Natalie Nishioka has spent over seven years pushing her physical and mental limitations of fine art landscape photography. As a self-taught photographer, she has been known for taking gorgeous landscape photography on Kaua'i and around her earth adventures. Natalie has been shooting a rainbow of scenes from the mountain into the ocean. Born in Oahu and raised on the island of Kaua'i, she never took the isle life for granted. Her journey traced back to the age of 11 when she first used an old silver digital camera to photograph an eagle on a trip to Alaska.
In 2008, she was 11 years old and went on her first RV fishing trip in Alaska with her parents. Besides binge-watching twilight, catching her first red salmon, and appreciating every aspect of Alaska's charm, she was a delight from her childhood memory she cherished so much. This trip was the first time she learned how to use a camera. Her parents lent her an old silver digital Sony camera to take pictures of all the places she visited. She was fascinated by all the wildflowers, wilderness, mountains, and wild animals, and she couldn't put down the camera.
One day her dad was cleaning the salmon he caught and tossing aside the scraps to feed eagles.
She was so curious about eagles and had no idea whatsoever they are considered dangerous because they don't only pray on fish and small animals but also prey on small dogs and children.
But she went anyways to get a close-up shot of the eagle. So she waddled inch by inch, foot by foot, to get a close picture of this eagle. Once, she got about 8 feet away from the eagle. It turned at her, looked at her, looked down at its food, looked up back at Natalie, took a step closer, and then that's when her superhero parents came in for the rescue and yelled at me to get away from the eagle. This was the first time she experienced her first dose of adrenaline rush. A little danger adds a little spice to your life. Ever since then, photography has always been her passionate motive.
In middle school, she got her first Finepix Z fuji-film camera from her parents, which set her interest in photography. In high school, she was gifted a Canon T3i, an upgrade that took her photography to the next level. Throughout high school, social media has impacted her primarily. Instagram was a platform that got her urging to create more brilliant adventures of photography and portraits that gave her an audience. She took a photography class in her senior year that allowed her to learn different techniques, explore other software applications, and create and express her art.
In college, Natalie discovered a Sony a7 camera that took her hobby of adventuring to the next level of quality. College was a time for her to learn new things, grow to be the best version of herself, find her passions, and create with her friends. This is where her love for photography grew, and she focused on exploring the different types of photography to find her niche.
In December 2019, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science Business Degree with a concentration in marketing and a minor in environmental studies. However, in 2020 when the pandemic unfolded, Natalie had plenty of time on her hand, and she got the idea of "what skills do I have that I can monetize." So that year, she researched and built a platform for her photography and focused on pursuing landscape photography. Isolated on an island away from the world during the pandemic, she took advantage of her time to create a business plan and capture places around Kaua'i.
For three years, jumping jobs to work as a marketing specialist for a non-profit for one year and as a service administrator for a printing company for two years, she dedicated her time to hustling and creating the business she never knew she could.
The year 2021 came around when she first registered her business, Nataliearth LLC. In the meantime, she still worked throughout the week at her admin job. In her free time, she slowly developed her photography business by attending weekly markets, getting her name and photography known, and learning the ways of the art industry for two years.
When the time came, on Jan 17, 2023, Natalie finally quit her job to become a full-time business owner of her photography passions. So, Nataliearth LLC is ready to live her best life to do what makes her the happiest. Cheers to new adventures to see where her passions take her.
If you always wanted to start your own business now is your time to start. Put in the work even if its just baby steps. Delegate your time, before work, at work (if you have the free time), after work, after dinner, etc. Put in the time and learn as much as you can from youtube and google about how to to start a business, what you need to know, book keeping, taxes, finance, COGS, and etc. Those are the best sources where to start researching ideas and creating a business plan. Get out there and market your product or service. Wether its creating a business licenses, website, social media platform, wholesale to local stores or wide, or attending markets. You got to start somewhere. Take your time and go your speed.
If you would love to support my work and my business feel free to explore my website www.nataliearth.com to purchase a photograph or two to brighten up your space. Every order, gives me a chance to continue my passions and shoot for new opportunities to grow my business.
Check out my first blog where I was interviewed by ShoutOutLA to get to know me a little bit more about my first year of going into business, here.
Mahalo nui for all the love and support!
xo,
Natalie
Website: www.nataliearth.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nataliearth/