Leaking underwater housings, flooded cameras, hungry leopard seals, sub-zero temperatures and several thousand inquisitive penguins. CPN Editor David Corfield dives into the world of award-winning nature photographer Paul Nicklen…
Read the full story HERE.
“This is the incredible moment when a wildlife photographer came face-to-face with a 70-stone underwater killer… and became her friend. Paul Nicklen admitted he was terrified by his close encounter with the predatory leopard seal beneath the icy waters of the Antarctic – yet he struck up a strange rapport. At first, the 12ft seal opened her mouth and tried to engulf Mr Nicklen’s camera – and his head.
Full article available HERE.
“I started out in photography as a pretty picture photographer. I just wanted to shoot beautiful pictures of beautiful creatures sitting in the polar regions. But that left me feeling really empty in my work. Then luckily I met [wildlife photographers] Flip Nicklin and Joel Sartore and they both mentored me, and really taught me the power of telling a story. I realized you don’t need a lot of different pictures, you can still have the candy, and then you just need a few pictures of ice and copepods to show people how its all tied together. I don’t need hundreds of pictures of people taking ice core samples. One quote from a scientist will cover all of that type of photography. So I’m again coming from the angle of celebrating the life in the arctic and saying this is what we stand to lose unless we change our ways.” – Excerpt from the full article found HERE.
by Amy Smart / Times Colonist
February 1, 2013
I recently did an interview with Elysabeth Alfano via Skype for the Huffington Post.
I recently asked my friends on Facebook to help me out with a very important and charged question that I often get asked by aspiring photographers, young and old.
The Post:
A question for all of my photography friends, I often get asked the question, “How do I become a professional photographer?” I respond the same way each time and I’m hoping to gather some bright new responses for young enthusiastic photographers.
How do YOU respond to this question?
The following are some of my favorite answers.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
When you can’t imagine doing anything else — and are aware of the privilege to be paid to observe life & earth in all it’s glory (& pitfallls) — then, well, what else can you do? – Dave Gilbert
Apply your passion and skill to the type of photography you’d like to practice. Start and along the way you will find all the answers. – Marisa Bojiuc
Dare to be different – Chantal Uijtendaal
If you love it and know that that is what you want to do, keep moving, keep exploring trends and be creative. There are always set backs and disappointments, but those who reach their goals are those who never gave up. – Mary Louise Cook
Start as an amateur, be yourself. – Jia Guo
I always say Don’t get caught up in fancy equipment, don’t get caught up in needing to assist, don’t get caught up in the competition or rejection, just take out all the “should’s” and just DO it. – Jonathan Pozniak
Passion, passion, passion. And the courage to show your work to the media. Maybe a good dry suit =0) – Peter Eberhardt
Be yourself! Natural! -Sang Yakthungba-Limbu
Talent. Hard Work. Passion. Talent. Hard Work. Passion…. – Greg Shaw
You have to enjoy taking photographs first. Once you are addicted, instinctively it becomes a way of life. -Joanne Orth
Alan Watts said, “What would you do with your life if money was no object? How would you really enjoy spending your life?” I’m only 19, but the plan is to get into a low-paying, high adventure animal biology job and hopefully the photos and experience will come! – Peter Jay Flint
Professional as in money or learning it? I think a person needs to understand the difference. Put your whole self into it and….just DO it! However, to really succeed at the art of it, I think you need to be a little crazy like Van Gogh or Picasso and be welling to give-up everything…including your life for the passion of it. I think you have to want to do it even if you never make a dime and you are poor most of your life. So…you can’t just do it…you have to BE it. – Ninon Nickerson
You can be the best photographer in the world but without an objective and persistence you will not make it. You must dedicate a lot of time to photography. -Luca Diana
Before thinking of being “professional” you have to become a photographer , that means going through all the steps required to convince your self that photography will become your way of living/seeing life, way beyond the confortable and romantic side photography is often seen, it is a tough job and only the ones that are truly convinced and willing to do what ever it takes including lots of personal sacrifice will survive, Beyond that it is no different from any other job, (hard work/ethics and clarity of purpose), I will include a recent quote I posted which encloses this:
“All my life I had been looking for something, and everywhere I turned someone tried to tell me what it was. I accepted their answers too, though they were often in contradiction and even self-contradictory. I was naïve. I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which I, and only I, could answer. It took me a long time and much painful boomeranging of my expectations to achieve a realization everyone else appears to have been born with: that I am nobody but myself”. ~Ralph Ellison, “Battle Royal” -Miguel D La Cueva
Want to add to the list? Please post your comment below!
Photo by : Göran Ehlmé
Behind the scenes video by National Geographic about my time with the emperor penguins shooting the article Escape Velocity, Among the Emperors.
Pole to Pole for the iPad is now available!
I invite you to please come and see an update look of all my images and galleries in my new app.
I do not have any formal training in photography. I recently told an apprentice that I believe hard work, persistence, and little else will get a photographer where he wants to go.
My body of work is the result of learning from mistakes and by experience. Most of all, I seek, appreciate, and respect a solid critique. There is nothing more humbling (and inspiring) than hearing an honest opinion of my work from a friend and mentor like Joel Sartore. We can always grow as both people and photographers though openly communicating with colleagues.
