(Photo: Pixabay)

New York City

How Photographer Bee Walker Sees New York’s Hudson Valley

“I am looking for the environment to show me something,” says photographer Bee Walker when she leaves the busy streets of New York for the tranquil landscape of the Hudson Valley. “It feels very different from photographing in the city.”

Walker shared her love for the dramatic views of waterways carving through forest-covered mountains in Brand USA’s series “USA Through the Great Outdoors,” which explores natural settings around the United States through the eyes of entrepreneurs, musicians, artists and athletes.

Walker’s father introduced her to cameras and photography when she was 12. That helped her find “a passion that allows me to really engage my life in a way that really makes sense to me,” says Walker, who is a professional photographer and creative producer for California-based VSCO, an art and creative technology company. Her next project and first book is to tell the story about her grandfather and his home in Kenya.

Walker loves the “great change in perspective” she gets when she heads upstate New York.

“I love to see majestic mountains, running rivers—these are the types of things that are endlessly inspiring as a photographer,” Walker says.

The trick to capturing an amazing photograph is being “aware of the beautiful things happening,” she says. “Those beautiful hues you get when the sun goes down … it only lasts 15 minutes.”

Walker may love capturing nature with her cameras, traveling often with her husband Rog Walker, also a professional photographer. But the real thing is always better.

“There’s something so beautiful with looking with your eyes,” Walker says. “The photo won’t do it justice. You have to come and see it.”

Watch Bee Walker’s journey below: