Sometimes known as the Indiana Jones of Wildlife Photography – Michael ‘Nick’ Nichols is a superb and innovative National Geographic Photogher.

I’ve been taking pictures for close to 30 years, starting when I was 18. It started with my Photo 101 course in school, right before I got drafted in the Army. I had studied fine art, but the camera was more immediate, and I knew immediately that’s what I wanted to do.

Right after school, I got the draft notice. I was a hippie, so I was really ashamed of wearing the uniform. I was planning to go to Canada, but this was towards the end of the war. So instead of leaving I decided to give an extra year to the Army so I could be a photographer instead of wasting my time in the infantry.

In that time I learned how to print black and white, and got to use equipment that I couldn’t afford. One of the things those guys used to say was “f/8 and be there.” Because they never used a light meter and, as far as I could tell, they didn’t care about quality. But I liked the concept of not depending on the technology so much and using your instincts.

From: Nick’s Take On..How did you get started?

He is one of the pioneers of ‘Camera traps‘ and has stunning pictures of wildlife around the world.

If you want some interesting stuff I recommend checking out Nick’s Take On..Recommended Reading and his complete list of articles is here.

His gear used is here, he uses Canon, Nikon and Leica.

Submit a favorite photo of your own on any topic of your choosing for possible publication in an upcoming issue of National Geographic. Selections will appear in both the print and online magazines.

Before you begin the submission process, please make sure your photograph meets the following requirements:

* JPG or JPEG file format (ex. YourImage.jpg or YourImage.jpeg)
* At least 1,600 pixels wide (if a horizontal image) or 1,600 pixels tall (if a vertical image)
* Total file size must be under 2 megabytes (MB) (2048 kilobytes [KB])

Entering is easy! The rules for entry can be found here.

National Geographic invites interested parties to submit a digital photograph for possible publication in National Geographic magazine and on ngm.com. To submit a photograph on a topic of your choosing for possible publication in an upcoming issue of National Geographic, click Submit Your Photo and follow the step-by-step directions on that page. We will accept submissions beginning on the 15th of every month. No more than 5,000 submissions will be accepted per submission period. Limit one photograph submission per person. One or two images will be published in the print magazine and an additional three images will be chosen for publication online. You must be 18 years of age or older to submit a photograph.

You can submit your photography to Natgeo here:

Your Shot Entry Submission

FAQ is here.