Nicole Zelkowitz

This is a great question! For starters, I never leave home without my filters. I have the PolarPro Helix Maglock 2-5VND + 6-9VND, and PolarPro Chroma 2-5VND/PL which is my all time favorite. Filters are so, so necessary and I couldn't recommend them enough; especially the Chroma one if you're in the market for one. Having a variable + a polarizer in one is such a game changer. I'll also always bring both a lens cloth + a LensPen Lens cleaner because if I lose one somehow at least I have a backup 😇 Spare batteries and backup SD cards are also an absolute must. I couldn't imagine how mad at myself I would be if the sole reason me not being able to shoot some epic photo is due to not having a charged battery or enough space on a SD card.

Hi there! 🥰 I'm honestly obsessedddd with all of my gear! In my camera bag you will find my a7C II, 12-24mm GM /2.8, 14mm GM /1.8, 24-70mm GMII /2.8, and 70-200mm GMII /2.8 ... you will also find my Mavic Air 2s because drones are so fun to mess around with!

Thank you so much!! 🥹 Your work is so dope, I love always looking at your photos. You're a killer drone pilot, too 🙂

Mine!? YOURS is so inspiring! Your videography, especially, has been getting more and more epic. You're a huge inspiration for so many creators, myself included 🤘

It's hard to find balance sometimes, but my job makes it easy with the flexible scheduling & my partner makes it even easier by always being willing to go on any adventure the second I say "let's go." I'm really fortunate to be able to work in a field that lets me travel whenever I want to, and even more fortunate to be with someone who is always down to explore and see the world 🙂

If I had to pick my top, very top favorite... hands down it was the Lofoten Islands! I need a redo for sure due to all the random horrible weather than hindered all the epic hikes, but it was still so surreal. Outside of there, I'm a huge fan of the PNW. I've been to Oregon way too many times to count, and I finally was able to touch the surface of Washington and I'm already itching to go back 😅

Hello! 🥰 When I first started photography back in 2019, I was shooting a ton more city/urban and a lot less nature. It was really fun shooting in the city, but I think what turned me off was how dangerous it became for a photographer in the Bay Area. I started going on more roadtrips to super cool places like Yosemite National Park, and the Oregon Coast, and I realized there's a lot more interesting subjects to shoot in these places. They caught my eye and kept my interest a lot more than the city stuff. I will say tho - I sure do miss a good rooftop 🤭🤫

I like this question a lot, actually. I work for an airline which helps me with the opportunity to travel often. The flexibility in scheduling is great and my flying benefits are even better, and it's cheaper at times for me to take a weekend trip to Europe than to take a weekend roadtrip to the Sierras or the PNW. Having a partner and close friends who love traveling and love being in the outdoors really helps me out with balancing my personal life alongside travel and photography. Being able to tell myself "hey Nicole, maybe your bank account can't afford this trip" is another story 😂 I think the hardest part about balancing it all is finding the right places to include my dog. There's so many places I want to travel to for the purpose of photography, but a lot of these places are either difficult to get to with my dog, or are not dog friendly and it's always hard leaving him at home. So more times than not, I'm out creating in these super beautiful places while simultaneously feeling like a part of me is left at home because he loves the adventures more than all of us combined. I will often tend to go to the same places I've been to a bunch of times, or not go on specific trails or hikes so that I can make what would otherwise not be a dog-friendly trip more into a dog-friendly trip this way I can have the best of both worlds. I guess I'm a bit lucky that's my only true difficulty in balancing it all out 🙂

Hi Salvador! Thank you for your questions 🥰 I actually am not a full time photographer, but I've got a great full time job that offers cool benefits like flexible scheduling that allows me to do photography a lot of the time, and most of the time as often as I'd like. I do remember a few years back when I was dating a photographer here in the Bay Area when I first started to mess around with photography. He had already worked with brands and our whole friend group was pretty experienced in this field. I was taking photos mainly for the fun of it (and I still am!) but there was this one day when I told my ex I was thinking about buying something, and he told me "Try to email them, you never know. I'll help you" and we sent this brand an email and they wanted to work with me and I thought it was the absolute coolest thing ever 🤭 I think a lot of what I mainly needed to commit to in order to get this type of lifestyle really rolling was an online presence and the need to stay motivated to create. A few years back, instagram was all about photos and so I really honed in on that and I was going out to shoot every single chance I could. I shot so many sunrises before going to work, and I shot so many sunsets when I wasn't working or was off work in time. And I'd be so quick to post, and engage with the community and tried to make friends and tried to learn with these friends. I spent a lot of time on my laptop editing in Lightroom and Photoshop, and then spent the rest of my time on my phone which wasn't the most fun, but I was constantly seeing photos of new places and coming across new creators that helped me stay beyond motivated and kept me wanting to learn as much as possible.

You know... I started off this year with so many goals. I wanted to get more into videography and learn how to edit better on Davinci Resolve, and I wanted to post on Instagram every day and edit multiple photos each week even if it meant going back and editing older photos I haven't looked at in years. I also wanted to work with more brands this year than last year and increase my income from last year in freelance if it was possible. I started the year off strong but had so many things happen in my personal life that I havent met many of my goals for growth and learning. That being said - when life has it's calm moments I certainly try to get back into my goals and tackle them. I learn a lot from my friends, but I also learn so much from Youtube. It truly is one of the best teachers out there! There's a million and ten videos and tutorials on everything under the sun 🙂

Hey there! 🙂 I think one of my main current struggles as a photographer is knowing when it's okay to just take a step back and take a break. When life becomes really overwhelming, I have a hard time being able to confidently accept that it's okay to not be so active in creating and posting and it tends to take a toll on me. I try to overcome it by telling myself that's how I'm going to feel burnt out and try to convince myself taking a break doesn't make me any less of a photographer. And when all else fails, my boyfriend and my best friends and the perfect supporters and help me see it through.

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.

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.

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