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Nathaniel Smalley as featured on PBS Arizona for their special, Bird Watching Across Arizona. My sincere thanks to Ben Avechuco of Arizona Game & Fish for inviting me to be featured on their Emmy winning program, truly a great honor. Aired March 3rd, 2020. Continue reading to see the the video.
“Leukemia,” my doctor answered when I asked him to clarify specifically what he meant by eliminating anything ‘really scary’ from the possible cause of my symptoms. His words were followed by stunned silence as my wife Elizabeth and I tried to process the weight of that word. Leukemia is perhaps the most dreaded of all cancers. For those who have been diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia the survival rate after five years is a mere 26%. Earlier in March of 2018 I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a non-contagious, auto immune disease that attacks the digestive system. I’d also lost over 35 pounds in the past year without really trying. During the following weeks my blood labs showed my hemoglobin was below normal and that my blood platelet counts were dangerously low, and dropping steadily. Healthy platelet levels range between 150,000 – 400,000 per microliter, mine were at 32,000. Platelets are responsible for clotting your blood, so low levels make even a small cut a serious situation as significant blood loss can occur. In mid-May my hematologist recommended I take a high dose of steroids over four days in hopes of boosting my platelets into a normal range. The following week we met to discuss the results. They were far from what we’d hoped, my platelet levels had only increased to 48,000. It was on this day that my hematologist indicated the urgent need to eliminate Leukemia as the cause of my symptoms. I was scheduled for an emergency bone marrow biopsy two days later on May 24th.
It is hard to believe that two months have past since I returned from leading back to back photography tours in Iceland and Norway. I had a great groups of dedicated photographers for both destinations and we enjoyed shooting in some incredible conditions. People generally have one of two reactions when they consider the thought of participating in a photography tour to a colder climate. There are those that will jump at the chance relishing the challenge and new experiences, asking eagerly, ‘Where do I sign up?!’ The remaining personalities typically respond with ‘Over my dead body!’ or mutter something about how they’d turn into an icicle. Another objection I’ve heard is fear of the damage their camera will suffer from the snow. First of all, if your equipment is worth its salt then it should be able to manage a little dusting of snow. The main risk with camera gear in a colder climate is extreme temperature changes. If you you allow it to gradually adjust then you shouldn’t have any problems.
Recently I was requested as the guest speaker at Audubon Arizona’s showcase event in November, featuring award winning images from the 2015 National Audubon Photography Competition. The event was very well attended and I enjoyed an engaged audience as I discussed the topic of award winning bird photography. Due to the popularity of the topic, I chose to compile some of my notes into a blog post here.
Though I haven’t personally invested a lot of time entering my work, I have been asked to be a judge for a number of different nature photography competitions including the distinguished Natures Best Photography – Africa (a division of Nature’s Best Photography), Viewbug.com and others.
You may have dreamed of traveling to Iceland, as I did for years, longing to photograph its incredibly diverse landscape. A plethora of images had tempted me for a decade or longer, enticing with massive waterfalls, glowing sunsets and noble Icelandic horses. Admittedly the allure of this magical country is hard to resist. As recently as a few years ago I had a powerful ambition to capture all the ‘iconic’ shots so often published of Iceland, but over time something in me changed. I’m not sure exactly what it was that altered my perspective, perhaps it was a number of factors. I noticed that my interest had shifted towards photographers that were creating more subtle, unique compositions and capturing the hidden elements of a scene, as opposed to the more obvious, grand shots that have almost become common now. I also became weary of what I perceived to be a rabid pursuit of ‘epic’ light. I do not mean to imply that there is anything wrong with photographing ultra-dramatic light and conditions, we would be remiss as photographers if we did not. Unfortunately though, the message often conveyed is, “If there isn’t a flaming sky, stay home” or even worse, “If there isn’t a flaming sky, just paint one in later with Photoshop”.
Call me naïve. I grew up with a fantastic, albeit distorted, ideal of what nature photography was. As a young boy I would sit and pore over the pages of nature photography books, National Geographic and Outdoor Photographer Magazine, enchanted at times more by the thought of what the photographer had to endure in order to capture the photographs, than I was at the images themselves. I guess you could say that to me being a nature photographer was akin to being a hero of sorts. Though my experiences in the world of nature photography have changed my perception of the ways in which certain images are created, I still hold onto my childhood ideal as the standard by which I measure the authenticity of an image. I had my ‘Walter Mitty moment’ at the beginning of 2012 when I was blessed with the opportunity to leave my day job and embrace my career as a nature photographer full time. The longer I’ve been in this field of photography, the more aware I have become of a number of glaring conflicts of ethics that I’d been largely insulated from up until the past decade or so. I’ve listed a few of them below.
I frequently receive emails and messages asking for direction on how one becomes a successful nature photographer. There’s a lot of discussion between photographers on what makes a successful image. While there are many well tested practices for creating great photographs with which to build a beautiful portfolio, that is only half of the recipe to success. Successfulness in any field is defined by many other important factors. If these factors are ignored you may cripple your attempts to build a career; regardless of the quality of your images. In answer to those that have asked for my advice on the subject I’ve compiled my thoughts into the following ten points.
June 17th, 2013 marks the date of perhaps one of the most significant events to affect the photographic industry since the dawn of the digital age. On this date Adobe announced that new releases of their flagship image editing software ‘Photoshop’ would only be available through their ‘Creative Cloud’ as subscription based software with a monthly fee. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past three months this may come as quite a shock. Most photographers have been considering their options for the past ninety days since the announcement, and it has created quite a divide. A large number of top level professionals have turned their backs on Adobe, walking away with no intentions of ever returning; others have not been dissuaded by the announcement, and promptly subscribed to the Creative Cloud. This is a vast topic and as this situation is still evolving I would encourage you to continue to monitor it as it develops.
Though the vast majority of my published portfolio is in color, I enjoy working in black and white as well. Color photography began to overtake the market in the mid – 20th century and has effectively left black and white photography as essentially a niche market for photographers who use this medium for artistic purposes. Most professional photographers today would agree that creating an appealing black and white photograph requires much more effort than one in color. Thus the market has been shaped by the influx of color in our profession and changed public perception in ways that few ever anticipated. In 1935 the Eastman Kodak Company came out with its Kodachrome film, a product that revolutionized the photographic industry. Before that time those wishing to capture color images had to deal with heavy glass plates, tripods, long exposures and a painstaking development procedure, despite all this work photographers were left with unsatisfactory results. After dominating the market for decades, Kodak announced in 2009 that it would be discontinuing it’s production of Kodachrome as it now accounted for less than 1% of the company’s revenue. Ironically enough, Kodak is now all but obsolete in the world of digital photography.
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