National Geographic explores Ventura County native's photography

Dan Winters covered Angelina Jolie with bees.

The photographer, a Ventura County native, rubbed queen bee pheromone on the star’s neck and shoulders to attract bees and keep them calm during a Culver City photo shoot promoting her efforts to train female beekeepers around the world.

Winters, 61, who grew up between Moorpark and Somis, is featured on National Geographic's new TV documentary series "Photographer."

Besides celebrities, Winters has photographed subjects varying from shipyard workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to space shuttle launches.

The Winters episode will air at 8 p.m. EDT March 25 on National Geographic's channel available through cable providers.

It will also stream, along with the rest of episodes, starting Tuesday on Disney+ and Hulu.

Winters, who spoke by phone from his Austin, Texas home, said his interest in photography resulted from his work as a teenager creating miniature models for his and his friends’ sci-fi and Army movies. Still photography helped him with composing scenes.

He sent photos of his miniatures to “Star Wars” producer George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic, then in Van Nuys. The company hired the teenager, who went on to create miniatures such as the buildings in the 1980 movie “Human Highway."

Winters, a 1980 Moorpark High School graduate, became inspired to focus entirely on photography after taking a class from now-retired Moorpark College professor John Grzywacz-Gray.

"I felt John was really instrumental in expanding my horizons to what was possible with photography," Winters said.

After earning his associate's degree in 1984 at Moorpark College, Winters became a photo technician, then a photographer, with the Thousand Oaks News Chronicle. He said his most memorable experience there was spending the night in a culvert with a self-proclaimed hobo for a photo essay.

In 1987, Winters moved to New York City and later to Los Angeles, but his career took him to places including the White House. He shot portraits of President Barack Obama.

“I try to get an accurate representation of my experience with that person,” Winters said. “It’s the full range of human emotions.”

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: National Geographic show features photographer from Ventura County