Presented as part of the Animals, Plants and Nature Week on deviantART

As part of the APN week on deviantART I have the pleasure in presenting an interview that *Nzeman kindly agreed to. *Nzeman is one of the best Wildlife/Nature photographers on deviantART and his responses are well worth reading. After some arm twisting lol Nate provided me with some thumbs from deviants that he likes a lot and I have placed them throughout this interview.

The basics first

Name: Nate Zeman
Age: 25
Location: Breckenridge, Colorado

What is your Photography Education?

I don’t have any formal training in photography. I’ve taught myself along the way. I try to read a lot of books and magazines about photography when I get the chance, but really the most important thing when It comes to learning is simply getting out and shooting as much as you possibly can. There’s not substitute for that.



What equipment did you start with and when?

My very first camera was a point and shoot Kodak film camera that I got around the age of 15 or so. Coincidentally, it was given to me by my dad on a vacation to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado Which I now live only an hour and a half away from, and is one of my all time favorite shooting locations.

What camera equipment do you currently use?

My equipment has come a long way since my first point and shoot camera, I now use all Canon gear. My first digital slr was a Canon 10d that I used for a few years. I’ve since upgraded to a Canon 5d with an assortment of Canon glass. Anyone who’s into photography surely knows that adding additional equipment to your arsenal can border on sickness. I’m constantly looking for new toys to add to my collection.

What made you specialize in wildlife/landscape photography?

I grew up in Wisconsin and had been toying around with cameras for a while, but it wasn’t until I moved to Colorado in 2005 that I really started to focus on wildlife and nature photography. I’ve had an interest in nature for as long as I can remember. Combine that with my love of photography, the fact that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and it’s a pretty obvious progression.



What drives you to keep on taking photos?

This is a really easy question to answer. To me the actual taking of a photograph is secondary to the experience of being out there and getting to see the amazing things I get to see. I’ve only been doing nature photography seriously for just under 2 years now and I’ve already gotten to experience so many amazing things and places that I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t been out there taking photos. Many times when I'm at a spot crowded with photographers I see people so worried and focused about getting a shot that I never see them look up from the viewfinder to take in the scene that’s actually there in front of them. That’s sad. I think if you don’t appreciate where and what you're shooting it's going to show in the results of your photo.

How much preparation do you put into getting an image? Are they preplanned in terms of the best time of dayor season and checking the location first? How often would you revisit a location to get the image that you are really satisfied with?

This is an interesting question. I’d say I have a plan almost every time I go out to take a photo, but it definitely does’nt guarantee results. Planning is important especially with landscape photography. You need to keep in mind the time of year, time of day, weather and about a million other factors. There is still a lot of luck needed to come away with a good photo. If we're talking animal photos you need to keep a lot of things in mind too. What type of areas certain animals like to hang out, what time of day they are active, what time of year is best and so on. I often scout out locations (especially for landscapes) ahead of time. Sometimes months in advance. Scouting out locations is important because many of my shots are taken at sunrise and require hiking and setting up in the dark. Sometimes I just get really lucky and happen upon a scene with amazing light or an animal in just the right spot. It's different for every photo. Luck plays a huge part in nature photography, but being prepared always improves your chances for good luck. I’ve shown up to a specific place I want to shoot and gotten amazing light and perfect weather the very first time. Other times is taken me 4 or 5 visits back to the exact same spot to get the weather to cooperate. You never really know what you're going to get with nature photography and that’s half the fun.



What post processing do you do to the raw images, what software do you use?

I always shoot in RAW. If you're not shooting in RAW you need to start now. Once I get the RAW file to my computer, and make the basic RAW adjustments I take it over to photoshop and fine tune them. Postprocessing is a very important step in getting a finished photo. I don't do a ton to edit my photos. Just the basic levels adjustments, brightness, contrast, saturation and some dodging and burning to select parts of a photo. My main goal with editing is to come away with a photo that’s as close as possible to the original scene. I’m a firm believer that a photo should represent what you saw in real life as closely as possible. No colors in the photo that were’nt there, nothing cloned out that really was there. The only time you should touch the clone tool is if you’re removing dust spots. These are my brief thoughts on postprocessing. Everyone has their own way of doing it, with their own secrets and tricks.

What future plans do you have or projects you want to accomplish?

My only real plans for the future are to continue shooting as much as possible. I have a couple plans and projects going on at the moment but my real focus is on taking photos. I have some trips planned for the near future that im really excited about.



What are your thoughts about deviantART?

I love deviantART. I think it’s a really good way to get your work noticed, and a good place to come for advice and inspiration. I can’t think of a better way to get so much feedback on your work as here on deviantART. With that said I also think that for an art site it’s a bit too much of a popularity contest. I see some really bad work on the popular photos of the day page, and I see some really good work go completely un-noticed. I wish people would look deeper into DA for some of the really great stuff that’s out there rather than just go to the top page of the day and add something to their favorites just because 1000 other people have. Either way deviantART is an awesome site. I’ve tried out some other sites like it and havent like them as much as this one. I’ve been on here for a couple years now and I’m blown away by the amount of support I get.

Which deviantArt APN photographers stand out in your mind and which images do you consider their best work?

I think the list of good photographers on DA might be too long for me to list here. I’ll just say that the images I find the best are any kind of nature photo that shows effort and patience to get to, wait for and capture the perfect moment with the perfect light. I’d have to say though that my favorite photos are of wild animals. There is something special about wild animal photography that only those who do it know about. There are so many factors that go into getting a photo of a wild animal. Factors that I think make it one of the most difficult types of photography. There are actually a bunch of really good wild animal photographers out there on da. It takes a lot of sifting through all the zoo animal shots to find them, but they are out there if you look.




If you were to mentor someone just beginning in photography what advice would you give them?

Well I’ll start this out by saying I don’t consider myself a good enough photographer to mentor anyone in the first place. I’m still learning a ton every time I go out and shoot. Learning photography can be frustrating and a bit overwhelming. It can take a while before you start to get results you want. Any kind of camera is good enough to get you started. In my opinion training your eye to see good composition and learning basic camera functions are the most important thing. Having the best equipment is not neccesary. You can start out by taking photos of pretty much anything. When I got my first camera I took photos of whatever I had around me, mostly things I found in my back yard and in my house. When you’re just starting out you should be taking photos of anything and everything you see. That helped me out a lot. I would also suggest reading books by some of the greats like Galen Rowell. It never hurts to gain some knowledge from the masters.

Some of *Nzeman's personal favorites from his own gallery.






Many thanks for taking the time out to do this interview Nate, it is very much appreciated.

This News article forms part of the Animals, Plants and Nature Week on deviantART

Please refer to the main APN Week Diary which will be updated all week to keep up with any changes.



best regards
^KevLewis
Gallery Director for
Animals, Plants and Nature