The difference between a good photograph and a great one is the knowledge, experience and artistic sense of the person behind the camera. Marti Cordova has spent a lifetime acquiring all three.

Growing up in Colorado, Cordova was surrounded by natural beauty. Her father was "a pretty studious amateur photographer" who belonged to a camera club and earned a lot of awards for his work. He encouraged Cordova by giving her a camera when she was quite young.

"I had a little box camera that took black and white pictures, eight to a roll. You had to be very judicious when you used film. It cost a lot...