Presentations
Detailed Information About the 2024 Conference is Coming Soon.
FriDAY May 26th

Anna Morgan
Play and Possibility
In this presentation Anna will explore the connections between curiosity and creativity, and why setting goals can be detrimental to creating new work. She will explore what it means to play, why this helps us to let go of certain expectations that we carry with us into the field, and how committing to playful photography practices can expand the possibilities as you develop your own photographic visions.

Kase Filters pro team
With so many amazing options at our fingertips, navigating Kase Filters’ selection of products to find what’s best for you can be daunting.
Ambassador Jim Brompton will demonstrate the differences with a Kase Filter kits comparison while pro-team members Brett Michaud will discuss Shaping Light with Filters and how he uses Kase filters to control the light when shooting landscapes and Chris Gibbs will focus on Enhancing Your Nature Video Vision with the Kase MovieMate Filter System. Here you will discover how the Kase MovieMate Filter System can enhance your nature videos with its advanced filtering technology and innovative features. Chris will discuss the system's lightweight and portable design, how it can assist you to achieve stunning visual effects, add depth and dimension to your shots, capture cinematic footage with ease and why it’s the perfect addition for nature videographers who want to elevate their nature and wildlife videos to a more professional level.

FujiFilm

Alister benn
Decoding Your Diary of Engagement: The True Value of Creativity and Personal Expression
In this talk, Alister aims to bring into sharper focus these three key relationships:
- Between each of us and the landscape
- Between us and our creativity (also touching on sharing and societal judgement)
- Us and ourselves
Each of these is shaped by so many factors, influences, pressures and mistruths. We often live lies and try to hide from ourselves. By understanding these relationships we can finally break free from the norm and walk our own paths with freedom, confidence and peace. Your photographs are your diary of engagement, what are they saying about you and the 3 relationships?
The world revolves around relationships, and our creativity is a catalyst to improve all of them.
SaturDAY May 27th

Kyle Marquardt
Bird Photography Tools & Techniques
Kyle Marquardt will lead an interactive seminar on optimizing camera settings and techniques to capture photographs of birds. Participants will also be able to enjoy seeing a demo of Sony's latest camera technology and lenses featuring our bird guest model, a domesticated Falcon named "Bigfoot.”
Bigfoot is a male barbary falcon. Barbary falcons are a peregrine falcon subspecies native to parts of southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. Bigfoot was bred in captivity by a breeder in Ontario. He was hand-raised, or “imprinted” to people, and therefore thinks he is one of us. His primary job is chasing nuisance birds away from places where they are doing property damage.

Viktoria Haack
Keeping it Reels: Pursuing Authenticity Through Photography - A Personal Journey
What does it mean to create work that feels authentic and meaningful?
In this presentation Viktoria will look at our underlying motivations, core values and interests, the benefits of sharing our work with others and the challenges this can present, as well as definitions of success.

Alan Dyer
Chasing the Moon’s Shadow
On April 8, 2024 the shadow of the Moon will sweep across North America, bringing a total eclipse of the Sun to millions of people in the path of totality. This is the first total solar eclipse in our part of the world since August 21, 2017, and the last until 2044.
There is no more impressive event on earth or in the sky that you can witness — and survive! — that can match the power and spectacle of a total eclipse. Capturing the event can be easy, or challenging. If ever there was a time for things to go wrong, it is in the moments before totality.
To help us prepare, nature is providing us with a “dress rehearsal” eclipse six months earlier, on October 14, 2023, when the Moon will pass directly in front of the Sun, but not quite cover the entire solar disk, creating an “annular” eclipse. Alan will review the methods for photographing both the 2023 and 2024 eclipses, from simple gear to complex setups, providing advice on what to do — and not do — gleaned from decades of eclipse chasing.

Hope Walls and Billie Lang
The Anatomy of Success
Hope Walls and Billie Lang of Rare Earth Outreach are fans of initiating tough conversations that bring our community closer together. They are stoked to be at Lightchasers where they plan to disrupt common misconceptions about what "success" looks like by performing a fun (and funny) virtual autopsy on a mythical guy we call Bob the Photographer. As we take you through a guided external and internal examination of Bob, we suspect you will come to the same conclusions we have about the need to redesign - and in some cases completely throw out - the measuring sticks we’ve been told to use. Our goal is to share some of the hacks we’ve learned for avoiding pitfalls that leave us feeling deflated, defeated, or dead in the water, and inspire you to put Bob to rest so that you can boldly and unapologetically aspire to be the best photographer that ever lived: yourself.
SUNDAY May 28th

DAra Ojo
The Magnified World: A Guide to the Art of Macro Photography
Showcasing the beauty and intricacy of small things in life through the art of macro photography. In this presentation, Dara will take you on a journey through the fascinating world of macro photography, where we will explore the techniques and equipment required to capture stunning close-up images. He will also share his personal experiences and insights on how to focus on tiny subjects, find the right lighting, and create awe-inspiring macro photos. Dara invites you to join him as he delves into the magnified world of macro photography and uncovers the art of capturing the small details that often go unnoticed.

Rebecca Simrose
Saying YES to Adventure (even if you’re a scaredy-cat)
It is easy for us to stay in our comfort zones but growth only happens when learning to embrace discomfort; to feel wildly uncomfortable and do it anyway. Rebecca is not a naturally brave person. But saying “yes” to adventures has let her experience life so much more fully; to experience the sheer joy of being out in nature. It has allowed her to enjoy the experience even if conditions aren’t going to give her that epic shot to take home. She is happy - and adventures and photography are a big part of that happiness for her and through her presentation, she hopes it becomes that for you too.

Abbie Reilander
Shooting Through the Lens of a Woman
Abbie Reilander sheds some light on the often silent and dismissed division between gender and photography, particularly in the field of wildlife. Through her own personal experiences, and through the stories of other young women photographers throughout Canada, she helps represent those who are disregarded, misunderstood and above all, subconsciously rejected for who they really are.

Alex Buisse
Storytelling for Adventure Photography
After a brief presentation of his favorite images from over a decade as a professional adventure photographer, Alex will showcase how he uses the various tools of photography (light, color, composition, movement, depth of field and more) to create an emotional reaction with the viewer and achieve the ultimate goal of photography: telling a story. Alex will use examples from his own work, both good and bad, to explain what he has learned works best in any given situation, regardless if climbing an 8,000m peak, shooting the Milky Way or making a candid family portrait.
Panel Discussion
Social Media and It’s Impacts on Our Creativity and Mental Health
The Lightchasers Conference 2022 had so many wonderful speakers who re-sparked my interest in photography. I have been to many other photo conferences over the years but this was the first one that all the speakers brought so much to the table - all were great speakers, fabulous photographers and really inspired me again! I fully recommend that photographers, regardless of skill level, should attend Lightchasers Conference 2023!Sharlene Stanley