I love summer!  And I really love summer in Vermont!  As I often do this time of year, I’ve been reflecting on some of the most formative summer experiences I’ve had during my 5 plus decades on this amazing planet.  The biggest, and by far most influential of them was my time working as an environmental educator and backcountry trip leader at a camp in the Adirondacks in northern NY state.  It’s a place and time in my life like no other I’ve had since.  In fact, this time in my life would end up guiding the personal and professional path I’ve been on ever since.  My summers, beginning in 1989 and running through 1999, were mostly spent living and working communally with some of the finest people I’ve ever known, in one of the most beautiful places I’ve had the privilege to spend time.  Our summer camp program was focused on learning to live in more sustainable and healthy ways on this planet, as well as with each other in our human communities.  The staff was made up of idealistic college students working toward degrees in environmental science, biology, botany, ecology, wildlife management, geology, natural resources management and many others.  The work we did was important and quite honestly, we believed we were saving the world.  All these years later I still believe we actually were…

Every Sunday afternoon a new group of excited and anxious 12-14 year old kids would arrive for a week of summer camp fun in the Adirondacks.  However, this was far more than a traditional recreation focused camp. No tennis pro at Camp Colby… We did however, have a weeklong curriculum that began with group dynamics and team building and then moved through a variety of lessons in ecology, forestry, wildlife biology, hunter safety education and environmental sustainability.  These lessons were designed to be highly immersive, experiential, explorative and most of all, super fun!  And of course we did all sorts of great traditional camp things like having camp fires that were full of music, singing and funny skits.  We also did a lot of hiking and backpacking trips in the high peaks, and canoeing on the myriad lakes and ponds in the area.  Most importantly, we wanted campers to have authentic and profound experiences that fostered connection to a wild place that most had never had prior to their time at camp.  We worked hard as a staff to push kids out of their daily suburban and urban mindsets and routines, away from their TVs and to really tune into a bigger and more wild world.  Man oh man, TVs being the existential threat to childhood experience seems so quaint now by comparison… 

By Friday night, kids were in tears at our closing campfire because not only had they bonded in meaningful ways and made many new friends they would bid farewell to in the morning, but were also realizing they were forever changed for having had this transformative week in nature, and in community.  They really, really didn’t want to leave!  It wasn’t just the campers crying at closing campfires and the Saturday morning farewell ceremonies either. The staff were often quite teary eyed when wrapping up our week with these kids.  The feelings of joy from this communal experience and gratitude for the opportunity to share our love of the outdoors and wild lands with these young people was quite moving and intense at times.  As I mentioned, we really believed we were saving the world one kid and one week at a time.

I had the privilege of attending this camp as a 12 and 14 year old in the early 1980s.  Yes, it was that good that I went twice!  It’s the first time and place that I can remember being immersed in and experiencing something truly wild, while at the same time, unbeknownst to me, trying out who I was to become for the rest of my life.  What exactly is that you ask?  Well, it’s hard to define but suffice it to say, it’s been all about experiencing AWE in the natural world as much as humanly possible.  I guess for the kids out there it would be best described as AWE-maxxing… I recently reconnected with a dear friend from high school and when I was explaining what I now did for a living she said, “You chase awe, you’re an awe-chaser!”  Yes indeed, guilty as charged.  In fact, maybe I’ll have that engraved on my headstone: Here lies Kurt Budliger, Chaser of Awe… Kidding aside, there is actual neuroscience around the benefits of experiencing and appreciating awe in the natural world. Turns out it’s really, really good for us!

Moments of AWE from the past 15 years of traveling and experiencing the world.

This happened for me at Camp Colby sitting quietly in the dark on a night hike watching phosphorescent fungus lighting up in patches on the forest floor and listening to loons calling on the nearby lake.  But that experience was not at all an isolated or solo event.  I was part of a small group of campers and counselors all sitting silently, fully present and observing the marvels of the forest at night.  After our night hike and back at camp, we gathered around a small fire and shared our individual experiences during our “sit.”  There were lots of similarities but we all had very unique experiences, noticed different things and had very different takeaways.  My experience at camp, both as a camper and counselor also taught me the importance of community, shared experience and shared effort toward a common good.  As human beings we are far better off living, working, and playing together, in harmony with nature than we are separately.  That was my take away as a kid and something I still truly believe.

Kurt during Camp Colby night hike experience, 1982 Credit Danny Meyer, camp counselor

My time as a camper and staff person at Camp Colby is one of the primary influences in my having pursued a degree in Natural Resource Interpretation.  After college and my time as a summer camp counselor, I went on to work as an outdoor and environmental educator and interpretive naturalist, all the while still working to help people have meaningful experiences and find connection with wild places and community with each other.  Eventually I got a master’s degree in eduction and became a middle school science teacher in Vermont, where I have lived for the past 27 years.  I taught full time for about 6 years before leaving the classroom to be home with my young kids and pursue my passion for photography professionally.  One of the things I miss the most about my time working in schools and residential outdoor education centers is the overriding sense of shared purpose and community.  I miss having colleagues that share the same mission and work within a community of belonging.  I also miss the kids; their idealism and open minds with their entire lives still laid out in front of them with all the possibility in the world.  Being part of that journey was profoundly exhilarating and fulfilling. 

What exactly does this all have to do with photography?  My photography career has been extremely varied and dynamic, rarely the same from one year to the next.  During the early years I needed to make money and did a lot of work that I wasn’t inspired to do; newspaper assignments, weddings, portraits, etc.  Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the work, the interesting clients and grew a lot as a photographer, creator and storyteller.  But it wasn’t quite as fulfilling as the other types of jobs I’d had up to that point in my career.  I was lacking community and the only time I got to chase AWE in the natural world was when I was doing personal work in my free time, which was limited and rarely resulted in an immediate paycheck.  To put it another way, the “experience” part of the photography business was lacking.  At some point around 2010 or so I realized that the best way to build community and pursue my passion for being outdoors chasing awe was to get back to my roots as an outdoor and experiential educator.  That’s when I created the Green Mountain Photographic Workshops part of my business and really leaned into teaching field based, experiential photography workshops and tours.

I love to share my passion for wild lands and photography with others.  But what I love even more is helping people find their own authentic connections and passion for these places, and to express those experiences creatively using a camera.  As a photography instructor and workshop leader yes, the photographs are important, but most important is the experience of being somewhere inspiring, fully present, connected, and in AWE!  This has really hit home for me since Covid when folks on workshops have been viscerally overcome with emotion in the field.  I think after experiencing lockdown people were genuinely grateful to be outside and in fellowship with other human beings.  I even had one gentleman a number of years ago break into song during a glorious autumn morning while photographing the first warm rays of light coming through the fog on a pond in Vermont.  At first I thought he was joking around, as he was prone to do.  But nope, it was one hundred percent an authentic and joyful response to the experience he was having that morning.  And I bet that feeling of AWE was better than the resulting images he made with the camera, if he even made any at all… That’s what it’s all about.  These types of events haven’t decreased in frequency in the 6 years since covid either.  I routinely observe workshop attendees having what appear to be genuinely profound and life affirming moments of appreciation and awe when we’re in the field, even if they don’t start singing.

Workshop attendee experiencing a moment of AWE in Iceland, 2017

My workshop co-leaders and I have affectionately come to refer to our photography workshops as “Camera Camp.”  It may have been based on something one of our attendees said at some point years ago during a workshop, but I’ve come to see the truth in that sentiment.  Our photography workshops are of course highly photography-centric and educational programs but they are so much more than that.  They are reminiscently similar to the experiences I facilitated as an outdoor and experiential educator early in my career.  There is nothing better than convening a group of curious, outgoing, and enthusiastic adult learners for a week of exploration, creativity, fun and camaraderie in awe inspiring wild places!  Perhaps even more gratifying is helping folks slow down, get out of their comfort zones, return to that youthful exuberance of discovery and tune into the beauty of the natural world in a fun and supportive atmosphere.  And the inspiration flows both ways, just as it did for me when I was working with kids at camp.  I get just as much out of Camera Camp as any of the attendees!

Moments of commaraderie and connection during workshops.  We even celebrated a 70th birthday last year during a workshop!

So, as much as I’m in the business of photography, after all these years I am still in the Experience Business!  This has really crystalized for me during the past 3 years since experiencing a viral brain infection in 2023 that almost took my life.  I’m grateful for every day that I get to keep chasing AWE in wild places, both familiar and new that inspire and fill my soul.  But perhaps what is even more gratifying is receiving notes, text messages and emails from workshop participants like the ones I’ve included below.  Notice how none of them mentions all the amazing portfolio images that were made during the workshop.  Believe me, there were countless stunning photographs made during their workshop experience because I see them during our image review sessions toward the end of a program.  But what really strikes me when I get these messages is just how critical and profound being together, in community with one another and nature was in the overall workshop experience.  Unfortunately, these days much of what people consume photographically is online in front of a screen, apart from place, time, and genuine human connection.  That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot of great learning and experiencing to be had online.  In fact, the relationships I have with some of my closest friends and colleagues were born online.  However, it just isn’t the same as being together in real life (IRL for the kids out there), nor I would argue, is it as healthy and fulfilling for us as human beings!  Quite honestly, it’s simply how we’re wired to live, learn, play and create.

Camera Camper Messages from 2025 and 2026

 “I can honestly say since our trip together, I have been noticing the light and the clouds and the sound of laughter. That’s living! “

“You may have been the catalyst to me getting back into photography, but really you two got me back to so much more. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of you guys and the rest of our crew and I truly hope we will meet again…honestly, thank you and Ben for bringing me back.” 

“I am still feeling very creatively satiated from this trip. It ran like a well oiled machine but had a casual and inclusive attitude that fostered camaraderie. I like how you attract people from all over, it really enhanced the experience. The hotel staff was excellent, the locations, the class work also. So yeah a 10 out of 10! So grateful you danced with death and came back to show us how to live life here! Big hugs”

Photo by Meredith Albright 2025

“I just wanted to drop you a quick note to properly thank you for such a meaningful workshop. Your patience, encouragement, and thoughtful guidance made a real difference for me, especially as I’ve been finding my way back to photography after so much time away. 

“This past year has been a difficult one for me and I came into the workshop not knowing what to expect. What I didn’t anticipate was how at ease I would feel the moment I walked into your studio, or how much I would come away with… not just technically, but personally. It truly exceeded my expectations.” 

“Happy New Year everyone!  Is it weird that I still think about you all?  Just saying… you make an impact.”