Featured Local Artist - July 2011

Nicholas Wray   The Making of a Photographer Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Nicholas Wray became an Eagle Scout at age 15, attended three colleges, and graduated in 2004 from Northern Kentucky University with a…

Nicholas Wray

 

The Making of a Photographer
by Nicholas WrayGrowing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, Nicholas Wray became an Eagle Scout at age 15, attended three colleges, and graduated in 2004 from Northern Kentucky University with a minor in Photography and a BA in Geography. He stumbled into his Photography minor only after unsuccessfully applying for graduation with his Geography degree, at which time he learned that without a minor he couldn’t graduate. So, he chose to pursue photography for fun—something that would ultimately change him for the rest of his life.

Over the course of the next year, Nicholas studied black and white photography—rolling and shooting hundreds of feet of Kodak black and white film and printing on thousands of sheets of RC and fiber paper—ending with a series on Laundromats and another series on Newport, Kentucky. nicholaswray.com T-shirtsAfter hours, when he wasn’t working one of his three jobs, Nicholas spent his nights shooting, developing film, or printing in the university darkroom. In addition to film, he also began learning processes that would eventually help him with digital photography.

Although he didn’t begin his formal education in photography until later in life, his initial exposure came at a young age through his grandmother’s Vivitar 110, which he pays homage to through his nicholaswray.com T-shirts (pictured at left). Eventually, he received his own version of the camera and began shooting.

 

If you will allow Nick to introduce himself:

 

 

 

Settling into Sacramento
Poncho - Nicholas WrayIn 2006, Nicholas, along with his dog Poncho, left the Midwest for Sacramento to work as a geographer for a local engineering company. During his time at the engineering firm, he neglected his passion for photography, shooting only for recreation. It wasn’t until being inspired by a wedding photographer friend that he rekindled his passion for creativity. Since then Nicholas has been eating, sleeping, and dreaming photography projects, both personal and professional.

Nicholas WrayAmidst shooting for clients in the design, construction, restaurant, bar, pub, lounge, fashion, and manufacturing industries he also finds time to make portraits for people and shoot weddings in Sacramento and the Bay Area. When he’s not swamped with commercial clients, he’s working on his latest personal projects, updating his blog, mentoring his graphic designer, and collaborating with peers at The Urban Hive, a local co-working space where he shares an office with owner Brandon Weber.

 

Community Involvement
Touting himself (rightfully) as the Sacramento urban photographer, Nicholas spends much of his time enveloped in the Sacramento community, whether at his office in The Urban Hive or out and about, shooting events and more.

Stitch Swap - Nicholas WrayOn top of the work he does for paying clients, Nicholas also finds the time to give back to his community through his photography. Recently, he donated his time to a local endeavor called the Stitch Swap to benefit WEAVE and has donated countless hours to a local non-profit called Be Change—an organization that has taken him all the way to Death Valley in the middle of the summer—to help impoverished children in Oak Park, CA.

 

Nicholas WrayInspiration
Nicholas grew up loving landscape photography and the work of Ansel Adams. Though he doesn’t pursue that style of photography professionally, he still has a great respect for the beautiful tones of those historic black and white prints. Nicholas finds inspiration in a few select commercial and fashion photographers but chooses not to dwell on what everybody else is doing. Instead, he focuses on his desire to be the best at what he does, striving for every shoot to be better than the last.

 

Urban Portrait Project - Nicholas WrayProjects
In November 2010, Nicholas launched his “Urban Portrait Project,” photographing and filming 30+ entrepreneurs in Sacramento. The first part of the project concluded with a three-month show at The Urban Hive with his friend, painter Jason Bove. Nicholas and Jason drew one of the largest crowds The Urban Hive has ever seen for a January 2nd Saturday after being featured in SN&R as a “do not miss” 2nd Saturday stop.

Since he began work on the Urban Portrait Project, Nicholas has been looking forward to a larger, more in-depth phase of the project called “The Sacramento 100 – An Urban Portrait Project” which will focus on approximately 100 influential people in the greater Sacramento area.

Death Grips - Nicholas Wray

To add to Nicholas’ already crazy life, he has been consistently shooting for Submerge Magazine, VHCLE Magazine, and has an upcoming show debuting at the Launch Festival on July 23 at The Greens Hotel. Pushing his limits by shooting food, fashion, and live shows Nicholas loves his work and applies his knowledge to anything he shoots.

 Coffee with Nick

 

 Connect in Real Life
Want to meet Nicholas in person? You can almost always catch him at his weekly social event dubbed “Coffee with Nick” for no other reason than to have coffee – details on Facebook.

 

 

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