A Nevada resident since 1988, Mark Vollmer explored the state first as a geologist then as an award-winning photographer, workshop instructor, and writer. He shares his love of photography via teaching, publishing images and articles, and presenting slide shows to community groups and schools.

The variety of desert and mountain beauty beneath awesome skies, mixed with intriguing remnants of our human history, makes Nevada a wonderful place to explore with budding photographers. I like participants to be relatively familiar with their cameras, but I’ve taught the whole spectrum. Although my workshops are geared toward the beginner, all skill levels are invited. I do get into the very basics of apertures and shutter speeds, but it helps if the participants have practiced with their camera beforehand. Also, the physical difficulty of my tours fluctuates depending on the physical abilities of the participants. I want my workshops to be open to everyone—including those with disabilities—so we have the option to go to locales easily accessible by passenger car with minimal-to-moderate walking on gentle terrain.