Where It All Began

How Childhood Shaped the Way I See Nature

My path into photography didn’t start with a camera. It started with hiking as a child, walking through forests with my family, and exploring the quiet details of the natural world. I remember spending time with my grandfather, turning over rocks, studying the small hidden life underneath them, and learning—without even realizing it at the time—how much wonder exists in the ordinary.

Summers at my grandparents’ house were something I still think about often. My brother and I would sit at the art table he set up for us while my grandfather painted nearby. He was always creating—always observing light, color, and form in a way that made the world feel different when you looked at it through his eyes.

He had a library filled with books on nearly every artist imaginable, and an art table stocked with everything a child could dream of—pencils, erasers, pastels, paints, paper. I wasn’t the strongest artist, but he never made me feel like that mattered. What mattered was that I tried, that I looked, and that I paid attention.

I miss those quiet moments—the sound of him painting, my brother beside me, and the feeling that time didn’t need to rush anywhere. They taught me to slow down and notice the details that are easy to miss.

— Neal Eslinger