A Nature Photographer’s Journey
If you’re like me, when you got your first camera, you immediately tried to become a nature photographer. I was seven years old maybe and restricted to the backyard, but I was convinced with the right amount of patience and quiet, I could take a shot of something beautiful. I bundled up and went out on a crisp fall day with my primary-colored camera searching for any living creature I could find. I’m sure I snapped every twig along the way.
I was out there for around two hours in seven-year-old time, or as my parents would put it, fifteen minutes. By the end, I knew I had some absolute gems. They were all clear shots, artistically framed through the bare, fall branches. The birds and small mammals had become my friends to the point that it seemed like they were posing just for me. I mean, these were real, “life captured in a moment” kinds of pieces. My parents were going to run out of wall space from framing all these masterpieces.
Something must have gone wrong at the developing lab because all I got back was a few blurry twig photos, a couple of birds that must have turned their head at the last second, and one shot that must have meant I fell down at some point. I was more than a little discouraged.
My disappointing first results and an increasingly cold winter meant my days as a nature photographer were numbered. I had to face facts that I was not cut out for that profession. At the very least, I had to figure out how to take photos of people without cutting off the tops of their heads before I moved on to creatures that wouldn’t sit still for me.
Over the next several years I joined Scouting and eventually got work teaching outdoor education courses in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Hawai’i. I was never too far from the wild and at no point did I become a serviceable photographer. I’ve gotten up close with cranes and herons, sharks and turtles, and while some of them nearly took a chunk out of me, I have no photographic evidence.
Nature photography is one of those occupations that impacts our life without us realizing it. As I found out, (and I’d bet many of you have as well,) it is difficult. Anyone can take a photo, but to capture a moment of nature so that we can all enjoy and engage with it, that’s something special. More to the point, as the war between science and stubbornness continues to claim the natural world as their battlefield, the opportunity for these kinds of photos is swiftly drifting away. Which brings me to my friends at the Northwest Illinois Audubon Society.
On April 10th, The NIAS will be hosting their 38th annual banquet and a program by David C. Olson, a nature photographer from Rockford whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Alaska Magazine, and Northwest Quarterly. The program uses Olson’s photos to build a journey through the natural world complete with music. If you’ve ever been the struggling seven-year-old photographer, or simply appreciate the beauty of nature, this is night for you.
If you’re not already sold, let me point out that there will be a meal (if signed up by March 30th,) and a silent auction as well. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend any part of the program. You can find more information at www.nwilaudubon.org.
The world is amazing. If you need proof, come enjoy these photographs with people who are trying to keep it that way.
