G'Day Everybody!

This is the part of the website where we tell you a little about us.

Fireflight Photo is basically a family of four; my wife and I and our two dogs. In case you were wondering, 'yes' the dogs have participated in most of our photographic trips (at least all the Northeast US ones).

The into title may have you wondering if there is an Australian in that party of four. Yes there is, that would be me and you would be right on the money.

We are, Robert Andersen (that's me) and my better half who is also my partner in life, Mila Andersen. The two dogs are Lakota (Siberian Husky) and Maxi (Keeshond).

I was originally born in Denmark but immigrated to Australia when I was nine years old. My wife Mila is from Bulgaria and currently we both reside and work in the USA.

Mila always had a deep interest in photography and before we even met used to e-mail me samples of her creative talent. I have always had an interest but in more of a point and shoot manner, which was nowhere near the same level as that of Mila.

Anyways, it all started quite innocently a few years back. She needed (lol, wanted) a new camera setup, so we took a day trip to Hunts Photo & Video in Melrose near Boston. A couple thousand dollars later (ouch!) and a whole new Nikon F5 slide film setup which included a couple of brand new Nikon lenses and we were ready to rock and roll. Mila got me involved and before you know it, I was hooked. Now we do everything photography as a couple and it is truly a joint venture.

It wasn't long before some of the initial lenses we bought were not up to Mila's standard, so off to Hunts again (ouch again!). We eventually ventured into the digital arena with the purchase of a Nikon D70. We wanted to buy the Nikon D1X, but Mila really wanted to wait for the D2X. So for a while the Nikon D70 filled the void until the D2X was made available.

A lot of 'ouches' and a few years later we have put together a respectable equipment list, there is a section of the website called 'Equipment' dedicated to what we use.

Currently we use a mix of Nikon D4 and D800, with the D4 being the main camera we use. The D4 is a stunning technical achievement and the best camera Nikon has produced, we absolutely love it.

A long time ago we moved away from the slide film camera and turned digital. The reality is, we really prefer the digital camera gear over the slide setup.

We try to get animals in their own environment and try not to intrude on their space. We have found that we do much better if we let the animals come to us. I have to admit on rare occasions we have messed up and been too close, but we do try to ensure that is a rarity.

Our dogs participate in most of our trips and together we have many weekends lost in the world of photography and nature. That is such a beautiful thing as at one time our weekends were spent in front of computers being total geeks.

We love what photography has brought to us, the experiences and adventures good or bad. It consumes most of our spare time when we are not stuck at work. It is a nice change from our previous lifestyle where we didn't really venture out into nature that much.

Now I just stay in front of the computer to maintain, update and improve the website. We also use the computers to process our photos and create digital artwork.

Mila is the main person prepping photos for print and printing and she is also the printing guru in our household. The printers are her toys and she is an expert on printing on the many various mediums we use.

We hope this gives you some insight into who we are and what is is we do. If the light is on so to speak, you are always welcome to drop by and say hello.

Now if we were in Australia, I would say "bring a slab of beer and we'll sit back and finish off a couple of cold ones"

Regards

Robert and Mila

A NOTE ABOUT CAPTIVE versus WILD & FREE ANIMAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Our Galleries do contain some captive or controlled shoot animal photography, which is from an era where we first started out and were still learning. We were extremely excited to be able to get close to these magnificant animals and will always cherish those moments. We don't see anything wrong with having these types of photos as long as it is openly disclosed. The main areas of the site which contain controlled shoot images are the wild cats section and wolves. Since those early years we have come a long way and now try to capture truely wild and free animals. We enjoyed our photography sessions with the likes of game preserves and game farms.

The photos we got from there still serve a purpose, they were wonderful experiences when we took them, however now we prefer to get in the field and get the real deal. Most of the images of the big cats are controlled or semi - captive.

 

 

Regards

Robert and Mila