Congratulations to Steve Pressman for becoming our April 2023 Photography Virtual Artist in Residence. The Virtual Artist in Residence Program is awarded monthly to the artist (or photographer) who has submitted four or more entries to the ENDANGERED Fine Art & Photography Contest and has been selected by the Curatorial Committee as best interpreting the aims of the Contest.

Artist Statement

I grew up in a housing project in Brooklyn, New York, and the only travel I knew was going to the Catskill Mountains and Florida. Yeah – I had cameras, Instamatics, and throwaways, and then I graduated to a Canon AE 1 camera. They were just for fun and taking pictures of friends and things. Who knew some 30 years later, I would own Nikon and Sony cameras, shoot digital pictures and video, develop an extensive website, and travel the world taking mostly nature photography? Who knew I would become a pharmacist, own a pharmacy, and sell my work in my store? Nature photography became a passion, and concomitant with that passion came respect and conservation for wildlife.

Photographing wildlife and icebergs in the Arctic, Sub Arctic, and the Antarctic is true love; a close second love is taking photographs in Africa. Bringing these photographs home and showing people what “the real life” is on those continents is (especially if they can’t make the journey themselves) brings true enjoyment and fulfillment to my life (and hopefully to their life as well)!

Plans for New Work

I hope to continue with and expand my journeys, visiting new places and photographing new animals. One I have in mind currently is the Musk Ox (a magnificent ancient beast); of course, it must be in the snow, so I am researching the best places to go and photograph them in their natural habitat. This summer, I am headed to Brazil to take pictures of jaguars and other indigenous wildlife.

Creating coffee table books is something I already started to work on – but I am still a pharmacist and running my store(s), and time is an issue, not to mention the 500,000 or so pictures I have – choosing the best – then choosing the best of the best – then choosing the best of the best of the best. That’s probably going to be the hardest challenge. I will get there eventually… maybe when I partially retire?

Message for Artists

I got through pharmacy school by reading and referring to a poem, “Don’t Quit.” It starts out like this:

“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will – When the road you are trudging seems all uphill - When the funds are low, and the debts are high, and you want to smile, but you have to sigh - When care is pressing you down a bit – rest if you must but don’t you QUIT.”

And it goes on ….

“So, when it comes to your love of nature and your love of art and conservation, and you see and hear about the warming planet and destruction of the planet’s natural resources, “Stick to the fight when you are hardest hit ………”

See more of Steve’s work and get in touch with him by clicking on the links below:

Website: https://yougottalovenature.com

Facebook: @YouGottaLoveNature

Instagram: @yougottalovenature_