Welcome to Of The Woods
Nico and Shannon at their home in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
Hi there! We are Shannon and Nico Dubois, the founders and photographers for Of The Woods Photography. Thank you so much for visiting our site, and taking the time to read about who we are, and what we hope that we can do for you.
We both have been practicing photography for most of our lives, both professionally and casually with accompanying degrees. It wasn’t until March 2019 before we finally photographed a wedding together, and knew immediately that it worked. Ever since, we have been setting the foundations for Of The Woods Photography, and are now deciding to go all in!
Both of our interests in photography stem from opportunities that we had growing up to take pictures. Shannon was always fascinated by the SLR camera her parents would use at family gatherings and hiking, while Nico’s parents supplied him with a steady stream of disposable cameras to play with. Having these opportunities helped us form early connections with visual creativity, and our passion grew steadily from there.
Shannon graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Biomedical Photographic Communications. Though this field has a strong emphasis on technology and scientific documentation, Shannon also studied portraiture, architect photography, and her favorite, nature photography. The main draw to photography for Shannon is the focus and attention on capturing a single event or object, which requires her to be fully present.
Shannon getting in close at Florida’s Everglades.
Nico went to the State University of New York at New Paltz to receive a B.S. in Photographic Arts and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology. Studying anthropology inspired in him a deeper curiosity about humans, and he enjoys using photography to evoke the connections between people, and their environments.
After college, having an excitement for the experience of life, we both spent a number of years hopping around the country in seasonal outdoor jobs. Beyond photography, we both see the world as a precious thing, and value a healthy relationship with it. With that, a similar passion for encouraging others to find value in nature, ended up leading us both to environmental education. Though we both continued to do photography part time, it was through environmental education that we first met each other and collaborated.
We both consider ourselves lifetime learners, and feel that there is some kind of correlation between those who like to learn and those who like to teach. For years, we thrived on guiding groups of youth through outdoor experiences, and have taken a lot of time to consider the importance of education and youth empowerment. Something that we expect to be a theme in our work.
Playing games with some high-schoolers in the Adirondack High Peaks.
Going out and taking pictures together has always been super easy from the beginning. We both get into a flow of focused observation, and thrive off of having two sets of senses to get the most out of whatever we’re trying to capture. Our styles and motivations are different in how we approach photography, so when we combine our images into a set, this diversity creates a more dynamic bigger picture.
This is not unlike how we seem to approach our vision as a team in the overall direction for Of The Woods Photography. Our interests and skill-sets overlap quite a bit, but we also have years of knowledge and experience in each other, that widens the scope of what might have been creatively possible for each of us individually.
So, what is Of The Woods Photography, and what do we hope that it will become?
Very simply, with Of The Wood Photography we hope to be a dedicated resource for a variety of photographic services that includes portrait sessions of any kind, event photography, and fine art nature prints. By 2021, we will be offering full elopement and small wedding packages with Shannon as a New Hampshire Justice of the Peace.
Echo Lake in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Long term, we hope to weave our way into the social fabric of New England, and situate ourselves as a reliable photographic resource that is unique and personal. Community is extremely important to what we do, and it has played a major part in determining where we find ourselves today. As we go through life, our networks and relationships continue to grow, and this process is incredibly important to us. We hope that we can support you in creating images of your valuable memories.
We also see strength in collaboration and communication, and see social media and our blog ‘Wanderings,’ as a place for us to share what we learn and experience as we live our life in the mountains, and stories from the incredible people we meet along the way.
Thank you so much again for sharing your time with us, and hopefully we’ll see you around!
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