David FitzSimmons didn’t take any of the usual routes to becoming a full-time pro. The Belleville, Ohio-based freelance photographer and writer earned a Ph.D. in English from Ohio State University, specializing in narrative theory, before going on to become an award-winning photographer of nature and wildlife. Studying how short stories and novels work changed the way he approached picture taking. “My insights into the ways that stories are told influence my picture-taking. I utilize visual techniques, similar to many rhetorical devices such as symbol, contrast, irony, and timing, to make my images vehicles for storytelling.”
It turns out that virtually all the concepts in narrative theory are portable to photography. FitzSimmons explains, “How I create my images, teach audiences how to compose photographs, and read other people’s work is based on my rhetorical approach—and remember that the true definition of rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the capability of writers and speakers to inform, persuade, and motivate. These ideas have everything to do with photography as artistic expression. That’s why, when I look at a photograph, I always ask, ‘What is the creator of this work trying to tell me?’”
David is a life-long educator. He taught for over 20 years, first as a high school English teacher and then as a professor at Ashland University. And he is still teaching, presenting photography seminars and workshops to a wide variety of audiences, including public schools, colleges and universities, photography groups and civic organizations.
FitzSimmons has long-favored Sigma cameras and lenses for executing his professional work, and he’s currently one of nine Sigma Pro photographers in North America. He shoots with a Sigma SD1 Merrill, a Nikon D800E, and a Sigma DP2 Quattro, plus an extensive arsenal of Sigma lenses in Sigma and Nikon mounts. These include Sigma 10-20mm, 24-105mm 70-200mm and 150-600mm zooms, 105mm, 150mm, and 180mm macros, and 20mm and 500mm prime lenses. His main tripod is a Gitzo GT2541EX fitted with a GH2780QD Ball Head.
“My goal is to capture the essence and beauty of the natural world through expressive, engaging, and aesthetically pleasing images,” notes FitzSimmons. “Take, for example, my Curious Critters books. I believe they help connect viewers, especially young people, to the amazing natural world around us.”
FitzSimmons began taking pictures in elementary school, learning on a modest American-made Argus C3 film camera. He had the good fortune to have parents who loved the outdoors. His family traveled all across the U.S., sometimes for a month at a time, camping out in numerous national parks. “I learned to appreciate the beauty of the world very early,” he says, “and I figured out how to capture images of this majesty as quickly as possible!”
FitzSimmons turned pro when he realized two things. The first was that he had the talent to compete on a national level. The second was that through photography people can provide a meaningful lifestyle for a family.”
FitzSimmons mentions several photographic mentors. Three who provided encouragement, guidance and inspiration were John Shaw, George Lepp, and Tim Fitzharris. In addition, he considers Sigma Pro Director Dave Metz another important figure in his life. He says that the industry veteran teaches him a lot about the business side of things. “When Dave Metz talks marketing, I’m all ears!”
Like most photographers, FitzSimmons does not like to be typecast; he does, however, think it is fair to say that most of his professional work falls into three areas—landscape, wildlife, and macro, with much of this carrying over into the children and nature movement. The most successful endeavor to-date has been his work with macro/wildlife subjects using white backgrounds, the Curious Critters series.
“My Curious Critters series actually began as an ad campaign, but my lifelong interest in animals began as a boy. I was raised by two educators devoted to teaching me about nature. My Dad ran an outdoor education program, and my Mom utilized science and children’s literature in her elementary school classrooms.” For many years, FitzSimmons attended children’s literature conferences with his mother. He says, “Our house was filled with books and books, as well as snakes, turtles, lizards, salamanders, birds, and many other forms of wildlife!”
“My style, as seen in the stand-alone nature and wildlife images in this portfolio, as well as the Curious Critters work, is all about connecting viewers with subjects,” FitzSimmons asserts. Unlike documentary or scientific photography that tries to depict scientific concepts, FitzSimmons is more interested in sharing aspects of subjects that will appeal to viewers’ emotions. “I want people to laugh, gasp, smile, or simply stand in awe. Capturing the spectacular plumage of an egret or the pensive pose of tree frog is what I’m looking for. These types of images connect people with nature in magical deep-rooted ways.
In his work intended for children, FitzSimmons is all about connecting children with the natural world. Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, coined the term “nature deficit disorder.” That is when people suffer when not being sufficiently in touch with their natural surroundings—plants, animals, mushrooms, rocks, and so on.
Without a doubt, FitzSimmons work is a salve for the symptoms Louv describes. The Ohio-based photographer’s fine art images help viewers of all ages become more in tune with nature.
David FitzSimmons work has been exhibited at the famed Roger Tory Peterson Institute, the National Center For Nature Photography, and the Telluride Photo Festival, among other venues. His work has been featured in leading photographic publications, including Popular Photography, Shutterbug, Outdoor Photographer, and Professional Photographer, and his books include Curious Critters, Curious Critters Volume Two, and Curious Critters Marine, which reveal the glories of the natural world to countless young readers and have garnered 9 national book awards. His latest children’s title, Salamander Dance (Spring 2016), is a picture book exploring the life cycle of spotted salamanders and their ephemeral vernal pools.
To learn more about David FitzSimmons and see more of his work, please go to:
www.fitzsimmonsphotography.com
http://www.sigmaphoto.com/sigma-lounge/meet-the-pros
