I was lucky enough to grow up in a family of professional photographers. I learned good composition and lighting earlier than I can remember just from growing up in a photography studio. At fifteen I aspired to be a great photojournalist someday. My heroes were early photojournalists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Cappa. But I believe it was seeing my first Ansel Adams show that really hooked me, along with introducing me to the beauty of the wild American West.
I received a full-tuition scholarship at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh based my portfolio of work. While attending school I apprenticed with local Associated Press shooters. I stayed on as a full-time stringer with the AP in 1995 photographing professional sporting events, national news stories, and features.
During a trip to Olympia, WA my attention unexpectedly turned towards nature, specifically birds. I spent the next decade as a roaming wildlife biologist working for HawkWatch Int, Pronatura, Hawks Aloft, USFS, WDFW, DNR, the University of Washington, along with many other organizations. I’ve had so many great experiences traveling and working all over the Western U.S. and in Mexico studying raptors, seabirds, whales, and forest and prairie ecology. I climbed old-growth trees on the Olympic Peninsula, surveyed the New Mexico desert from a high-winged Cessna, rafted the Grand Canyon surveying for Peregrine Falcons, and counted the world’s largest migration of birds of prey in Veracruz, Mexico.
During that time as a biologist I took very few pictures. For a few years I didn’t even carry a camera at all. I believe this was the best thing I could have ever done to become the photographer I am today. Occasionally I freelanced for newspapers and magazines during these years. However, I didn’t fully step back into the realm of photography till 2006 after starting a family. Since returning to the camera, I’ve been going non-stop with the same kind of excitement and learning curve I experienced early on with the camera.
I finally did return to school at Evergreen State College where I earned a B.A. Now I'm married with two beautiful boys and an old dog. Currently I'm running my business, shooting for the Washington State Senate during legislative sessions, providing photography for Saint Martin’s University, and freelancing for magazines and newspapers.
I received a full-tuition scholarship at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh based my portfolio of work. While attending school I apprenticed with local Associated Press shooters. I stayed on as a full-time stringer with the AP in 1995 photographing professional sporting events, national news stories, and features.
During a trip to Olympia, WA my attention unexpectedly turned towards nature, specifically birds. I spent the next decade as a roaming wildlife biologist working for HawkWatch Int, Pronatura, Hawks Aloft, USFS, WDFW, DNR, the University of Washington, along with many other organizations. I’ve had so many great experiences traveling and working all over the Western U.S. and in Mexico studying raptors, seabirds, whales, and forest and prairie ecology. I climbed old-growth trees on the Olympic Peninsula, surveyed the New Mexico desert from a high-winged Cessna, rafted the Grand Canyon surveying for Peregrine Falcons, and counted the world’s largest migration of birds of prey in Veracruz, Mexico.
During that time as a biologist I took very few pictures. For a few years I didn’t even carry a camera at all. I believe this was the best thing I could have ever done to become the photographer I am today. Occasionally I freelanced for newspapers and magazines during these years. However, I didn’t fully step back into the realm of photography till 2006 after starting a family. Since returning to the camera, I’ve been going non-stop with the same kind of excitement and learning curve I experienced early on with the camera.
I finally did return to school at Evergreen State College where I earned a B.A. Now I'm married with two beautiful boys and an old dog. Currently I'm running my business, shooting for the Washington State Senate during legislative sessions, providing photography for Saint Martin’s University, and freelancing for magazines and newspapers.
© Aaron Barna Photography