Nick Shearman
I was born in Singapore where my parents were stationed while with the RAF, they were transferred back to England when I was two and I spent my childhood and early teens on the family farm. Our family emigrated to Canada in 1969 becoming Canadian citizens as soon as was allowable.
My interest in nature has been with me as long as I can remember, and my photography interests began in Primary school in England, with the help of my father who let me use his camera. He also developed and printed all his own photographs which he taught me to do as well. When I was small, a TV show called Circus Boy caught my attention and this show had an incredible influence on me in my early years. At nineteen years of age I applied and got a job at the Wasaga Beach Zoo working Indian Elephants. I was in this position for three months before securing a job at the Metro Toronto zoo approximately a year before they opened. Just before the zoo opened I was asked which animals I wanted to work with and of course I chose the African Elephants and Hippos (and yes I did get to ride on the elephants just like Circus Boy). It was in this time period that I purchased a 35mm camera and telephoto equipment and my interest in nature photography blossomed. At my work place I was surrounded by the natural kingdom and my vacations were taken up with trips to the Everglades National Park in Florida and up to Churchill Manitoba to photograph wildlife.
My camera equipment gradually became outdated and digital photography was making an appearance in the world. I watched with curiosity and some scepticism as this new image-taking technology developed, and when cameras became available in the ten megapixel range I purchased my first DSLR camera which I kept for about a year. I quickly realised that the camera was not going to be able to keep up with my needs. I upgraded to a faster camera with more frames per second and faster memory cards to assist me in the rapid pace of today’s nature photography challenges. To go with the camera I also purchased some top end lenses and a great tripod to support them. With digital photography comes the requirement of a computer to be able to work on the images. This was, and still is, a massive transition for me and I taught myself to use camera and computer through asking questions and reading books and articles as well as of course a significant amount of trial and error. Similarly with my photography, I have principally I taught myself through books, magazines and asking questions of key experts in the field. I enjoy nature photography immensely, although it can be frustrating at times. To me the frustrations are just challenges to take on and I enjoy figuring out different ways to tackle the problems.
I have spent a lot of time enjoying nature. It deserves our respect, there is so much beauty to see, so much to learn and appreciate, and it is incumbent on humanity to protect it . Maybe one day we will realize that by doing so we will be also protecting ourselves.
Nick Shearman frequently holds Photo Exhibitions to exhibit his works in person.
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