PETER JAMES COSKUN NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY Images of the wild
BIO & ARTIST STATEMENT
Peter photographing Cape Royal on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Photo ©Chikku Baiju
Photo © Bob Miller
BIO-
Born and raised in the hustle and bustle of the east coast suburbs of Philadelphia, Nature was something I was not quite familiar with as I am today. After spending brief time with the cub scouts as a child, I soon began to find the urge to be outside. While on a family "camping" trip I realized there is much to explore outside the doors of my home. It would not be until I had moved to Arizona with my family that I would find my calling. Moving at the age of 13 was difficult as I would imagine it would be for anyone. Leaving all my friends, family, and childhood behind. It was time to start over. I quickly became fixated on the desert landscape. Well before I picked up a camera, I would ride my bike through the desert with friends and just spend the daylight hours dispersed in nature. My junior year of high school, my life would change. I took a photography class which only used film cameras at the time. I learned how to develop film, enlarge for prints, and of course, the fundamentals of how a photograph is made. However, it wasn't until my first year of community college that I realized the potential I had with a camera in hand. I began photographing everything in sight. I wanted to see new places and explore new areas and document my travels. When I heard of a magazine called Arizona Highways, I was simply taken in by the amazing photography showcased on each page. It was the magazine that began to inspire me to focus on the wild places far from people and to find solitude. To this day, it is still my number one inspiration to keep taking photos. I have traveled countless miles through western United States, and I plan on traveling to new places in the future and capture the beauty of nature. There is nothing like being out in nature taking in a sunrise or a sunset with complete silence, or hearing elk bugle at dawn. That is where I find my solitude. I hope I can inspire each of you who view my photos to step outside and appreciate what nature has to offer.
Born and raised in the hustle and bustle of the east coast suburbs of Philadelphia, Nature was something I was not quite familiar with as I am today. After spending brief time with the cub scouts as a child, I soon began to find the urge to be outside. While on a family "camping" trip I realized there is much to explore outside the doors of my home. It would not be until I had moved to Arizona with my family that I would find my calling. Moving at the age of 13 was difficult as I would imagine it would be for anyone. Leaving all my friends, family, and childhood behind. It was time to start over. I quickly became fixated on the desert landscape. Well before I picked up a camera, I would ride my bike through the desert with friends and just spend the daylight hours dispersed in nature. My junior year of high school, my life would change. I took a photography class which only used film cameras at the time. I learned how to develop film, enlarge for prints, and of course, the fundamentals of how a photograph is made. However, it wasn't until my first year of community college that I realized the potential I had with a camera in hand. I began photographing everything in sight. I wanted to see new places and explore new areas and document my travels. When I heard of a magazine called Arizona Highways, I was simply taken in by the amazing photography showcased on each page. It was the magazine that began to inspire me to focus on the wild places far from people and to find solitude. To this day, it is still my number one inspiration to keep taking photos. I have traveled countless miles through western United States, and I plan on traveling to new places in the future and capture the beauty of nature. There is nothing like being out in nature taking in a sunrise or a sunset with complete silence, or hearing elk bugle at dawn. That is where I find my solitude. I hope I can inspire each of you who view my photos to step outside and appreciate what nature has to offer.
ARTIST STATEMENT-
My images are created using today's digital SLR's and top digital processing programs. Before I press the shutter I envision what the final result will look like and usually have a plan on what should be going on within the image. I try to express my feelings and excitement through my images as best as possible, whether it be an image with incredible color, or something that is black and white. My landscape images are not manipulated, but rather enhanced to give mood and best display what I saw with my eyes. I try to keep my processing minimal, but there are specific needs and requirements to create a compelling image. All of my wildlife images are of non captive truly wild animals. I do not bait or call in birds and other wildlife, but rather wait and observe their actions to understand them better. This is very helpful when explaining the situation, and often leads to a much more emotional and dramatic final image. With each image I capture, I try my best to keep everything that was there and also try to refrain from removing things from an image. Some of my landscape images may have a slight crop to enhance the composition. For my wildlife images, crops and cloning are used sparingly and only if it will give a much greater impact to the final image.
My images are created using today's digital SLR's and top digital processing programs. Before I press the shutter I envision what the final result will look like and usually have a plan on what should be going on within the image. I try to express my feelings and excitement through my images as best as possible, whether it be an image with incredible color, or something that is black and white. My landscape images are not manipulated, but rather enhanced to give mood and best display what I saw with my eyes. I try to keep my processing minimal, but there are specific needs and requirements to create a compelling image. All of my wildlife images are of non captive truly wild animals. I do not bait or call in birds and other wildlife, but rather wait and observe their actions to understand them better. This is very helpful when explaining the situation, and often leads to a much more emotional and dramatic final image. With each image I capture, I try my best to keep everything that was there and also try to refrain from removing things from an image. Some of my landscape images may have a slight crop to enhance the composition. For my wildlife images, crops and cloning are used sparingly and only if it will give a much greater impact to the final image.
