me from pursuing this passion. Finally, in March 2018, I knew what path was ahead and Big Bend Birding & Photo Tours was born. In May 2023, I merged Big Bend Birding & Photo Tours with Wildside Nature Tours.
My passion for teaching comes from a long line of educators in my past and having taught beginning birding classes, photography classes, and Lightroom classes. I have served as an instructor for Travis Audubon Society (Austin, TX), Williamson Audubon Group (Williamson County, TX), many Master Naturalist classes, and for the Texas Ornithological Society. I speak to camera clubs, at bird and photography festivals, and for OM System both in person and online. If you would like to have me present to your club or organization, please contact me.
I have three (3) degrees with a B.A. in Geography, M.S. in Regional & City Planning both from the University of Oklahoma and a M.Div. with Biblical Languages from Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth.
Where I live
I live at 6,143′ in the Davis Mountains just outside Fort Davis, Texas. Formerly I lived in Sanderson but have relocated to a more central location for guiding in the Big Bend region of west Texas. I moved into a 700′ house with big porches and spectacular views of the McDonald Observatory and Mount Livermore, the highest peak in the Davis Mountains at 8,379′. When around the house, I am often enjoying the Javelinas and incredible variety of birds we get such as Scott’s Orioles, Western and Hepatic Tanagers, Black-chinned Sparrows, Acorn Woodpeckers, Montezuma Quail, and a large number of hummingbird species. I also get a wide variety of great insects, flowers, and grasses, particularly after the summer monsoons, and this makes for some great macro photography experiences.
