Speaker: Tammy Hammond is a wildlife and nature photographer, based in Colorado. Being outdoors, hiking, exploring and experiencing a connection to the natural world has always been an innate part of her photographic direction and expression. Her work centers primarily around wildlife but also includes projects highlighting subject content unique to Colorado, such as historic one-room schoolhouses, modified Ute trees (controversially named), and Milky Way nightscapes that showcase dark sky locations. Photographing Colorado’s native bees, and capturing their diversity, is one of Tammy’s most challenging, ongoing projects. A steadfast proponent of photography clubs, Tammy is currently a member of Colorado Urban Wildlife Photo Club and The Photographic Society of America Worldwide

Program: Over 1000 species of native bees can be found in Colorado. With an estimated 4,000 native bee species found in the United States, this places Colorado fifth in the nation for the most diversity of wild, native bees. This program will expand upon Tammy Hammond’s prior UWPC short program Discovering Bees: Finding Colorado’s Natives. Tammy will share techniques used to photograph bees, including bees in flight, and offer tips for recognizing and identifying the many native bees found in Colorado. Bee Aware: The Native Challenge is furthermore a journey, of how Tammy bridges familiar wildlife photography methods to expose and capture stories within the often overlooked world of native pollinators.