Rick Fisher has been capturing life through a lens since he worked on his high school yearbook. Now, with less than a year to live, he's creating a final love letter of sorts that will help others. Fisher spends a lot of time in his wheelchair and wearing an oxygen mask. His lungs are only functioning at 50 percent. "I always thought I was going to live to be like my dad," Fisher said. "He was 88. So, when you're 69 and someone tells you-you're not going to make it to your 70th birthday...that's pretty tough." Fisher was told in March he only has 10 months to live. He has ALS, an unkind disease that robs the body of its strength and abilities. "With so little time left, I shouldn't be able to swallow and I shouldn't be able to speak," he said. But to Fisher, this is not a story of sadness, but of dedication and love. "I celebrate every day," Fisher said. "When I get up, I say to Beth Fisher's wife 'It's going to be a good day!' and she says Why? I say, Well, first, I'm breathing. The second is I'm going to work in the studio all day!'" Fisher can no longer operate a camera, but he can operate his computer. He clicks and creates. He sorts through some 50,000 photos, narrowing down each one. To read more on this story, click here:Durham Man With ALS Uses Love Of Animals, Photography To Raise Money For Animal Shelters
Photographing wildlife in Namibia isn’t easy. It’s fraught with challenges, hardships, setbacks and stress. But the southern African nation’s peaceful landscapes, majestic animals and kindhearted people always make it worth the trouble. A recent two-week trip to Namibia, my third, was plagued by an unending series of mishaps, but it left me with a mountain’s worth of memories and thousands of photographs. When things weren’t going well, I couldn’t help but think of how much easier life is back home in New York. Now that I’ve returned, I can’t help but think about the photographic opportunities that abound in the harsh but beautiful deserts of Namibia. Among the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is visited less often by Americans than countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Namibians are more accustomed to travelers from Germany, France, Britain or Belgium and were slightly surprised to learn I had come from the United States. But they always greeted me warmly. The nation is bordered by Angola to the north, South Africa to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Botswana to the east. A panhandle in the country’s northeastern corner, called the Caprivi Strip, stretches toward Zambia and Zimbabwe. To read more on this story, click here:The Deserts of Namibia: Life and Photography on Nature's Terms
Photographing wildlife in Namibia isn’t easy. It’s fraught with challenges, hardships, setbacks and stress. But the southern African nation’s peaceful landscapes, majestic animals and kindhearted people always make it worth the trouble. A recent two-week trip to Namibia, my third, was plagued by an unending series of mishaps, but it left me with a mountain’s worth of memories and thousands of photographs. When things weren’t going well, I couldn’t help but think of how much easier life is back home in New York. Now that I’ve returned, I can’t help but think about the photographic opportunities that abound in the harsh but beautiful deserts of Namibia. Among the nations of sub-Saharan Africa, Namibia is visited less often by Americans than countries such as South Africa, Kenya and Tanzania. Namibians are more accustomed to travelers from Germany, France, Britain or Belgium and were slightly surprised to learn I had come from the United States. But they always greeted me warmly. The nation is bordered by Angola to the north, South Africa to the south, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Botswana to the east. A panhandle in the country’s northeastern corner, called the Caprivi Strip, stretches toward Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Deserts of Namibia:Life and Photography on Nature's Terms
