During one of the online lectures for a photography club during the lockdown period, I received a message afterward thanking me. This person shared that they were ashamed because they enjoy photographing different subjects but are too afraid to admit it. What a shame, right!?
Stick to what you know
You’ve probably heard this one too; if you’re a nature photographer, you shouldn’t venture into model photography or other types of photography. You need to limit yourself to one branch of photography, specialize in it, and only then will you be taken seriously. I have to admit, it often feels quite "amateurish" when I see various topics on a photographer's website, such as macro, urbex, models, landscapes, etc. I usually click away immediately because I’ve also learned not to take such photographers seriously. They’re just dabbling in everything and aren’t specialized in anything.
Let he who is without sin…
Those who have followed my webinar “Driven by Passion” know that I’ve been through a lot. Product, event, corporate, portrait, urbex, landscape, and wildlife photography.
I’ve done almost everything, and I’ve learned something from each of them.
In 2008, I made the decision to focus solely on nature photography. I would have preferred to say wildlife photography in the previous sentence, but then, according to the "rules," I wouldn’t be allowed to take landscapes or macro shots of spring flora. Fortunately, nature photography encompasses all of this. Those who know me refer to me as a nature photographer, for which I’m grateful, but this title (or box) is no longer necessary for me. No, I am a photographer, and it doesn’t bother me to admit that I enjoy capturing various subjects.
Working with light, searching for a beautiful composition, capturing emotion in an image... it fascinates me immensely.
...and for me, it doesn’t necessarily have to be within nature.
Have you ever heard of Sebastião Salgado?
I certainly don’t want to compare myself to him, but for many, he’s a top nature photographer, known for his epic book Genesis. However, if you only know this book, you wouldn’t know that he’s not actually a nature photographer at all. If I had to assign him to a box, I’d call him a reportage or documentary photographer. He creates series, tells stories. Coincidentally, he also did a report on nature, using the same equipment he used for his other reports—namely, a 35mm camera. This is probably one of the reasons why his book stands out. Is Van Fleteren a landscape photographer because he made a book about the Atlantic Wall? Or should I rather call him an urbex photographer? Stephan is simply a photographer, period.
Why can’t the word "photographer" be as encompassing as "nature photographer"?
Give me a simple dove
Just like Van Fleteren, I’ve always enjoyed bringing stories into my images, establishing connections, creating series... I find it a huge challenge, and after more than ten years, I started to miss this aspect in my nature photography.
The hunt for a specific species has never really interested me. I’ve never discriminated in the animal world, and many may raise their eyebrows now, but personally, I find a Turkish turtle dove more beautiful than a kingfisher, and a beautiful photo of a cow or a fallow deer just as important as an image of a fox.
When I photographed the first images for Project Wounded, a project that depicts injured animals within various rehabilitation centers, the spark really ignited (again). For me personally, there was so much emotion and power in those images that I couldn’t stop thinking about them. They’re not images that sell, but they are images that make you think.
We are quick to help and support African animals, while in Belgium, thousands of animals die every year due to financial shortages at rehabilitation centers.
We’re all members of several Nature Organisations but are we members of a wildlife rehabilitation centers? The center that ensures you hear a chiffchaff, see a squirrel jumping from branch to branch, or witness a fox leaping through the field? Probably not, and that’s why this project is so close to my heart. To tell the world about the great work they’re doing and how our native animals urgently need help. In this way, I can also give something back for all the beauty nature has already given me.
And so, I’m involved in about seven projects, more than half of which have nothing to do with nature photography, at least not with the “beautiful” kind of nature photography.
In short...
Do what you love and don’t worry about what others think! Have fun, enjoy… every person is unique, and so should your photography be!
This article was first published in the free STARLING magazine, along with more photography tips.
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