MARIA: Hey, Kristi! It's Maria from B&H.
I heard you were here in your house recording,
and I wanted to ask you 21 questions.
Do you have some time?
Hey! Yes, of course I have some time!
I'm actually taking some photos right now.
M: Awesome, let's check it out!
M: So, what are you shooting today?
I'm doing time lapses of mushrooms.
Having some fun with fungi!
I've got my Z7 II on a Gorillapod.
I've got my mushrooms growing.
I got my wonderful companion here, Choco. [giggles]
I got a little light, and I've got my humidity-controlled room here
to help give the moisture that the mushrooms need for growth!
M: So cool!
[music]
M: So what got you started in photography and video?
KRISTI: I got started in photography when I inherited a camera from my grandfather.
It was something I started taking photos to remember him by,
but then, it slowly started to consume me.
Even though I was in my third year of electrical engineering at Georgia Tech,
I made a complete turn and switched into fine arts
and moved into the world of photography,
and I've never looked back since.
M: What was your first camera?
It was his Minolta Maxim.
M: And now, what's your go-to camera,
and what's your go-to lens?
My go-to camera is my Nikon Z7 II for both photo and video.
It's definitely my favorite,
and my go-to lens is my 500 f/5.6 NIKKOR lens.
M: And what drew you to wildlife photography?
For me, wildlife is something so much bigger, I believe.
I feel something grand when I'm in the presence of wildlife,
and I feel something--it makes me feel so great to be alive
and to share this world with so many amazing animals
and so much beautiful nature.
that, to me, going out in nature is where I feel whole,
and I love photographing animals.
I try to connect people emotionally to wildlife
and to show that animals have characters and personalities and spirits
and use both photos and videos to do so.
M: Your job revolves a lot around traveling.
How have you adapted to the pandemic?
The pandemic changed things quite a bit for me.
One of the things that it opened up was
I really stayed in one place,
and I worked really, really hard on local storytelling.
I followed a group of senior citizens that meet every Friday to count insects,
and that story ended up bringing out so much depth
and so much information about the decline in the insect population,
just how much impact a person can make.
And it also taught me the power of being a local storyteller
and, being in one place for a long period of time,
how that story could develop more and more.
And that story ended up going quite a few places for me,
and it made me pretty excited,
but it really taught me the power of nature that is all around us,
especially the dragonflies and butterflies,
and now I've even moved into flowers and fungi in the house [laughs]
But the pandemic has definitely helped me open my eyes
to see beauty that is really truly all around us.
M: You capture animals in such a unique and artistic way.
How have you learned to master your own style?
For years and years, I was actually a wedding photographer,
and wedding photography taught me the power of putting emotions into photographs.
When I moved into wildlife photography,
when that started growing more and more,
I wanted to take photos that evoked emotions,
so I started looking for emotions and body language.
I started studying animals emotions
and trying to put that more into my work,
so that I could get people to feel.
But I feel that the fact that
I worked on both weddings and wildlife for so long,
they helped each other out,
and it helped me develop a unique voice in wildlife photography.
M: You're a Nikon ambassador, right?
And you've recently gotten your first story published by National Geographic.
What does that mean to you?
Being a Nikon ambassador means the absolute world to me.
To have a brand like Nikon
and to be part of a team, that's just so amazing.
It has opened doors that I could have never imagined
and it has been the biggest gift of my life.
Getting that story published online for National Geographic
was a dream come true. I remember crying when I got the phone call.
[laughs]
Like, for me, to be able to get a bigger story out there
that talked about conservation, the declining insect population,
the power we have as individuals to make change,
and to be able to have such a big audience for that,
it really was a testament to the power of photography,
and it means the world to me.
M: You don't just shoot. You also teach, right?
Tell me about what you do when you're not maybe wearing camo.
I do love teaching. Teaching has been great.
One of the things I've been teaching a lot recently
is just how much biodiversity there is in our own local parks
and how we can use our cameras
to get the macro photos of the insects
and the telephoto photos of the birds
and not to ignore all the fungi
and all of the interesting things that make up the biodiversity,
even in our own backyards, and that is all around us.
The local project that I did really opened my eyes to see so much beauty
and that you don't have to go far to produce amazing images for your portfolio.
There are photos that can be taken anywhere.
M: Do you have any projects that you're working on or that are coming up?
I am currently working on the fungi project.
I've got another project coming up in Bolivia
that I'm really excited about that I leave for in June,
but those are my two big problems--projects!--
so keep an eye out. Follow me on instagram,
and I will take you on those journeys.
M: Okay, switching it up a little bit.
This week is Wildlife Photography Week at B&H.
What are some tips for somebody looking to get into that industry?
With wildlife photography, one of the things that I push people
is don't take the expected shot.
Learn about your subjects,
and also don't be afraid to put your own feeling
and what you're seeing and experiencing when you take photos.
I always ask myself, "What do I see?", "What do I feel?"
and "What can I eliminate?" when I take photos.
Like, what do I see? What's the subject?
Bring in as much knowledge as you can to get people to connect more.
What do I feel? Do I feel the chaos of the environment?
Do I feel simplicity?
Do I feel sorrow?
Like, what do I feel, and how can I put that into the narrative?
And what can I eliminate? Because everything you put in that frame is in there forever.
So trying to move in a direction where the background's less distracting
or anything like that goes on to that. What do I eliminate?
M: Okay, time for some fun questions!
What's your favorite animal?
My favorite animal is sea lions. [laughs]
I'm kind of obsessed. They're like dog mermaids!
They're so playful in the water,
but, yet, when they're on the beach, they like snore and burp and [laughs]
But, they're full of so many playful emotions,
and I just love those animals.
M: What's been the scariest experience while on assignment?
Oh goodness...
I've actually... I had a bear once charge me.
[inaudible]
That was definitely--I took this one photo,
and I thought it might have been the last photo of my life.
I was looking through a 500mm lens,
and this bear that was way off in the distance
saw me and just started charging.
I remember putting my camera down,
and they tell you you're supposed to talk to the bear.
So, the bear's right next to me, splashing,
and I'm thinking, "what do I say?"
That's when you have to think of a conversation,
So I kept saying like, "Hey, bear. I'm really nice."
Like, "please, please don't hurt me,"
The bear wasn't, at any time, gonna hurt me.
The bear just wanted me out of his fishing area,
but at the same time, I remember being quite scared.
I definitely sat in my tent for the rest of night
and didn't talk to anyone because I was really scared.
[laughs]
M: What has been the coolest shoot you've ever been on?
The coolest shoot...
Well, I just got married,
and, right after we got married, for our honeymoon,
we got to swim with humpback whales.
And I saw this mother and child swimming up next to us,
and it was one of those moments that you only dream of.
It was unbelievable.
Plus, it was great to have that experience with my new husband,
and it was a beautiful day. It's perfect.
M: And, what about the most challenging shoot?
The most challenging shoot...
My goodness, let me think! [laughs]
Uh...
So I would say it was definitely challenging
to really get into photographing the insects.
Like, learning all the intricacies of macro photography,
dealing with wind, dealing with the elements,
and being able to get those sharp images while you're out in the field.
that definitely took quite a bit of learning,
as well as learning about using macro lights,
and using all sorts of different tools.
But, with macro, you get such a thin depth of field,
so you're working with all these different variables.
Once I knew that Nat Geo was interested in that story,
I really wanted to elevate those photos.
And, yeah, you've got all sorts of elements working against you,
but it was it was definitely a challenge.
I would say that was definitely the most challenging.
M: Is there a place and animal on your bucket list that you haven't captured?
Oh my goodness! There are so many, I don't even know where to begin!
[laughs]
Oh, I've always wanted to photograph tigers.
That's been one of my dreams,
but I think the next on my list that I really want to see is
I really want to see a polar bear.
I'm obsessed with the brown bears of Alaska,
and I really, really would love to see a polar bear and photograph them,
but that's one of the ones on my list.
M: And how about favorite snack when waiting on for that money shot?
Oh... What can I say? "Snickers always satisfies" [laughs]
It's gotta be my favorite because it satisfies that urge,
but it also fills me up a bit, so.
I'm kind of a Snickers girl.
M: If you weren't a photographer what would you be?
If I wasn't a photographer, I would be an engineer.
I was at Georgia Tech studying to go into photovoltaic engineering,
which it's funny because I joke that I'm still turning photons into electrons
but just in a different way, with a camera.
but that was the path I was on before photography
took me on a whole different journey that I could have never expected.
M: What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
The best piece of advice is to
become an expert on the subjects you're shooting.
To really learn and figure out what you can do
to bring something new and different and more knowledge into the industry.
M: Aside from your camera, what is your favorite piece of gear?
Oh my goodness
Besides my camera, my favorite piece of gear
would definitely have to be my think tank bag.
I love my MindShift bag.
Having all my gear in there, and having everything organized
and being able to to carry everything I need out on the shoot with me.
M: If there were to be a movie about your life, who would play you?
Oh my goodness!
Maybe Brie Larson?
I mean, come on. Captain Marvel and Unicorn Store?
Like, she could do everything. I absolutely adore her.
[laughs]
M: And, who should we interview next?
Interviewing next? Oh my goodness, there's so many amazing photographers out there!
I would love to see my friend Kirsten Lewis,
who's a family photographer who also lives out here in Colorado.
She's one of my favorite people in the whole world,
and it would be beautiful to see her.
Or my friend Jacqueline Greenberg, who's up in Connecticut.
He does the most amazing, risque boudoir work.
So one of those two would be great to see!
M: Okay, I'll let you get back to it!
And thank you so much for answering all of my questions!
Thank you so much! You guys have a great day!