Meet Laura Bloomfield
By Sue McMurray
Year: Senior
Program: Resource Recreation and Tourism
Hometown: Pullman, Washington
Laura Bloomfield is using her University of Idaho education to pave a path toward her dream job as a conservation photographer. An undergraduate studying resource recreation and tourism, Bloomfield is gaining a broad knowledge base about social dimensions of conservation and environmental issues facing the world today. Her wildlife photography skills have turned out to be highly complementary with her professional goals.
Bloomfield was one of 12 individuals worldwide awarded a scholarship to attend the North American Nature Photography Association Summit in Albuquerque, NM. At the summit, Bloomfield:
- Experienced photographic field trips
- Met other students and nature photographers
- Attended presentations about different nature photography subjects
- Networked with professional photographers such as Art Wolfe
While attending the conference, Bloomfield discovered there is a greater need for conservation photography than she thought. She notes the power of conservation images go far beyond art and advertising - they help foster communication among scientists.
She has practiced wildlife photography for several years and shoots all kinds of wildlife from elephants to tiny insects and also enjoys landscape photography.
- Lighting
- Composition
- Capturing behavioral shots
- Project development
- Photographing people
- Collaborative skills
“I hope one day my photographs can be used as an education tool or help in conservation in some way, or at the very least, give someone an opportunity to see something they might never get the chance to see,” she says.
Others involved in this project: Mark Lukes, NANPA conference organizer; conference mentors Ruth Hoyt, Keith Snell and Eric Zamora; University of Idaho photography instructor Mark LaMoreaux.
