Leslie Alsheimer, Author of Black and White in Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop Lightroom, was recently honored as the 2008 recipient of the
NAPP Photoshop
GURU Awards with the Vincent Versace Award for Photographic Excellence, awarded in the Center for Fine Art Photography & Society for Photographic Education Exhibitions and took second place in the New Mexico Council on Photography Willard Van Dyke awards.
As a professional freelance photographer, a member of the Adobe Photoshop Beta Testing Team, and an instructor with Nikon and American Photo Mentor Series, Leslie’s knowledge and expertise of both traditional and digital photographic darkroom techniques allows her to bring significant passion, experience and enthusiasm to all she does in this field. She currently instructs various private and group Photoshop courses around the country with her company, the Santa Fe Digital Darkroom customized Workshops.
Leslie also believes in using photography to help empower others to find their own creative voice and vision. She was the creative director of the published book, Reality from the Barrio, a social documentary honored in the PDN Photography Annual 2003-The Best Photos of the Year. Inspired by a traditional wet darkroom photography program that Leslie developed, and directed for a non-profit organization’s gang diversion program, the book became a thesis project for Leslie’s master’s degree in social work.
Leslie is the Director of Community Photography Outreach a project based non profit collecting and disseminating donated cameras to organizations and programs in need. She is also currently developing and directing Forward Focus: Workshops with Creative Purpose, a pioneering series of nonprofit educational journeys for experienced and emerging photographers and writers who want to cover developmental, environmental, and relief efforts worldwide. The Workshops utilize the power of visual imagery and the written word to support and encourage grassroots nonprofit initiatives dedicated to fostering social and environmental change. The Workshops also provide a collaborative forum that combines education, adventure, and creative purpose to celebrate what people are doing to create a better world, supporting and encouraging acts of connection, compassion and contribution, i.e. creating works that matter.
