The name Talking Tree stemmed from a series of dreams I had in my late teens which prompted me to roam the hills whenever possible into the corners of God’s Imagination. Not too long after these eventful parts of my life took off, I purchased the domain TalkingTree.org and I’ve been the owner since 1999 when I started my first website using Frontpage which was the premiere program before the invention of Web 2.0, blogging, and WordPress. It was a site dedicated to those dreams, finding the truth, standing up for Indigenous human rights, and involved a lot of writing poetry & prose. After a decade my dominant medium has become photography which I combine with my writings.
My name is Nate Cowlishaw and I am the photographer and owner of Talking Tree Photo. My work is dedicated to the beauty of the American Southwest. I’ve spent a lot of time traveling through the colorful wastelands, mysterious canyons and alpine ranges of the American West. The more time I have spent further away from town, the quieter my life has become. The dreams I have for this land run strong and powerful. My life has been filled with this beauty and Talking Tree is the photographic interpretation of amazing places here on Mother Earth and what they give to my worldview. You’ll see a lot of rural decay in my work because it plays an important role in the vision. Most of the images involve some sort of human presence because I do not believe two-leggeds can be separated from the landscape; I don’t believe in the “pristine” wilderness espoused by environmental groups. The rhetoric makes it sound as if nobody lived in North America (Turtle Island) before Columbus landed. I believe in decolonizing my personal outlook and educating people about the truth.
I don’t think you need a college degree is be a good artist and photographer, but If you have those credentials and are a professor, you better dang well have a body of work so that your students can scrutinize you and judge you based on the skills that you’ve obtained. A large portfolio is required of a good artist whether they have a college degree or not. To me, the degree is just paper. Anyone can be a good photographer. My basic requirement is that you know the photographic essentials and love being a shutterbug.
I hope this site will be beneficial to you as I strive to make it permanent resource, both as a place for me to vent, write, and blog about the things that fascinate me, creatively. So stay tuned
.::People I would like to Meet::.
Most everybody; hermits, sheep herders, rock climbers, river runners, desert dwellers, outlaws, peacemakers, rebels, jackalope experts, activists, cowboys, photographers, artists, etc. I want to meet those with a genuine want to be themselves and of course, my better half! You can send messages, feedback, inquiries, invitations, spam, hate mail and love letters to Cowlishaw AT Gmail.com.
.::Current Camera Equipment::.
2x Sony A7R ♦ Sony Zeiss 55mm F1.8 ♦ Sony 28mm F2 ♦ Voigtander Heliar 15mm F4.5 III ♦ Tomioka-Porst 55mm F1.4 ♦ Helios 44-3 ♦ Helios 44m-4 ♦ Lensbaby Composer Pro with Sweet 35 Optic ♦ Mindshift Gear First Light 20L Camera Backpack ♦ 2012 Macbook Pro Unibody ♦ iPhone 6s Plus ♦ iPad Mini 4 ♦ Enlight App ♦ Creative Cloud – Lightroom & Photoshop ♦ Google Nik Collection
.::Pre-2016 – Gear List::.
Olympus OMD E-M5, Olympus Pen E-PM2♦ Panasonic GH2 ♦ Panasonic Lumix G1 ♦ Panasonic Lumix GF1 ♦ Nikon D40X ♦ Nikon D40 ♦ Sigma DP2 ♦ Sigma DP1s ♦ Sigma DP3 Merrill ♦ Panasonic Lumix 7-14mm f.4 ♦ Panasonic Lumix 20mm F1.7 ♦ Panasonic Lumix 45-200mm F4-5.6 ♦ Rokinon 7.5mm Fisheye ♦ Olympus 75mm F1.8 ♦ Porst 55mm F1.2 ♦ Revuenon 55mm F1.4 ♦ Tair 11A 135mm F2.8 ♦ Helios 44-2 58mm F2.8 ♦ Sigma 50-150mm F2.8 ♦ Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 ♦ Sigma 30mm F1.4 ♦ The Lensbaby Composer