Sony Alpha Universe Presents a Week-Long Takeover with Nicole Zelkowitz!

[alpha-jessica-a]

Nicole Zelkowitz (@avecnicole) is a travel, adventure, and lifestyle photographer. She uses her images to encourage others to leave the comfort of their homes and travel to their dream destinations. She is highly skilled at creating unique images that give a sense of place and tell a story. 

It’s our pleasure to announce that Nicole will be participating in a text based Forum Takeover from September 16th to September 20th!

If you’d like to ask a question, post it in this thread and Nicole will answer it during her takeover. 

You’ll have a week to chat with and learn from Nicole. The takeover will also be saved and available to view after the week ends! 

[Nicole Zelkowitz]

Super excited to chat with everyone! Creators of all levels are welcome to join in 🙂 can’t wait to meet all of you!

[jajo]

Thank you in advance for sharing your wisdom with us, Nicole! 

My question is, what advice do you have for photographers looking to break into travel, adventure, or lifestyle photography?

[Rebel]

On 8/27/2024 at 10:02 PM, alpha-jessica-a said:

 

Is this the Alabama Hills looking up towards the High Sierras?  I recognize this spot.  I hiked it along the Pacific Crest Trail on my pursuit of the Triple Crown.  Descended down from Cottonwood Pass to Lone Pine and got a hitch out here to hike around and climb atop these rocks.  I fly this location a lot in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 & it is super realistic.  Every one of these rocks are fully rendered, plus you can adjust the sun to the exact time you want.  I like to take off in a F22 Raptor from the airstrip by Lone Pine & blast over these rocks and ascend to Mount Whitney all during the Golden hour in the morning when this scene would be lit up Gold.  This shot was taken in the blue hour.  It is a famous backdrop and filming location of many Hollywood Films and Shows, including the Lone Ranger.

Edited September 7 by Rebel

[nodav]

Hi Nicole!

I'd love to know.... what is your current struggle as a photographer, how do you overcome and combat it, and what are your goals for the 2024 year in terms of growth and learning?

[Salvador]

Hi Nicole!

Can you describe the moment you realized that you wanted to do photography full time? How did you go about fully immersing yourself in your journey as a photographer and what decisions did you have to commit to in order to focus on your own growth? How do you maintain a sense of flow with travel, photography, while balancing personal life?

Thanks so much for your time,

Salvador

[aidm]

Heyo Nicole! 

How has your style or approach to photography evolved over the years? What have been some pivotal moments in your creative journey?

So excited to learn from you.

[Nicole Zelkowitz]

On 9/6/2024 at 6:52 PM, jajo said:

Thank you in advance for sharing your wisdom with us, Nicole! 

My question is, what advice do you have for photographers looking to break into travel, adventure, or lifestyle photography?

Hey there! Thank YOU for your question 🙂 I think one of the most important things to keep in mind if you're looking to first get started is that you don't need all of the fancy gear to actually get started. A lot of people tend to think they can only first start getting involved and learning more about photography once they get their hands on a professional camera, but the truth is you can start earlier than that as long as you have a cell phone with a camera. After all, it's not the gear that makes the photographer great; it's the photographers eye that makes the photos great.

For creators looking to break into travel and adventure, I know backpacking and 10+ mile hikes are hyped up a lot in that niche. They're tons of fun to go on, for sure, but you can easily start creating epic travel and adventure content from a simple .5 mile hike! Showing scale is a really great way to add to your shots and bring more drama to a scene, so bring along a friend and start creating some great memories in beautiful places.

For the lifestyle niche, I tend to mainly create lifestyle photos when I'm creating for brands BUT I think it's pretty important to remember something that helps lifestyle photos not look too "staged" is to capture photos in real time. If you want your subject to be walking, actually capture them when they're walking; don't have them pose in a walking stance. Keeping things looking as natural as possible will help you, so boost up your shutter speed and have some fun with it 🙂  

For any niche you want to start creating more in, start following some epic photographers who already have tons of experience in that area so you can start getting inspired whether it be from shooting techniques or editing techniques. They'll all be able to teach you something or show you something you may not have seen or heard of before.

[Nicole Zelkowitz]

On 9/6/2024 at 8:05 PM, Rebel said:

Is this the Alabama Hills looking up towards the High Sierras?  I recognize this spot.  I hiked it along the Pacific Crest Trail on my pursuit of the Triple Crown.  Descended down from Cottonwood Pass to Lone Pine and got a hitch out here to hike around and climb atop these rocks.  I fly this location a lot in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 & it is super realistic.  Every one of these rocks are fully rendered, plus you can adjust the sun to the exact time you want.  I like to take off in a F22 Raptor from the airstrip by Lone Pine & blast over these rocks and ascend to Mount Whitney all during the Golden hour in the morning when this scene would be lit up Gold.  This shot was taken in the blue hour.  It is a famous backdrop and filming location of many Hollywood Films and Shows, including the Lone Ranger.

This is Alabama Hills, yes, on Movie Road 🙂 It's a really popular spot amongst landscape photogaphers, but it's also so much fun to just go out there and camp, look at the stars, hike around, and just chill!

I had no idea Microsoft Flight Simulator used this location, but it's so cool to hear that you flew here tons within that program! If you ever decide to head there and experience it in real life, definitely go in fall or spring for not-so-hot temperatures. But in the summer, it's the perfect location for astrophotography.

[Asteryx]

1. What’s your all time top places to travel? 
2. how do you find balance between your professional life and all your amazing 🥲 photo adventures. 
3. your photography inspires us.  
 

[JMisterJay]

Hiya Nicole! 
 

Thank you for always providing us with the beautiful visuals that you do! Keep them coming always 🤗🙏🏽