The Green Scene: Erik Nugshots
Cannabis photography is a rapidly burgeoning art form that has lured thousands of people into a creative outlet. Some of those who photograph cannabis have been lucky enough to make a name and a living for themselves. One of the most prolific, innovative weed photographers is Erik Christiansen also known as Erik Nugshots.
How It All Began
Ever since a young child Erik had a camera in his hand out looking for interesting visuals and stories to tell. It all started when his father took him out to a bmx track and taught him how to properly expose a photo. Once Erik reached 6th grade he got his first digital camera and began shooting for his school paper. Over the years he began to photograph anything that caught his interest. Eventually he came across macro photography and quickly realized how versatile it was for shooting pictures of cannabis. From then on, he began to grow his skills as a photographer focusing on creating striking content that would show off the beauty of marijuana. In 2009 Erik made his first cannabis photo set up out of a cardboard box and a magnifying glass. As the years passed by he upgraded his equipment much of which he still uses today. During his career as a professional photographer Erik Nugshots has created some of the most stunning cannabis images in the world which have in turn inspired thousands of people to begin photographing weed, including myself.
Ground Breaking Work
Whenever Nugshots is taking a photograph he always strives to push the limits of what he can create. Erik is always experimenting with new techniques and styles which has made him incredibly talented and versatile in his craft. His endeavors with cannabis are no exception to his innovative way of working. Many of the photos Nugshots has taken are the most detailed and clear images people have even seen of cannabis. He has captured mutations and aspects of the plant that are completely invisible to the human eye, yet are crucial to understanding the what goes on behind the scenes. Several years ago Nugshots videoed himself popping trichomes capturing what may be the first footage of that sort of plant degradation. These kind of visuals are difficult to capture and often more difficult to conceptualize. Erik is not only an astonishingly technical photographer but he is also extremely creative. He has continuously broken the boundaries of what people thought possible when it comes to documenting cannabis plants. Several of his concepts have reverberated throughout cannabis media including 360 degree rotating cola videos, image refractions, and so much more. His photos and videos are often comprised of hundreds if not thousands of photos stitched together to achieve maximum clarity and depth of field.
A Passion for the Craft
While Nugshots has been able to make a living from his art he is obviously driven by something beyond a monetary payout. When I spoke to Erik for this article he told me that he hopes his work invokes inquiry about what goes on beyond the human eye. His ideas come from curiosity and playing around with plants behind the camera. I’m told it took a very long time to accumulate all of the different knowledge that contributes to Erik’s incredible photos, but he added, “I collect photographic skills… then combine them to make truly powerful content.” Going forward Nugshots has no intentions of slowing down. He has tons of exciting ideas for new content and hopes to one day have a grow built specifically to document the process. Make sure to follow him on instagram to keep up with the amazing content that Nugshots continues to create.
See more incredible pictures from Erik Nugshots below.
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