David C. Lester, NANPA Blog Coordinator © David C. Lester
Greetings! I am the new NANPA Blog Coordinator, and have been meaning to write an introductory post since I started in this position several months ago. I worked with Rebecca Spriggs for several months, and she did a great job of training me in the general mechanics and finer points of WordPress, the platform for our blog. We were all sorry to see Rebecca leave NANPA for another position, but certainly wish her well in her new work.
I live in Atlanta, and completed a career in health care information technology in 2012. I’ve been a nature and wildlife photographer for a little over a decade, and started a business with my brother in 2011 called NatureBook Photography. While I’ve been photographing nature for a while, I also began writing about nature nearly two years ago.
I’ve been a NANPA member for four years, and am very pleased to have the opportunity to work on the blog for this wonderful organization. If you’ve been reading the recent blogs in our “Young Photographer” series, you’ve heard many of the photographers talk about what a welcoming community NANPA is, as well as the nature and wildlife photography industry in general. I have certainly found this to be the case. Everyone seems to be focused on projects they’re working on, whether they’re making still images, video, writing, or supporting NANPA in some way. Everyone is willing to share their work, along with tips and techniques to help us all become better photographers. And, it’s great to be part of a group that cares deeply about our environment and the wildlife that inhabits it.
One of the projects I’ve been working on for the past couple of years is studying and photographing Elk in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After a 200-year absence, Elk were reintroduced to the park in early 2001, and the herd is doing well today, just a few years shy of two decades. We’ve primarily focused in the Cataloochee Valley area in the North Carolina side of the park, and each visit brings the opportunity for new photographs and to witness various types of behavior.
My primary role as Blog Coordinator is to showcase the work and stories of amateur and professional NANPA members, as well as leaders of the nature/wildlife community outside of the organization. NANPA is chock full of opportunities for members to grow as photographers and naturalists, so the primary focus of the blog is on our organization. I will occasionally write a blog post if I come across something interesting, and If you would like to suggest a topic for a blog, or consider writing one, please contact me at davidclester@comcast.net.
Thanks for taking time to read this, and best wishes for the Holidays!
David C. Lester, NANPA Blog Coordinator
