adventure & nature photographer based in nz
Where it all started.
I first picked up a DSLR camera in the winter of 2018. Photography has always intrigued me, so when my mom purchased a Canon kit, I naturally gravitated toward it. I asked to borrow it for a trip I was taking through the beautiful Olympic National Forest in Washington State. I'd never used a "real" camera before, so I just set the dial to manual mode and began testing it out. Of course, questions immediately arose, but as it turned out, I did not have any cell service for the entire trip, so I spent my free time absorbing everything I could from the owner’s manual, even though it all seemed like gibberish to me. I took a lot of really terrible photos on that trip, but I was left intrigued by how to shoot at night.
With my mom’s permission, I took her camera back up to where I lived at a ski field in the Cascade Mountains. The stars shone bright at this elevation, and there was very little light pollution, so I set out night after night attempting to capture the night sky. This was captivating for me, as I have always loved everything astronomical.
After spending hours upon hours of standing in one spot throughout the bitterly cold nights, numb to the fact that I'm shivering uncontrollably in single-digit temperatures and even lower wind chills, I finally began capturing the images I had in mind. I was instantly hooked. I spent countless hours chasing the night sky, moonrises, moonsets, sunrises, and sunsets. During all this time spent in nature, it became more evident than ever how tuned in I am to not only nature, but to the wildlife all around me as well. Having been raised by a bowhunting dad, my earliest memories are of hunting and tracking animals. Little did I know then that the skills I was acquiring from a young age would play a huge role in my success at getting close to animals with a camera in hand. It was as if I was gifted with a 6th sense and could feel the presence of a nearby animal before spotting it due to this early instillment of learning animal behaviours.
Photography has become my driving passion, and I’m excited to share the intimate moments I’ve been privileged to encounter with you.
~ Tori Harp