Meet Jim Van Hoy | Fine Art Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jim Van Hoy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jim, do you disagree with some advice that is more or less universally accepted?
I can’t do something because I have no talent for that activity! Nonsense! Check Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” to see what it takes to become skilled in creating art or whatever topic one wants to excel in. Yes, it has taken me years to get where I am now. But, I don’t have an art school background. I’m an Electrical and Electronic Engineer by training. However, that training translated well in tackling my photography and figuring out how to make it better. Difficult technical issues are not intimidating at all. It all began when my neighbor, a great photographer, invited me to join a camera club in Detroit. I quickly learned that I had a lot to learn in photography!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Sharing my photography with others is always exciting for me. We travel, not just locally, but throughout the southwest US and even outside the country. Having others enjoy my work is always a feel-good moment. As I look back on the last 15 years of my photographic journey, there have been lots of bumps in the road but even more fulfilling moments where I have been able to display my work in gallery shows and have professional judges recognize the high quality of my work. The learning process has been long, full of rewards and even a few misfires. Struggling to find my own Vision has been especially challenging. But, I think I am close to finding that Vision and even hit the nail on the head more than a few times!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Depending on the season, I think I would take them to several local spots and then head west in Colorado. There are so many great locations that it is nearly impossible to hit them in a week. Locally, we have to go to Garden of the Gods, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, North Cheyenne Cañon (all city parks) and Cheyenne Mountain State Park. After that, we have the Wet Mountain Valley, the Sangre de Christo Mountains in the San Luis Valley and the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado. All of these are stunning locations that really deserve many return trips.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The Shutterbugs Camera Club and the Greater Detroit Camera Club Council really got me started on the path to becoming a good photographer. They quickly disillusioned me about what I thought were great photographs and then helped me get better. When we moved to Colorado Springs, I joined several camera clubs and started hanging out with folks that knew what they were doing. The Colorado list is quite long! We also attended a number of photography workshops which is another great way to get your skills sharpened quickly.

Website: www.purposefulwanderingphotography.com

Linkedin: James Van Hoy

Facebook: https://facebook.com/james.vanhoy.5