Natalie Brown

Natalie Brown is a Maui-based photographer who specializes mostly in humpback whales.  She also does weddings, fashion shoots, and other local commercial ventures to make some money, but it's clear that her passion is nature's underwater beast.  Her work was quite stunning, and as I've found my favorite wildlife medium in birds, I was trying to see what I could learn from her experiences following moving subject matter.

Examples of her work

What I learned most of all is that even novice photographers do better when they are in an environment that is familiar to them.  Knowing the rhythm of the local tides, winds, and movement of the quadruped and winged local inhabitants seems to make picture taking that much more intuitive.  Natalie is a local--Maui is her stomping grounds, and I'd be willing to bet she can give even the most seasoned professionals a run for their money.

I've also thought about the end of my Nature Photography class.  I can't believe how far I've come in terms of equipment owned and how my own appreciation for photography has grown.  I still have miles to go in terms of my own picture quality, but I am hoping that will come with time.  I plan to continue to sample professionals' work frequently and see if I can keep learning as I now go forth to shoot with no master except myself.