About Robert C Nunnington

Like many kids, Robert developed an interest in nature and particularly animals early in his life. When not outside exploring, he was reading old National Geographic’s with tales of the mysterious dark continent of Africa. The strong link between the natural world and photography, led to his settling in Southern Africa, and becoming a professional nature photographer. Over the next 20 years, he explored and photographed extensively in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia, in a wide range of environments, from desert to semi-tropical. He soon realized that developing a photographic vision also required a deep understanding of the subject; a strong insight and appreciation of natural history; different environments, weather, geology, animal behavior, and of course the interaction between animal and environment. Not surprisingly, this also led to exploring and photographing some of the most spectacular scenic locations in Africa and enjoying intimate and fascinating encounters with wildlife, large and small. While there are many reasons for becoming a nature photographer, perhaps the most important one is just being out there: the sense of adventure, the experience and the photography go hand-in-hand.

Robert moved to the United States in 2001 and formed a new company: Nunnington Natural Images LLC. He currently photographs and teaches in many regions of the United States, including the Great Smoky Mountains, Maine, the Rocky Mountains, the Florida coast and wetlands and the high desert regions of the South Western US.

Publications and Awards

Through various stock agencies, Robert has been widely published in virtually all the major end products associated with natural history photography, in numerous books, calendars, editorials, and advertising outlets. His images have been used in corporate advertising themes for some of the world’s largest corporations in the automotive, rental car, and food and beverage industries. Robert’s photographs have appeared in major publications such as GeO, Stern, BBC Wildlife, Hasselblad Forum, Inner Reflections and numerous books such as those published by National Geographic and Time Life. He was awarded 1st prize in the prestigious international AGFA Wildlife Awards for wildlife photography, having already won 2nd place in previous competitions. In addition, he has placed several times in the BBC/Shell/NHM Wildlife Photographer Awards.  

Artist's statement

Light and color: the tools of the photographer. What drives me as a photographer is to bring a personal vision of a scene or animal to the viewer; my interpretation of how I visualize the world and its possibilities. Behind this drive, is a striving for the great light, whether it be the golden hours of an African evening, or the alpenglow on a mountain peak. My appreciation of the unique way in which we as humans perceive the world was sharpened many years ago, after attending a seminar on how different animals use eyesight and other senses to unique advantage in their particular ecological niche. Other than the primates and some raptors, humans are unique in their ability to perceive detail and such an incredible range and depth of color in the natural world. While our other senses may have become blunted over the millennia, the ability to perceive the natural world in such detail and amazing color is something we take for granted, and yet this defines us as a species.  Color is a strong compositional tool, which is one of the aspects of developing a photographic vision that I teach during my landscape photography workshops.

In my early career as a photographer in Southern Africa, I also immersed myself in understanding animal behavior and the relationship of animal and environment. This has remained with me in that I strive to portray something about the relationship between the animal and its home in my work. The light in Southern Africa is special, although it can be elusive. It is a harsh region, and for much of the day the light is also harsh, particularly at the higher elevations of the plateau. However, there are magic hours early in the day and late evening where the light becomes golden, and the magical interplay between the light and the animal or scene has the chance to show itself to its fullest. The very nature of light offers such a wide range of possibilities, from the rich and dramatic light of the desert, to the soft and gentle light of the rainforest. Now that I reside in the USA, I have a different palette of light and subject matter, and I find myself drawn more and more to photographing intimate scenics or the magnificent vistas of the West and Southwest.  I also find myself returning to the black and white medium for specific scenes or locations; where the drama of a stormy sky is more emotive when rendered to tones rather than color. While it is somewhat ironic that I started with black and white landscapes early in my career, before learning about the perception of color; it is also somehow a natural progression to appreciating the power of the black and white medium.

In addition to stock photography, I also shoot images specifically for creating fine art prints, and a selection can be viewed on this website.  When shooting for fine art prints, the techniques and approach used in creating the final image are often different to those for stock images.  The fine art print end product allows for a much more intimate relationship between artist and audience and, importantly, allows more artistic latitude over the final image that defines that unique moment in time.  Landscape photography, for instance, demands a different way of working. Creating that unique moment often demands working in a methodical way with a location, not hurrying it; allowing my perception and vision of the place to develop until the timing of light and place and nature’s offering is just right, and I make the connection. Another truism is that you make your own luck and being there at the right time to create that personal view is rarely by chance. I aim to take the viewer to a place which is very personal, but it is also in a sense created for them – to entertain and yet stimulate their sense of wonder at a world which we so often take for granted.

Workshops and teaching

A natural offshoot of learning the best ways to photograph in the wilds is the desire to pass this on – to encourage others to learn and develop their personal photographic vision, field skills and appreciation and understanding of natural history – via workshops and seminars.
Having conducted many workshops, seminars and walking trails in the parks and private reserves of Southern Africa, this provides a strong background for teaching these skills in new locations. The African locations included the Lowveld (“Big-5”) country of South Africa and the Namib Desert in Namibia. While the artists’ palette of landscapes and animals is different in North America, the techniques for capturing the decisive moment, the field craft, the appreciation and understanding of natural history and the route to developing a personal photographic vision are the same. The workshops and seminars are specifically tailored to the group and the location, but always contain the same important elements of visualizing the scene, distilling the image to provide maximum impact, technical skills with equipment to allow for different approaches to a subject, thinking outside the box, compositional skills, animal behavior, conservation and wilderness ethics and working with whatever light, weather and geological conditions you have been presented with. Workshops are offered in Maine (Baxter, Acadia N.P), the Great Smoky Mountains N.P, the Everglades/Southern Florida, the high desert country of Utah, and Glacier N.P.

The last word – a personal view – “Nature is not something separate from us; we are part of it and evolved from and with it. It is not something we go to partake of – and then leave behind again. The greatest natural history photographers have always been committed conservationists, zoologists or naturalists. This is where passion for your subject coupled with talent as an artist and technician; together with endeavour and perseverance – all come together to create the extraordinary”.

The ability to recognize that the extraordinary is achievable – and developing a road map to achieving it – is a key theme in the workshops.