MEET YOUR INSTRUCTORS

NICK SINNOTT CPC Director & Instructor

Nick Sinnott is the Owner and Director at Richard Stromberg’s Chicago Photography Classes. He has taught all levels of photography for 8 years and has written the curriculum for several classes including the popular Drips, Drops and Illusions Workshop and Lightroom In-Depth 7-week Class. As a photographer, he enjoys photographing landscapes, sports, architecture, real estate and his family of 4 children and amazing wife.

FEDERICA GHIDELLI CPC Associate Director & Instructor

I am a Fashion Design graduate. I love color, texture, and light. I discovered photography late in my twenties as a medium to capture, manipulate, and finally deliver my interpretation of reality. Although taking pictures became my job, I do struggle defining myself as a ‘photographer’. I don’t like to put limits to my work, and my creativity comes from anything I like, read, see, touch, hear, experience. I’m a wanderer, born in Naples, Italy, grew up across the Bel Paese, and ended up in the US for love. Chicago is now home. I’m a wife, a mother of two, and a dog lover who has a cat.

DENISE ORLIN CPC Events Coordinator

Denise has been involved in professional photography for the past 25 years working as a studio manager for two commercial photographers, studying at Harrington College of Design and at RSCPC, and teaching Photo 1 and 3. As a former student, Denise has a special appreciation for the learning environment and the supportive community at RSCPC. She is involved in the Women’s Roundtable and volunteers with FreshLens Chicago. Denise’s photographic focus is on Fine Art Photography. She is always looking to capture an emotion-evoking moment in time. Denise searches for images of beauty, symmetry, and irony in everyday life.

ron porras IT Manager & Instructor

I have always been fascinated with photography even as a small child. I started with Chicago Photography Classes in 2008 as a digital lab instructor. Intrigued with the film prints I wanted to learn the process of developing prints in the darkroom. I started teaching as a darkroom lab instructor a few years later. I enjoy taking photos of landscapes, urban decay, and city scrapes. Heidi Levin and I co-teach Photo IV, the Show Class together, and I am the instructor for the lab portion of the Digital Boot Camp.

Heidi levin Instructor

I helped my late husband, Richard Stromberg establish Chicago Photography Classes in 2019. I had taken classes with Richard at different centers where he taught and was a lab instructor in dark rooms for about a dozen years. Together we built RSCPC into the the premier photography school in Chicago. My own photography work centers on landscapes, with lots of flowers as well. Along with Ron Porras, I teach the Show Class and Photo IV.

WENDY LOVE Instructor

A former journalist and communications executive, Wendy loves photography for its power to tell stories that connect us all. Her photographic experience includes journalistic assignments, event photography, sports action, family sessions, and portraits. A Photo 1 teacher since 2014, she has photographed more than 50 events over the past four years, for groups including Landmarks Illinois, Meeting Planners International, Rotary Club, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Thresholds, and Imerman Angels. Wendy’s personal work is primarily street photography, inspired by her travels and local wandering. Her photos have been featured online, in print, and in several group exhibitions over the past five years.

GARY FORCIER Instructor

As a retired physician and former Associate Professor at the Loyola School of Medicine, I’m thrilled to be able to combine my two passions, teaching and photography at the school. If I’m not out shooting I’m probably out on my bike, camping or life guarding at the local YMCA. I enjoy shooting with either my Canon DSLR, Panasonic micro 4/3 mirrorless, medium format or 35 mm film cameras split pretty evenly between color and black and white.

Kambua chema Instructor

I am a Chicago based photographer, instructor with focus on headshots, portraits, and travel photography workshops. I have loved photography for as long as I can remember. My camera has provided a sense of solace and joy everytime I press the shutter. I picked up a film camera over 20 years ago and I have never looked back. Having lived my life in Kenya and then the States, I assimilated quickly, always being drawn to people then to photographing them. This has made work as a headshot, portrait, travel photographer very fulfilling and incredibly rewarding. My strongest foundation in photography was built at Richard Stromberg's Photography Classes. As a student to an instructor, I have loved sharing my passion every chance I get. I honestly can't imagine my life without Photography. There are so many beautiful moments in life. Taking the time to really see the fabric behind the lens, is truly remarkable.

sharlene chapman Instructor

I was born and raised in Chicago, and I am still exploring this wonderful city through my lens. Photography is one of my passions. I love to capture the essence and complexity of life. Teaching is another passion, being able to help students grow and learn more skills as a photographer is rewarding to me. I am extremely happy and honored to be apart of this amazing school.

jeff silva Instructor

Jeffrey Gabriel Silva is an award-winning photographer who is passionate about teaching the art of photography. He has exhibited his fine art landscape work at numerous art festivals around the city, covered events such as the Chicago Jazz Festival, and has taught numerous courses at Chicago Photography Classes and FreshLens Chicago. When he’s not teaching or freelancing you’ll find Jeff on set as a movie director or cinematographer as he currently pursues an MFA in Directing degree from DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts. Be it still or moving images, capturing and best expressing the story that emerges from any scene is at the forefront of what Jeff strives and loves to do.

angie mcmonigal Instructor

Angie is an award-winning fine art and commercial architecture photographer based in Chicago. She brings a detailed, thoughtful perspective to her work, whether for clients or through the workshops she leads. Having grown up surrounded by nature yet fascinated by the big city she’s called home for nearly two decades, she brings the meditative calm of her upbringing to a terrain that’s always transforming. Focusing more frequently on bold architectural details rather than sweeping cityscapes, her photographs celebrate those unexpectedly iconic elements hiding in plain sight. An award-winning fine art photographer, Angie’s work has been internationally exhibited and published. Most recently, her Urban Quilt series was accepted into Catherine Edelman Gallery’s Chicago Project. She frequently works with art consultants, designers, architectural firms, and private collectors.

John Granata Instructor

John Granata has shown and sold his images throughout the United States and internationally. An accomplished printer in his own right, he has expanded on his Columbia College Chicago Bachelor of Fine Art Degree to include a Masters Degree from Concordia University, in order to share his passion for photography. John has taught his Fine Art Printing Method to hundreds of photographers, many of whom have become internationally recognized.

bill Sineni Instructor

Hi, I’m Bill Sineni. I use the photographic arts to guide creative exploration, and to provide opportunity to pause and really see the world around me. Areas of interest include landscape and architectural abstract photography. I generally teach Photo I, Photo II, or the Photo I Lightroom Lab. I also serve on the board of directors for FreshLens Chicago, whose mission is to give students opportunity to develop skills and gain confidence through the vehicle of photography.

kim rensburg Instructor

Kim is a lifestyle photographer specializing in portrait, editorial and branding photography. As an alumna of Loyola University Chicago, the city became her adopted home; and throughout her career, Kim combines ten years spent in marketing and selling for Chicago startups with her passion for photography to make clients look their best.

gerri whitley Instructor

Jeffrey Gabriel Silva is an award-winning photographer who is passionate about teaching the art of photography. He has exhibited his fine art landscape work at numerous art festivals around the city, covered events such as the Chicago Jazz Festival, and has taught numerous courses at Chicago Photography Classes and FreshLens Chicago. When he’s not teaching or freelancing you’ll find Jeff on set as a movie director or cinematographer as he currently pursues an MFA in Directing degree from DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts. Be it still or moving images, capturing and best expressing the story that emerges from any scene is at the forefront of what Jeff strives and loves to do.

THOMAS BOCK Instructor

Thomas Bock is an experienced photographer, living in the city of Chicago, with a diverse range of photography skills, from concerts and events to portraits, documentary and street photography. He is an obsessive organizer and thus, has a knack for organizing and editing with Lightroom, as well as printing and framing. He is also a freelance web designer specializing in WordPress, Squarespace and WooCommerce, social media and SEO. Waving the geekdom flag high, he hangs his shingle by day as a civil engineer, currently focused on utility infrastructure projects in the power, solar and fiber optic network industries. Thomas is a born and raised Illinoisian, and has had multiple stints living in Chicago, in addition to Wisconsin and Montréal, with his wife, 3 children, French Canadian cat Terra Inca Reine de mars and newly added black shepherd / lab mix from New Mexico, Oswaldo Solis, the don of Taco. When not doing engineering, photography or web freelance work, he can likely be found pressed up against a stage somewhere taking photos for lostinconcert.com, for which he is Chicago Editor / Webmaster / Photographer / Writer, or in a studio somewhere recording guitars, experimenting with synth sounds or producing music in Ableton Live. He’s also on an eternal quest to locate the best tacos in Chicago.

michael morgen Instructor

"My love for photography comes from my love for travel. Finding a meaningful way to capture/archive experiences is why I started my photographic journey. Photography is my way of using a technical process to make something creative and beautiful that will stand the test of time. I currently teach Photo 1 Lab and Lightroom Basic online."

eric marsh Instructor

"Hello! My name is Eric and ever since I was a little kid photography always interested me. To be able to capture a moment in time, and to convey the depth and emotion of the moment, the contrast and the colors is an artform I have always admired. My journey in photography has become a practice about slowing down, shifting your perspective and finding new ways to look at the world both near and far, internal and external. It inspires me to stop, be in the moment and appreciate what is around me with gratitude. I hope it inspires you to do the same!"