Rolf Nussbaumer discovered his love of photography at age 17. He was born and raised in northeastern Switzerland. In 2003, after marrying a Texan, he moved to central Texas and is now working as a full-time photographer. He enjoys photographing nature, and is focusing primarily on mammals, birds, landscapes and flowers. Nussbaumer’s personal mission is to help his viewers experience nature through his photography. Growing up, he spent much time outdoors with his brother. They loved going on nature hikes and that’s when Nussbaumer learned as much as he could about his native surroundings: about habitat, bird calls, tracks, flora and fauna, etc. He was fascinated and soon he began photographing butterflies with an aim of trying to capture some of this natural beauty. Nussbaumer’s passion then spread to other subjects, more so the birds.
Wherever he goes, he researches the native life first, and he says that’s the best nature photo tip he can offer to upcoming photographers. He adds that a more direct photo tip is to keep their background clean to help draw focus on their main subject unless the background adds to their image. Knowing his photo subjects provides viewers with insight on their behavior. What he studies about communities includes habitat, diet, mating rituals, calls and migration patterns. Nussbaumer emphasizes that he prefers to photograph birds because they come in so many different sizes, shapes and colors. Another reason is that birds can be found virtually everywhere in the world. His photographs have appeared in numerous magazines.
