In 2017, after a year marked by loss, Nate Butryn began traveling with a camera. The trips offered a way to step away, but photography soon became something he wanted to study, improve, and share. On a flight home from New Zealand, he was already booking his next adventure in Iceland.
Based in Boulder, Colorado, Nate photographs landscapes around the world. His photographs take us from the Italian Dolomites and Scotland's Isle of Skye to New Zealand, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. He approaches those places with a growing appreciation for the journey itself, even when the weather refuses to cooperate.
An Artbeat Studios customer since 2018, Nate favors HD Metal for the way it brings his photographs into a room. We spoke with him about the pleasure of the chase, why he values solo travel, and how his work finds a home on other people's walls.
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Our Q&A with Nate
What first drew you to photography, and when did you realize it was becoming more than simply taking photos?
I first started photography in 2017, after turning 40 and dealing with six deaths in 2016. What started as escapism around the world quickly became a budding career. On my flight back from New Zealand in February, I was already booking a flight to Iceland. I had fully caught the bug.
At first, the prints I sold were based more on luck, so I honed my craft and studied to really dial in the settings for a higher hit rate, so to speak.
Nature rarely follows the plan. How do you approach a shoot when the conditions you hoped for don't happen?
Since I photograph landscapes exclusively, poor conditions can exist more often than not. Early on, I would let myself get frustrated with that until I realized I was still somewhere spectacular on this amazing planet.
If you got perfect conditions every time, the special shots would cease to be special. Something about the chase, over and over again, is exhilarating, and when you finally get it, the reward seems that much sweeter. As a dear friend always used to tell me before a trip, "Notice the best parts and make good art."
What does your typical camera bag look like when you head out to photograph a landscape? Which pieces of equipment have become essential?
My camera bag started off having every single thing in it. Over time, I've been able to limit it to my Nikon D850; three Nikon f/2.8 lenses, the 14-24mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm; a few circular polarizing and neutral-density filters for water; a DJI Mavic drone; and my trusty Gitzo tripod and RRS ball head.
I consider all of them essential because, with that list, I can catch pretty much anything I'd want, except telephoto shots over 200mm, which I don't usually do.
What inspired the idea of Earthscape Tours, and how has your approach to those trips evolved?
Earthscape Tours was an idea to increase my revenue. Although I've enjoyed leading workshops and would still consider it, I shifted away from it mostly because my photography trips are sacred to me. Although I am a teacher at heart, sometimes we have to do something for ourselves.
I almost always travel solo, which opens me up to the therapy of nature and the chance to meet and chat with like-minded people from cultures across the world. Sometimes that's the best part of a trip, rather than any one photo I took. If some of you are reading this, you know who you are. There's quite a few out there!
Looking back on your journey, what advice would you share with photographers who are just beginning to find their own creative voice?
There's the old saying, "Never forget the pleasure of the journey." That would be the single best piece of advice I would give to somebody just starting out in photography.
Take it all in, and when conditions present themselves, be ready to go. And if they don't, try, try again. It may be cliche, but never stop learning. Whether it's post-processing, settings, or specific subjects such as astrophotography, waterfalls, or the northern lights, there's always so much to learn.
What makes a photograph feel worthy of becoming a physical print, and how do you choose the medium?
95% of the time when I'm in the field, I know which photo will likely make it all the way to a print. When I come home and edit it, assuming everything was done correctly in the moment, hopefully it makes my portfolio.
Although I do offer and print on giclee canvas or acrylic, my sweet spot and favorite way to print is on HD Metal. With the way I edit and the modern look once hung up, metal prints are the majority of my art sales. My clients just love the "pop" they provide.
What made Artbeat Studios the right fit for bringing your photography to life in print?
When I made that shift to metal, Artbeat Studios was relatively new, so it was serendipitous in a sense. After trying a few other companies, I stuck with you from the beginning, and it's been a great partnership ever since 2018.
I am also a real estate agent in Boulder, Colorado, and my welcome gift for clients who make it to a closing is a print from my portfolio of their choosing to adorn their walls. It's been a nice advantage I've been able to offer as an agent. It brings me a lot of joy to know that my adventures around the world live on in people's homes.
See more landscape photography and fine art prints at Natescape Photography.
