Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Meet the WPS Team

E. David Luria - Founder and Director

DC architectural landmark photographer E. David Luria founded Washington Photo Safari in 1999 as a sideline to his own architectural photography business and as a second career after 33 years in the non-profit management sector.

Washington Photo Safari made DC the first city in the United States to offer regularly scheduled local Photo Safaris. Due to many 5-star customer reviews, Washington Photo Safari was awarded Trip Advisor’s Certificate of Excellence for several years since 2014. It has trained an average of 5 amateur photographers every day since 1999, with half of his customers returning as repeat clients on 2 or more safaris. Now in its 25th year of operation as one of the largest photography training programs  in the country with 46,000+ customers. the organization has developed a manual that helped spawn similar Safari programs in 20 other cities around the USA and Canada and has published a 130-page ebook Guide For Amateur Photographers with tips in 29 different areas of photography

Mr. Luria is a DC-based professional commercial photographer specializing in architecture, landmarks, restaurant and event photography. Trained in Paris at the Parsons School of Design by a protégé of Henri Cartier-Bresson, he is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers, the Association of Independent Architectural Photographers, and the Society of Photographic Educators.

His images of Washington DC have appeared on 30 magazine covers, on 80 postcards and in over 100 publications, including calendars of the US Capitol Historical Society , in the monthly publication WHERE-Washington, and in the coffee-table book “Washington DC Visions”. Since 1997 he has also been the official photographer for the Washington Post’s Apartment Showcase Magazine, displayed at all major intersections and METRO stops. He has photographed over 300 restaurants and has done event and convention photography for dozens of non-profit organizations.

In addition to serving as the prime instructor for Washington Photo Safari, Mr. Luria has also done photography instruction for the Capital Photography Center, the National Cherry Blossoms Festival, the National Spelling Bee, the Kreeger Museum, the staff of National Public Radio, the marketing staff of the US Department of Agriculture, Professionals in the City, and many local camera clubs. Mr. Luria has appeared as photographic expert on WAMU.FM’s Kojo Nmandi Show, an NPR affiliate, and also as a luncheon speaker at the National Press Club.

An honors graduate of Amherst College, Mr. Luria is a US Army veteran fluent in Spanish, French, and German. Prior to becoming a professional photographer, Mr. Luria spent a long career as a senior executive with several international non-profit organizations, such as CARE, Partners of the Americas, and World Learning. Since 1996 he has also served weekly as a volunteer information specialist with the Travelers Aid Society at Reagan Washington National Airport.

Sean Quintilian - Instructor

Wooden structures in front of a mountain range

Since he first bought a used Pentax K1000 in 1989 Sean Quintilian has traveled over much of North America in search of outstanding wildlife and nature photographs. His body of work includes images from 14 U.S. National Parks and dozens of National Wildlife Refuges, with over 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles recorded. Sean has spent over 600 days on location over the past 17 years including 20 weeks in Yellowstone National Park alone. His work has appeared in publications, exhibits, and even a CD jacket. His fine art prints have graced the walls of many offices and homes. During the past three years, Sean has started a growing portrait and wedding business. Sean lives in Abingdon Maryland with his wife Jessica and daughter Juliana.

Sherryl Belinsky - Instructor

A portrait of Sherryl Belinsky

Sherryl is an award-winning photographer who lives in Northern Virginia. She started her love affair with photography over 40 years ago, when she bought her first SLR (film) camera – a Pentax K1000, and her boyfriend (now her husband of 41 years) who was studying Fine Art at George Washington University taught her the principles of photography. Over the years, she has continued to practice and fine-tune her skills as a photographer, although when her two sons were young, they were the subjects of the majority of her photos! As her sons grew older and she had more “free time”, she picked up her camera and started looking for a variety of subjects again. Her favorite types of photography are flower and nighttime (especially fireworks!).

She bought her first digital camera in late 2001, and her latest, a mirrorless, interchangeable lens digital camera, in late 2019. About 10 years ago, she started going on safaris with WPS and taking workshops, which has enabled her to learn new techniques and refine her ever-expanding skillset

Vickie Gray - Instructor

Vickie Gray Photographer

Vickie Gray, who has been on 7 WPS photo safaris, is a portrait and commercial photographer with a studio in Baltimore. Prior to embarking on her photography career she spent over 25 years as a legal marketer, managing the reputation, brand and external image of high-profile law firms in DC, Philadelphia, NYC and Miami as well as in Baltimore. She was named one of Baltimore’s “Top Portrait Photographers” for 2021 by Expertise.com, and one of Baltimore’s “Top Fashion Photographers” by Peerspace. To see her work, visit www.vickiegrayimages.com, or follow her on Instagram at @baltimoreportrait photographer.

Alain Gutierrez - Instructor

Alain Gutierrez

Alain Gutierrez is a Washington DC-based professional street, travel and architectural photographer and teacher of photography. He is founder and owner of Thru Alain’s Eyes and has led several photo expeditions to Cuba. He has a degree in journalism from the University of Havana and has been working as a photographer and writer for more than 18 years. Of his work, Alain says: “I spend most of my time photographing the daily life I see around me. I am living now in a time of great change in my country and I believe it is important for me to document what I see and share it with the rest of the world.”

Angela Maloney - Instructor

Instructor Angela Maloney

Angela Maloney is a art-oriented photographer. In her first career, she was an attorney. In her second, she was a Foreign Service Officer at the US Department of State until an injury suffered serving overseas resulted in her medical retirement. Photography is her third act. Her work has been published multiple times in the United States and Europe. In addition, she has been the subject of interviews and articles. She speaks English fluently and—at least according to the State Department—speaks Spanish at a professional level as well. She is passionate about photography, viewing it as an opportunity for self-expression. Her mantra is to take photos “about” things instead of taking photos “of” things. She has served as the North America Ambassador coordinator for Nature First, a global nonprofit that promotes responsible practices in nature photography. She remains a Nature First member as well as a member of the Professional Photographers of America, American Photographic Artists, and the North American Nature Photography Association. She is a past member of the Fredericksburg Street Photography Collective. She is a cofounder of the soon-to-be-opened Responsible Photography Collective.

Julie Gould - Instructor

Pet Photographer Julie Gould 2022

Julie Gould grew up with dogs and taking photographs around the world with her family. She was photo editor of her college newspaper and majored in Communications with a specialty in photography. With a master’s degree in urban planning, she pursued a 30-year career in housing and community development finance.

In her encore career, she started Bright Eyes Photos in 2015, a growing pet and their families’ photography business serving the metro DC region, to pursue her twin passions of dogs and photography! Her style is based on a documentary, journalistic viewpoint. She has been on several safaris in West and South Africa.

On assignment for the Petco Foundation, her images of Molly, a 3-legged pit bull rescued by an Amtrak police officer who adopted her, were the centerpiece of Petco’s “Be a Lifesaver” national campaign in the summer of 2017. She is a volunteer at a local animal shelter, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA), as well as other non-profit animal rescue and training groups like Homeward Trails, Lucky Dog Animal Rescue and Vets Moving Forward. She is a member of the Professional Photographers of America and has taken extensive training since 2015.

When she is not working with animals, she enjoys hiking the National Parks around the U.S. and iconic hikes around world.

Nancy Kurokawa- Instructor

a woman wearing a dress

Nancy Kurokawa’s first introduction into photography was as an 8-year-old with a 110-film camera she saved up her allowance to buy.  She can’t say that any of the pictures she took with that camera showed any promise towards a future as a professional photographer, but she fell in love with photography.  The next defining moment in Nancy’s photography career started her sophomore year of college when she took black and white photography.  This is where Nancy learned about composition, the various ways to control the amount of light entering the camera and how to develop black and white prints.  From that moment forward, photography was always an important part of Nancy’s life.  She is always striving to showcase the beauty around her through photography.  Nancy admits when she became a mom, she ended up using the program mode on her camera more than she would like to admit, but she did take thousands of awesome snapshots of her son. When her son turned 18, Nancy decided to take her interest in photography more seriously and purchased her first full frame camera.  At the time, Nancy was blessed to be living in Hawaii and she grew as a photographer capturing the beauty of the islands.  About 4 years ago Nancy moved to the DC area and her passion for photography has continued to grow.  She purchased a Canon EOS R5 a few years ago and has quickly adapted to the benefits of mirrorless photography.  Nancy has had her photographs juried into a few local photography competitions and won Mid-Atlantic Photo Visions’ Best Landscape Image in 2020.

Elody Crimi - Instructor

Elody Crimi

Elody is an award-winning photographer and instructor, specializing in landscape and fine art photography. Davanti Photo, her studio at Artists and Makers 2 in Rockville, MD, offers both photographic services and workshops for the digital camera, as well as Photoshop, HDR, Smartphone photography and private instruction. She is also the Photo Curator in the Archives Dept. at Washington National Cathedral, and the co-author of Jewels of Light, the guide to the stained-glass windows at the Cathedral. She has a BA in Art from Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois and received her certificate in Professional Photography from the Washington School of Photography. In addition, she was with Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) for 37 years in the Creative Services Division in various managerial and financial roles.

Hollis Clayton, PhD. - Instructor

Hollis Clayson, PHD

Hollis Clayson, PhD., one of the foremost art historians in the country, is a retired professor of art history and Bergen Evans Professor of the Humanities at Northwestern University, and author of “Illuminated Paris, Essays On Art and Lighting in Belle Epoque Paris,” who provides  perspective on the compositional elements of paintings that we examine in our “It’s The Composition, Stupid,” photo safaris at the National Gallery of Art.

 

Jewell Newton - Instructor

Instructor Jewell Newton

As a retired physical educator of seven years, Jewell Newton now has the time to indulge two of her passions, photography and African American History, into one. She spends much of her time traveling the United States visiting African American historical sites with a focus on the Underground Railroad. She spent several days visiting and photographing the sites along the Harriet Tubman Byway in Maryland and has also visited UGRR points in Florida, Massachusetts, Delaware, Vermont, North and South Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia.

Jewell is a keen admirer of Ms. Tubman…. her fortitude, resilience, and life in general are not to be reckoned with.  Visiting the places where she began her life, then left and returned on several occasions have only served to increase her appreciation for this Freedom Seeker and all that she endured in order to free her family, neighbors and friends.

Leo Ceccarelli - Instructor

WPS Instructor Leo Ceccarelli

Over nearly four years as a full-time real estate photographer, Leo  has cultivated a devoted following among realtors and builders who exclusively request his services. Noteworthy achievements include having his work published in prestigious publications such as the Washington Post and local real estate magazines.

Eager to share his extensive expertise, Leo is  now poised to teach Real Estate photography, offering valuable insights and techniques honed through years of experience in the dynamic Real Estate imaging field.

 

Travone Sukie - Instructor

Travone Sukie

Travone Sukie is a professional event, product, and aerial photographer. He also specializes as a Videographer and drone pilot/cinematographer based in the DMV Area (Washington D.C, Maryland, Virginia).

His passion started at a young age when he learned, through his travels, how quickly a small moment can make a lasting impression. Fast forward years later, this sparked him to use his medium to help others capture their important moments.

Living in the DMV has provided Travone with abundant inspiration for his craft due to the rich history of the city(s), beauty of the surrounding areas, and vast culture of the people that reside there. With this, combined with his passion for travel and love of spectacular stories from everyday people, Travone channels this energy to bring out the extraordinary of the moment along with showcasing a fresh perspective.

Travone takes the time to fully engage with his clients and prides himself on making every partnership personal, unique and completely tailored to your needs and desires. He is willing to go the extra length to capture your perfect moment. Nothing is too adventurous to him and although his specialties are stated above, he is willing to branch out and explore other areas and fields, and use his skills to bring your moments, products, and overall ideas to life.

Travone’s projects include covering corporate events, Music videos, documentaries, and local featured films.