I can trace my desire to capture moments on camera back to when I was a young child playing with my Matchbox cars. I would line them up and do photoshoots with them, and then put the photos in photos albums as records for them. The real significance of photography came when I saw my first dolphin at Sea World. As a kid growing up in New Mexico I had a fascinaton with dolphins. Snapping a photo with my new camera of that first dolphin I'd ever seen in person and coming home and getting it printed and framed to have it on my wall as a reminder of that experience made the camera a very special tool for me early on, and for that I am very thankful.

However, my true love for photography didn't surface until much later in life while watching friends taking photos on a trip. We were all taking photos of the same place, but their photos were much different than mine. Seeing their perspectives in their photos made me look and think about things much differently after that. I'm a self-taught photographer through the help of my partner, and over the past few years my passion and eye for photography has grown and evolved. I'm thankful for photography because it helps me express myself creatively and increases my desire to get out and explore the world.

/per'spektiv/ - It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see…

This is an interview I did to introduce myself at Gallery 6 which is a photography gallery started by my friend Scott Wilson (www.wilsonaxpe.com)

Tell us a little bit about your background? How did you wind up in Colorado.

A: I’m actually a Colorado native. I was born in Fort Collins, but I grew up in New Mexico. I moved to Denver in 1987, a couple of years after high school, and have been here ever since, except for a few years spent living in Boston. Growing up as a kid in New Mexico I wanted to be a marine biologist or a dolphin trainer, but instead I eventually ended up in the telecommunications industry which I’ve been in for the past 20+ years. My interest in photography developed on a trip to British Columbia in 2014 and has continued to grow. My partner, Stephen, got into photography around this same time and we learned together. He’s very technical and I’m very creative, and I’d like to think that we supported and complemented each other. I’ve become more technical and he’s become more creative and it’s certainly a great common interest and bond we share.

Where do you draw your inspiration from as an artist?

A: I have always needed or desired a creative outlet, but photography takes that to a whole new level for me. I have to first and foremost give credit to my mother who is a very artistic person herself, and I think I learned a lot from her and learned to appreciate art and the need for creativity. I think my artistic and creative inspiration for my photography comes from my friends Bobbi and Tim Hamill. I would travel with them and we’d be taking photos of the same place, but when I looked at their photos they were much different than mine. They focused on details, textures and patterns in larger things, while I was focusing on the scene at large. They had their cameras pointing downward, upward, or were right up next to something. Seeing their perspectives made me look at things differently going forward. It inspired my motto, if you will, which is “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Now when I go to an iconic location I’ll definitely take the iconic shot, but then I’ll step back and look for interesting details or viewpoints not commonly seen and I attribute that inspiration to Bobbi and Tim.

The modern photo world is dominated by virtual imagery - what’s the motivation to see your work hanging in a physical gallery?

A: The simple answer to me is that nothing beats seeing something physically in front of you, and galleries are great places to discover things you might not otherwise come across. I collect other people’s photography, and I’ve always purchased those photos after seeing them physically in a gallery space or in someone’s home. Experiencing a physical photograph allows you the take the time to fully appreciate it, something that doesn’t happen when you see an image while swiping through endless online feeds. Our house is filled with art, but most of it is three-dimensional. The photos we’d get printed and framed for shows would ultimately end up back at the house and we started to hang them on the walls and incorporate them with everything else. I recently bought a fine art photo printer, and now I’m printing photos almost daily because I enjoy the experience of sitting down and looking at a photo on paper in front of me. A physical gallery gives people the opportunity to come and look at photos in the same way, so when the opportunity came up to have my work in Gallery 6 it was almost a no-brainer for me.

 What was your first camera? What gear do you use today?

Since I was young I’ve had many different cameras including a Polaroid, a Kodak Disc camera, and various point-and-shoot cameras. The first camera I spent any money on was a Canon Powershot G2 for my studio photography that I take for my African art website photos. With a whopping 4 megapixels at the time it was exciting. I would travel with it as well, but I was always disappointed with my photos because the things I was taking photos of were always too far away for the camera. In 2014 I was going on a trip and I bought a mirrorless super-zoom bridge camera, and it is the camera that really got me hooked on photography. That super-zoom capability enabled me to capture the compositions as I desired. At the time I didn’t know much about editing or about image quality, but the camera did its thing and got me hooked. In 2017 I made the move into DSLR and got a Nikon D750 and a 28-300mm lens. At first I wasn’t all that excited about it and I would compare the zoom on the lens to my old super-zoom, but eventually the quality of the images captured won me over. The 28-300mm lens is a great versatile lens, and it’s still my favorite go-to lens. I upgraded to the Nikon D850 a few years ago and now use the D750 as my second body. I’ve added several lenses to my kit as well, so I’m covered for most situations now. I also got hooked on drone photography several years back, and right now I have a Mavic 2 Pro. I love getting out with my drone and seeing things from above.

What’s your favorite f-stop and why?

What’s an f-stop? I say that facetiously because out of laziness or habit I’d say I’m at f-8 most of the time because on my go-to lens that’s what is said to be the aperture it is sharpest at. I try to base it off the lens I’m using and what the sharpest f-stop is for that lens, and then adjust for whatever situation I’m in. When you’re first learning everything is presented in broad brush strokes. You need a really fast shutter speed for action or a really small aperture for lots of depth-of-field. But then, as you become more familiar with your gear, it starts to dawn on you that what you envision for your photograph determines what f-stop you should use. 

You’re involved in the Denver Art Museum’s “Art Lives Here” program - why are outreach programs like this so important for art and photography and the community?

A: Art Lives Here focuses mainly on engaging underserved elementary schools. It was important to me to facilitate bringing art to the schools instead of expecting the kids to come to the museum. It started out with bringing American Indian, African and Oceanic art from the museum to the schools and setting up temporary child-friendly displays. The program uses the installations to bring programming to life and present it in a safe and familiar environment. It provides lesson plans, artmaking supplies and workshops, and sparks intercultural dialogue and empathy, and seeks to build community through shared experience. The program has expanded exponentially since it began and has moved into community centers around the city. It is now getting geared up to bring a mobile workshop called the “Creative Caravan” out to schools which will be able to offer different art forms, like photography, to these kids and their schools. Getting kids exposed to, educated about, and interested in art of any form at this early age has been proven to be key in planting the seed that may grow later in life which produces adults who are more likely to gravitate towards creative endeavors like art and photography.

You have such a diverse portfolio - It’s hard to pigeon-hole you as a photographer - are there unexplored genres you still want to take on?

A: I’ve always struggled with a response when someone asks me what kind of photographer I am because I do a little bit of everything. If I had to name a genre I haven’t explored it would be underwater photography. It would be great to combine my love for the ocean and its inhabitants with my love for photography. One thing I can say for certain is that I’ll never venture into any kind of photography that involves people posing. That takes a special skill that I’m perfectly fine not having.

You’ve visited some extraordinary locations as a travel photographer, but you also must have experienced a few near misses - what’s been your top location and your worst calamity? What’s the best shot you missed out on?

A: It’s a hard question to answer, because many places have been fantastic for different reasons. I’d have to say that doing a two-week self-drive with a friend around Namibia might be the biggest adventure though, and for that reason it holds the top spot. I did all the planning, guiding and driving with the exception of one very remote excursion. It was easy to make changes on the fly and do whatever we wanted, and that can be pretty nice sometimes. Namibia has wildlife, culture, sand dunes, beautiful landscapes and a colorful abandoned diamond mining town with all the buildings taken over inside by sand from the nearby desert. What’s not to love about all of that?!?

As for the worst calamity… I’m knocking on wood because I really can’t think of one. I’ve been very lucky when I’ve traveled, and even in a situation like Namibia where lots could have gone wrong, it didn’t. But thinking about it, there was this one time I did fall off of a waterfall in Costa Rica and everyone thought I died. We were white-water rafting out of an eco-lodge near the Pacuare river only accessible by helicopter or white-water raft, and we stopped mid-way to hike up to some waterfalls and pools. The guide paused to wait for people and I stupidly I stepped out onto some rocks that were wet and ended up falling and slid down them towards the edge of the waterfall and then went over. Unfortunately I landed on rocks instead of in the water., Bbut luckily I had my helmet and life-vest on from white water rafting which saved me. The helmet had a big crack in it, but fortunately it wasn’t my head. I was bruised, but luckily no broken bones, and I was able to finish out the rest of the trip.

As for the best shot I missed out on…that’s a hard one as well. I’ve managed to get shots I’m happy with from everywhere I’ve been. I try to understand that if I’m only in a place for a limited amount of time I’m going to have to be ok with whatever conditions or situations I’m given, and the resulting photos. The one thing that comes to mind though is in Kolmanskop, the abandoned diamond mining town in Namibia. I managed to spend most of the day there, which is a lot more time than I anticipated I’d spend. There is one shot that most everyone gets there which is a door that is off its hinges and stuck in the sand back away from the door frame. It makes for a nice shot when you frame it through the doorways from a couple of rooms away. I looked and looked for this scene, and in the many hours I spent there I walked away with many other photos, but not that one. It’s a somewhat iconic shot from there, so not coming away with it was frustrating when it should have been easy to get.

What tips do you have for young photographers aspiring to follow in your gallery footsteps?

First and foremost, do photography for yourself and not for others. For me, and most photographers I know, photography isn’t their primary source of income, so my second piece of advice is to make sure you have a good career path lined up that supports you and lets you explore your photography passion.  

If people can’t make it to Denver for your opening on May 5th, what’s the best way to check out your work?

A: The best way to see my work right now is Instagram (@rand_ningali). I’m currently working on re-designing my photography website (www.rand.photography). It will be a good place to explore my portfolio soon, but it will have links to where you can find my work online.