BUSINESS NEWS
14 • JULY 2021
COAST RIVER BUSINESS JOURNAL
Meet the Merchant
Randall J. Hodges Photography
Randall J. Hodges, owner
Images of the West Gallery, 224 N. Hemlock St. #1, Cannon Beach, 503-436-4113
Randall J. Hodges Photography Gallery, 317 Main St., Edmonds, Washington, 425-582-0803
Interview by Carolyn Hoard
1. Could you introduce yourself?
“My name is Randall J. Hodges. I own Randall
J. Hodges Photography, which includes the Ran-
dall J. Hodges Photography Gallery in downtown
Edmonds, Washington, and the Images of the West
Gallery, by Randall J. Hodges in beautiful Cannon
Beach, Oregon. My work has been published over
4,800 times worldwide. I teach photography lessons
and adventures all around the west. I have a book out
called Images of the West, and I do talks and webi-
nars on my old-school all-in-camera style of shoot-
ing, and that is what I am known for. I do all the work
in the camera with no Photoshop or post processing.”
2. How did you get started in photography?
“I wanted to get paid to hike!”
3. Could you tell me about the gallery and how
it got started?
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“I was a traveling artist doing 26 shows a year
around the Northwest, but the dream was to open a
gallery. Over seven years ago I opened the Randall
J. Hodges Photography Gallery in Edmonds. Three
years ago, I opened the Images of the West Gallery
in Cannon Beach.”
4. Could you tell me about the photography
classes you offer and some teaching highlights?
“I teach locally at Edmonds Beach in the sum-
mer, at Wallace Falls in the winter, and [Skagit Valley
for] the Tulips in the spring. I also teach adventures at
places like Grand Teton National Park, Death Valley
National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Olym-
pic National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park,
Palouse Hills and Palouse Falls, Mount Shuksan, fall
color classes at Lake Wenatchee and Tumwater Can-
yon, and many other locations. Every year my les-
sons schedule changes a bit, but you can always get
an updated list on my lessons tab on my website at
www.randalljhodges.com. I help students set up and
run their cameras, to shoot like a pro right in the cam-
era without the need for post processing. My classes
are very hands on, and 100% out in the field.”
5. How do you decide on the best location to
teach students?
“From years of exploring, and deciding which is
the right time of year to be in each location. Before I
teach a class in a certain area, I would have visited it
and explored that area at least five times.”
6. For a beginning photographer, which class
would you recommend they take?
“Any of my classes, but lots of people start with
Edmonds Beach or Wallace Falls.”
7. What do you love about landscape
photography?
“Everything. I love the hiking, exploring and the
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PHOTOS BY RANDALL J. HODGES
Randall J. Hodges is pictured in one of the landscapes where he teaches photography.
Sunrise at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach by Randall J. Hodges.
light. I like being in nature, and trying to connect
with Mother Earth.”
8. What’s the inspiration behind your photos?
“I try to share my spiritual connection with nature
through my images.”
9. What are your favorite places, times of day
and types of weather to photograph?
“All. I like to be in certain areas at certain times
of the year for the best results. In winter, my favor-
ite [places] are beaches in the San Juan Islands and
snowshoeing in the mountains. February it’s Death
Valley National Park. Spring its daffodils, then
cherry blossoms, then tulips. May is time for the des-
ert Southwest. Then right into shooting Northwest
streams, waterfalls, rivers and forest trails until mid-
June. In fall, I start up high in the mountains, chasing
mountain wildflowers and lakes, then work my way
down with the snowfall, until I finish in the Colum-
bia River Gorge.”
10. What are some challenges to entering into
the photography business?
“Too much competition. Everyone who gets a
camera and learns Photoshop wants to be a full-time
photographer. Best advice is to find your own niche.
Be different. Mine is doing it all-in-camera.”
11. Do you have a favorite photograph?
“No, I have hundreds or thousands of them.”
12. What advice would you give to an aspiring
photographer?
“Take a lesson out in the field and master the tech-
nique for whatever it is you want to shoot. You must
be technically sound. Then train your eye, and build
a professional portfolio of images in your specialty.”
13. What kind of lenses do you use and for
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