My fascination with photography began at seventeen years of age when I received my first 35mm SLR camera. After learning how to operate the camera and shooting my first thirty-six black & white exposures, I was hooked for life. My interest quickly turned to how I could use photography to express my vision of people, places and things, and so began a life long interest in photography and creative expression.

I decided to become a photographer because I saw photography as a tool, a vehicle for taking people somewhere. To me photography is storytelling. As a photographer not only do we capture images, but we show other people our work and tell them where we where, what we were doing when we took the photo, how if felt to be there and we emotionally involve them in our photographs. Photography is a way for me to express my passion for life, nature, curiosity and photography to others.

My professional photography career started with a job as a special events photographer covering fraternity and sorority parties while attending college. Following graduation he became a full-time photographer still covering special events, but now also conventions, and weddings. When I was asked to train the new special events photographers I discovered my second passion; training and development. Learning from my eight years of special events photography experience, I started my own photography business in the mid 1980’s and I haven’t stopped shooting since. Throughout my career, I have continued to combine my love of photography, training and business.

Today Winston C. Hall, a.k.a. Tuner, is a professional photographer, speaker/facilitator and business owner living in the Pacific Northwest where he pursues his passion of helping people express themselves creatively through his technical and non-technical photography workshops and Up-to-the-Click coaching services.

I believe that “expressing yourself creatively” is not an occasional way of living; it is something we do everyday. Whether you are planning a meeting, communicating, solving a problem or cooking a meal you are constantly expressing your creative talents. This creative expression is what makes each of us different and unique.

While I believe that anyone can take a picture, a photographer needs to develop the creative habits of observation and awareness to discover interesting things to photograph. The question photographers should be asking themselves is “what am I passionate about photographing?” Is it landscapes, nature, people, fashion, abstract or children? Why am I interested in this subject? What do I want to visually communicate to others through my images? Photographers project a life attitude through the images they create. These images are really the expressions of the photographer’s passions.

I believe the key to creative living is curiosity. Curiosity to me means living with a desire to learn, a thirst to know about people and things, developing inquisitive behavior, to explore and investigate. Curiosity is about having an exaggerated interest in the world.

Developing new habits involves letting go of assumptions about the “way it should be” and the “ought to’s” in life, and leaping head-on into the “why not try this” and “lets see what happens” of the creative process. It means developing a mind-set of a creative image-maker. It is about expanding your way of seeing and paying attention to the images you create while developing a wonderful sense of curiosity. When a photographer develops an expanded sense of curiosity in a subject, they have started their journey towards developing a personal style while visually responding to the world.

It has been my experience that photographers are curious people. They are always investigating, trying new techniques and wanting to know more. The more curious you are the more you open yourself up to new experiences which enables you to be passionate and creative today.

As you journey through the photographs in the galleries keep in mind that photography is my chosen tool for understanding what I see and experience in life, a way for me to communicate to you my visual journey.

Enjoy!