We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Emma Bailey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Emma below.
Emma, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
My mission through photography is to locate and capture beautiful moments in nature that will inspire people to enjoy the outdoors and protect it. I want people to see the various creatures and plants that I find and inspire them to learn more about them. I also want to encourage people to slow down and observe nature more. It is so rewarding to witness and experience engagements in nature, whether it is between an animal and yourself or the sunlight dancing in the trees.
There is so much beauty in nature that is overlooked or destroyed due to our fast paced world. I hope that my photographs will encourage people to do what they can to protect our natural future from environmental disaster.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
My name is Emma Bailey and I am a nature photographer located in Annapolis, Maryland. I was raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on Kent Island, a small island located on the Chesapeake Bay. My passion for nature developed from growing up on an island full of nature and learning about the importance of that ecosystem. When I was younger, I would constantly watch animal planet and disappear for hours outside. I just couldn’t get enough of nature.
I have always been an artistic person. My dad is a graphic pop-artist and I grew up learning a lot from him. When I was a highschooler, my now husband, Cameron, gave me my first camera. I immediately took it outside to photograph flowers. Those pictures were pretty awful, but I was so excited and eager to improve. I went to Salisbury University and majored in graphic design, keeping my photography as a hobby. It wasn’t until my junior year that I started to improve a lot with photography and took as many photography classes as I could. My professor, Jeanne Anderton, was always very encouraging to me and pushed me every class to challenge myself. She offered a lot of wisdom, introduced me to the ideas of working as a professional photographer, and taught me all of the technical aspects of photography. I am thankful for everything she taught me.
Currently, I am a professional fine art photographer and freelance photographer. I also started a pet photography company, Pretty Poppy Pet Photography, two years ago, but that’s another story! I am working on getting my brand out there by selling art prints in stores and being involved in more art shows/galleries. I am hoping to share more of my artwork with people and to educate people about nature.
As a nature photographer, I am most proud of becoming a freelance photographer for the National Aquarium of Baltimore. It has been a great opportunity for me and I have learned a lot about myself. The opportunity with the National Aquarium gave me a big boost of confidence when I needed it the most and their recognition made me realize that I do have what it takes to be a professional nature photographer. They are very encouraging to me and I am thankful for them.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
When I was a young child, I used to collect nature magazines and cut the animals out of the pages. I would then gather all of those cutouts and make collages with them. I did this because I was worried that there would be a day where some of those animals would be extinct and that there would be no way of ever seeing them again. I had a ton of these collages hanging on my wall. I was fearful of a world with animal extinction and environmental disasters as a child. How awful is that? I don’t remember what influenced me, but I assume it was probably nature books and Animal Planet. I didn’t know what I was going to be when I grew up. All I knew was that I wanted to be an advocate for nature and inspire people to protect our planet. That has been my goal ever since I was a young child and it is still my goal to this day.
Have you ever had to pivot?
As I mentioned earlier, I went to college for art and graduated with a B.F.A. in graphic design in 2020. My first design related job was for a private club. I was so happy to be working, especially during covid. I worked at that job for 8 months and it was the worst, most toxic job I had ever experienced. I got depressed from the daily toxicity I experienced and felt trapped in a small office with small windows. I felt like I never saw the sun and I didn’t get to enjoy nature because I was constantly depressed and exhausted after work. I just wanted to curl up and cry all the time. I didn’t touch my camera for months.
I realized that the only thing that could get me out of this depression was to quit my job. I have never been a quitter at any point in my life, but I knew it was the best thing for my mental health. I wasn’t myself anymore and I no longer did the things that brought me joy. I put in my two weeks notice and felt so relieved. The next day I received an email regarding a job application at the National Aquarium that I applied to about 2 months prior and they wanted to interview me. I reread that email 3 times. This couldn’t be right? This long shot photography job I applied to actually wanted to interview me! It felt like a sign. I went through 3 rounds of interviews with the aquarium and I didn’t end up getting the job, but I still felt accomplished. I learned a lot in the interviews and made connections that led to me becoming a freelance photographer for them.
That pivot in my life from that toxic job made me so determined to make a living as a professional photographer. So many doors have started to open for me since then and I am working hard every day to make my photography career my only job.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emmamatheu.com/
- Instagram: ematheuphoto
- Facebook: Emma Matheu Photography
Image Credits
Emma Matheu