Interview with Gary Crabbe – Outdoor Photographer, Owner of Enlightened Images Photography

Bright Hub (BH): I like to start my interviews with a warm up question; something unrelated to photography, which can help the readers get a better feel for who you are. So, Gary...if you came across a turtle that didn’t have a shell, would you consider him homeless or naked?

Gary Crabbe (GC): I’d probably consider him homeless, naked, and most likely in a bit of danger from predators.

(Click on any image to enlarge - all photos by Gary Crabbe)

BH: Where can we find you when you’re not behind the lens?

GC: The boring business answer is behind a computer. My digital memory card is 4GB, which will hold approx 200 RAW images. On a good day, I can fill one of those cards in a morning or afternoon, and it will take me about three days on a computer to process all of the images. Going from film to digital turned me into a photo lab. It’s great for having so much control; over how an image will look, but it also costs me a lot in time.

Otherwise, you can find me leaning over a pool table, or fishing with my kids on our boat.

BH: Have you always had a passion for photography, or is it something that came later in life?

GC: It came later in life, relatively speaking; it happened after college. I would have like to have drawn as an artist, but I had trouble even making stick figures.

BH: Did you go to school or take any courses to learn photography?

GC: I had taken a B&W Photography 101 course as an undergraduate elective. While working on my Masters Degree for directing in the theatre, I became the department photographer. With my acting and directing experience, I’d be up on stage with the actors during a final dress rehearsal, running around shooting Tmax 3200 speed B&W film, hand held with no flash, using an old, manual Minolta x-370 camera. I’d then race home, process the negatives, and develop a dozen or more prints on RC paper in my bathroom. The next morning I’d drop the prints off with the director, and by that afternoon, they’d be mounted and hanging in the theatre lobby. I called them, “instant exhibits”.

My real break in the industry came after working as a breakfast cook. I was so sick if cooking, that I started applying for any job I could find that wasn’t in a restaurant. I was lucky enough to get a job – right out of a want ad in the local paper, working for the world famous adventure and nature photographer, Galen Rowell. One of the reasons I was hired was that I had only minimal experience with photography, and no desire to become a photographer. They didn’t want to hire photographers, or wannabe photographers. They wanted people who could work at the business side of a desk, rather than a camera. My education came from overseeing his collection of 400,000 images on a daily basis, and being involved with all of the photo workshops that were run out of our office.

BH: You started your business, Enlightened Images, in 1993 as a way to sell your personal photographs. Since then, you’ve developed a lot of bragging rights; your website has been ranked as one of the most popular individual photographer sites on the internet; you can rattle off huge names as either clients or places you’ve been given publishing credit, such as The National Geographic Society, TIME Magazine, Forbes Magazine and Victoria’s Secret; and you’ve produced award winning books. Did you ever think your photography would grow the way it has?

GC: Actually I think I’ve been incredibly lucky, and fortunate. But I’m also of the feeling that I still either haven’t done enough, need to do more, or try something different. I’ve had times when I’ve been extremely busy, and others when I’ve been slower-paced. Personally, I try to find a happy medium. It’s quite interesting looking backwards, as it is challenging to look forward.

Continue on to the next page to discover what Gary says are the greatest challenges and perks of outdoor photography, what equipment is essential for an outdoor photographer and more...