About my work

Why I do it, what I use and where to buy my photos 'live'.

First, thanks for visiting my website.  I'll be adding photos and galleries occasionally, so check back often  for new shots (and re-discovered old favorites). Also please check out my book "Three Seasons of Bees and Other Natural and Unnatural Things" on Amazon!

Second, here are a few of the generous comments that you've shared  about my work: "really spectacular", "breathtaking", "gorgeous", "exquisite", "stunning", "totally intense". And from one, "Maybe I should just throw away my camera!". Another woman wiped away a tear.

I've fielded enough compliments to float my ego like a helium balloon. My response is a big "thank you", and the compliments should be directed to the source of my pictures, the Earth.... And advice for the woman suggesting she should throw away her camera: "Don't!"  Use your camera, and use it often!

All of you, visit mountains, forests, woods and gardens and explore streams and wild river banks. Grow flowers. Grow trees. Listen to river sounds and smell what a bee smells when she enters a blossom. Hike. Float. Wander. Lose yourself in nature!

I want my pictures to inspire, whatever way that means to you. Take a trip into the Olympics, the Cascades, add a photo as a window of escape on a wall of your office or home. Bring color to your life on a gray winter day.

Almost all of my photos are taken in Northwest Washington, mostly on the Olympic Peninsula around where I had the good fortune to live for several years. Occasionally I'll visit a tropical greenhouse on a gray day to remind myself of exotic places around the globe. And I do love Oregon beaches!

I take my photos with either a Canon EOS Digital Rebel SLR  or a point-and-shoot Olympus camera with good results, perhaps from the gift of my 'eye', perhaps from years as a painter prior to becoming hooked on photography, and perhaps from the combination of settings I use on my camera. People ask if I 'play' with the images on the computer.  I sharpen or brighten an image if necessary, and I often (but not always) use the crop function. Occasionally I'll adjust or saturate the color to give a more aesthetic feel to the mood of a picture. It's very subjective. If you like what I do, that's what matters!

I print my photos on an Epson 2200 photo printer on enhanced matte photo paper for best results. I can print most shots up to 12" by 16" although one or two are better at smaller sizes.  I take the shots at the highest resolution setting on my camera. The printer uses pigment based Ultrachrome inks which give an estimated lightfastness of 75 years when used with matte photo paper.

New this year: I have a series of five Screen Savers for sale: Northwest Forest and River; The Tideline; Seasons of Western Washington Parks and Gardens; Flowers; and Water. Each screensaver has 30 or 36 of my images. A great gift!

Where to find my work in Winter 2009/2010

Email me if you have any questions: nirvanh@earthrhythmsphotography.com