Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Anderson.
Hi Jamie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I can remember as far back as my childhood being interested in photography. Our family made a habit of going up to the Smoky Mountains once a year for a camping vacation. At some point I was given a Polaroid camera and loved trying to capture the memories of some of the places we ventured to while on vacation. Waterfalls and Overlooks were some of my favorites. Even then, although I grew up in a family with five kids and we all traveled together, I like taking photos of nature more than I did people. It was exciting to see what kind of beauty in nature that I could not only see, but capture on film.
Later in life I got married and we had two children. About that time, I got one of the first big bulky RCA eight track video cassette recorders (VCRs). So, my photography interests turned to videography interest as our children were growing up and progressed to more compact VCRs.
My son got interested in scouting and from the first day he joined as a cub scout, I volunteered as a leader. This went on for 20 or so years, but midway through scouting an amazing device was invented… the compact digital camera. Around the turn of the century, we acquired an Hewlett Packard (HP) digital camera and started bringing it on camping trips to take pictures of the scouts and once again I found my love for nature photography… sunrises, sunsets, wild animals, etc. I photographed the boys camping as well, but even the parents like my nature photography better. Soon after Facebook (FB) was invented and I found a medium to get my work out to the people. I also found Fine Art America which was a medium where I could also try to sell my work.
Later, my son earned his Eagle rank, graduated high school and moved on to college. My daughter had already moved on to college and starting her own career. I soon found time to get more serious about my photography, spend more time with it, upgrade equipment, and see where I could go with it.
So, my love for nature photography has led me many places over the years. I’ve made many sacrifices for it and do my share of volunteer work. I volunteer as a leader for the Georgia Nature Photographer’s Association (GNPA) and have lead many field trips and workshops. I’ve won my share of contest awards through the GNPA and have displayed my work in places like the Hudgens Center for Art and Learning, the Chattahoochee Nature Center, the Fernbank Science Center, and the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. I sell my work both online and through the Tybee Art Gallery on Tybee Island, GA.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
“So, ya wanna be a Nature Photographer?” I can remember seeing a famous nature photographer post that years ago online and he talked about the obstacles and struggles. It didn’t phase me a bit and I was excited to answer the question with a resounding “Hell Yes!”.
However, yes, there are many many obstacles. Although, I considered my self an avid outdoorsman (I grew up camping and fishing in the area, was a scout myself, and led a troop of scouts as their scoutmaster for over 12 years) there are still obstacles. There are times spent outdoors which can be truly awesome and other times mother nature can be brutal… think low freezing temperatures, rain, 100 degree temperatures, gnats, mosquitos, and other dangers, e.g. trying to photograph lightning, lol. Getting up at all hours of the night to travel to be on location before that glorious sunrise or to shoot that Milky Way in the middle of the night can lead to lost sleep time. Some photography trips can be as long as a few days or weeks. All of this is time spent away from family and friends.
Other challenges are the cost of it all… From the travel expense to the camera equipment to the training to the website hosting to the marketing to the print production to the shipping to the rent expense you pay at galleries to the commissions you pay and even to the discounts you give out, everyone wants a piece of the pie.
Still other challenges come from competition. There is competition not only from other professionals, but everyone today has a camera in their pocket and thinks they takes the best pictures. Not only that, the use of technology to edit the pictures give people the ability recreate the photo in imaginable and even unrealistic ways.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I do Coastal Georgia Nature Photography. Having been born and raised in the area, I have a connection to it and love the area. I love exploring the 100 miles of barrier islands that we have along our coast. Each barrier island is unique and is beautifully special in it’s own way. I love trying to capture that natural beauty in photography, especially the purely natural and undeveloped areas before they get destroyed by development. I love capturing the beauty of the wildlife in Coastal Georgia as well, especially endangered wildlife like rare shorebirds and eagles. These kinds of birds and animals have also suffered decline due to loss of habitat due to development.
I look at my specialty and photographic abilities as a way to preserve the beauty of the area. For other who view and purchase my work and display it for others to view, it encourages in them the attitude of wanting to preserve the area as well.
I think what sets my work apart is my undying desire to seek out and capture the beauty of the area in true photography without the use of tricky photo editing tools to do things like composites, sky replacement to reimagine the scene. To achieve this I will make the sacrifices necessary seek out scenes in the best light with the right timing.
Today I’m most proud of all of the awards that I’ve earned through the Georgia Nature Photographers Association and the many friends and fans that follow me on social media or have joined my email list and made purchases online or through the Tybee Art Gallery over the years.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me are all the friends and fans that I’ve got to know over the years whether it’s been through volunteering as a leader in the Georgia Nature Photographers Association, finding friends to photograph with, or meeting friends or fans who are interested in purchasing my work.
Why? Without the support of friends and family, it can be a very lonely and discouraging world out there when it comes to meeting all of those challenges and obstacles of running a successful photography business.
Pricing:
- $99
- $125
- $750
- $2750
- $3575
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.CoastalGeorgiaPrints.com
- Instagram: @cgaprints
- Facebook: CoastalGeorgiaPrints
- Other: TikTok: @cgaprints
