DPA September Student of the Month: Sheba Wheeler

Mother & Child: This captured moment was my reward after spending an agonizing two hours trying to shoot this family of six in my makeshift home studio. Two of the four children refused to take shots for the first hour and 45 minutes. Persistence counts...this was one of the last shots I managed to eek out.

For our September newsletter, Sheba Wheeler is the DPA Student of the Month. Sheba recently completed the Digital Photo Academy Intermediate workshop in Denver, CO, and has already enrolled in Instructor Russ Burden's Advanced workshop next month.

Ready or Not… : Here she comes, beautiful model Anne tries my idea to shoot her from atop a ladder during a portraiture shooting in the studio at Denver Darkroom.

If you check out her mood-laden portraits posted on the Student Gallery of DigitalPhotoAcademy.com, you will agree that she well deserves recognition. And Sheba tells us that the image of the "Mother and Child" was created with a simple lighting kit comprised of little more than a clamp light from Home Depot, a furnace filter as a diffuser and piece of white styrofoam as a reflector!

It seems that Sheba has always had photography in her blood, dating back to her high school yearbook, even being the "little reporter," since before that in middle school.

In addition to reporting and photographing, (Sheba is a reporter for the Denver Post), this budding photographer finds creative self expression with a camera to be an emotional coping mechanism as well, a means to keep in touch with her inner self. Photography became an outlet for dealing with the death of her mother, Elizabeth Banks, who died of emphysema at the age of 48.

"When my mother passed away, I felt lost and out of touch with the world," Sheba says. "Many times I just wanted to give up and be with her. Learning photography helped me reclaim my will to live. It gave me something to strive for, something to want, something new and wonderful to learn and experience every day. I think my mother is proud of me, and when I see her again, I'll have a whole mess of photos to share with her!"

The Midas Touch (left): This climber at Eldorado Canyon said he was out of shape...but he amazed me with his abilities to free climb with nothing but his own hands and chalk.

Light and Shadows (right): This image was taken in Eldorado Canyon during a landscape photography class.

Sheba learned about the Digital Photo Academy from a friend who was aware of her interest in furthering her picture-taking skills and quickly signed up with Russ Burden, one of the DPA Instructors in the Denver area. Check out Russ's impressive bio on the DPA site.

Russ and Sheba have kept in touch well after the first class has ended. Says Sheba, "Russ has been wonderful, not just in class but with his willingness to stay in contact with me. I email him almost every day. He never lets me give up. He is a great coach, and I am looking forward to taking his advanced class in October.

The Sentinels: Another summer birthday spent without my mother left me feeling depressed.
To raise my spirits, I forced myself out of bed and drove the hour or so up to Mount Evans to take photos.
Being this close to natural landscapes and wildlife was an instant pick me up---
or was that just the high altitude and lack of air that left me feeling giddy?

Russ is not surprised with Sheba's recently published photos in The Denver Post. "Sheba has what it takes, a great eye and lots of energy!"

Apparently this is true, and already Sheba has procured a number of paying gigs.