August 27, 2005 – Bill Hatcher and Gordon Wiltsie, two of National Geographic Magazine’s top adventure and wilderness photographers, will return to The Banff Centre September 8 to 11 to lead the second annual Banff Adventure Photography Workshop. Hatcher and Wiltsie will work with established photographers who are ready to take their photography to a new level.

One-on-one consults with the experts, portfolio critique and field work in the Banff and Canmore area will all be part of the workshop experience.

A winner of the 1997 and 2004 Banff Mountain Photography Competitions, Montana-based mountaineer and adventurer Gordon Wiltsie is widely considered to be one of the most creative and prolific expedition photographers in the world. His work appears regularly in such international publications as National Geographic, Travel and Leisure, Outside, Geo, American Photographer, Life, and most leading adventure and skiing magazines. Colorado-based climber and world traveller Bill Hatcher has a multitude of credits in National Geographic and Outside, and has shot for clients such as North Face, Reebok, Polo/Ralph Lauren, and Patagonia.

Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre continues its learning programs this fall with the expanded Banff Adventure Filmmakers’ Seminar, Thursday, November 3 to Wednesday, November 9, and its first-ever Mountain Writing Program.

The Filmmakers’ Seminar features five days of intense, interactive seminars and hands-on project development with director and screenwriter Jerome-Cecil Auffret, cameraman and producer John Catto, who has shot films for National Geographic Television, Discovery Channel, ESPN, and OLN, former Discovery Channel producer Marilyn Beery, and independent film producer and distributor Isabelle Graziadey.

The Mountain Writing Program will give six to eight established writers an opportunity to develop a major essay, memoir, feature article, or book project on a mountain theme during a three-week residency in October/November at The Banff Centre.

For more information on these learning opportunities log onto: www.banffmountainfestivals.ca. or call 403-762-6369.