Ever wonder what drives a person to do what they do? World renowned photographer Art Wolfe has stated that Ansel Adams was a big inspiration in his work as a nature photographer. Ansel laid down a foundation for nature photography today, meticulously working in a darkroom dodging and burning his exposures to create incredible images during his era. Today we are able to merely plug in our memory card and in a few hours we can upload, process, post and print a day’s work.
From my few years behind a camera, I owe a lot of my inspiration to groups of nature photographers that readily post their adventures and photographic tinkering to online forums. I can say with confidence that my learning curve in all aspects of photography has increased exponentially with my time spent reading and interacting at FredMiranda.com. This site has to be one of the most well rounded sources of information for all genres of photographers at various skill levels.
Recently I picked up a copy of Outdoor Photographer Magazine, thumbing through and stumbled upon a great article featuring photographer Ian Plant (www.ianplant.com). Ian’s work is a collection of once in a lifetime photographs that wow and awe their viewers. I’ve become particularly interested in the way he’s captured the landscapes along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Along with Ian, his colleague Jerry Greer is a very inspirational contributor to their nature photography community Mountain Trail Photo (www.mountaintrailphoto.com). This site is a phenomenal resource for photographers interested in creating stunning images of the natural world. Although their photo workshops can carry a hefty fee, I think in all regards it would be worth it.
It has been nice having friends and coworkers that have been involved in the hobby for some time or working towards pursuing photography as a career. They have been those folks I turn to for answers, for the ability to interact with new equipment hands on, and to help me in the pursuit of regional photo opportunities. I still have to say the one person that I owe thanks to for me picking up a camera is a local wildlife photographer with a knack for working with reptiles and amphibians. The next time you come across a copy of Wildlife in North Carolina, you may find one Todd Pusser with the cover shot or writing and photographing for an article on the natural history of North Carolina’s wonderful wildlife.
Thanks Todd, for inspiring me to adopt a serious hobby and strive to become better day by day. My bank account however, scorns our friendship!
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