It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Kurt Markus – one of the most influential photographers I ever studied with.  Kurt, along with Norman Mauskopf, taught a workshop at Santa Fe Photographic Workshops  in April of 2019.  Kurt validated my work, encouraged me to photograph what I was happy with, and helped bring out my strengths as a photographer of people and their environments.   He validated my work and said “you are very good” – wow! Coming from such an extraordinary and well respected master gave me confidence to pursue my vision as a photographer.  I have never looked back.  Thank you Kurt! I am including two of my photos from the workshop that Kurt thought were very good as well as a photo of Kurt and Norman.