Q&A WITH TIM ERNST
Nature photographer, guidebook author, book publisher
Q: How long have you lived in Arkansas?
A: I was born in Fayetteville, moved to Newton County 21 years ago and am a lifelong Arkansas resident.
Q: What got you interested in photography?
A: Girls. I was 19 and bored in college and started a sorority-party photography business. Five years later (40 years ago), I sold the party photography business and became a full-time nature photographer.
Q: What is a typical “day at the office” for you?
A: About 80 to 90 percent of my job is sitting at the computer doing paperwork just like everyone else. My photo “office” is the great outdoors, and there is no typical day. What I do each day kinda depends on the weather and light conditions, and especially what project I’m working on. I don’t get paid a cent to go out and take pictures. In fact, I don’t get paid anything unless someone buys a book or orders a print. I’m in “waterfall hunting” mode right now, and here’s what my daily routine has been for the past three weeks (we’ve had great water levels for about 20 days in a row). Get up at 4 a.m., get some paperwork done, then pack my van and drive off into the darkness, slurping a giant smoothie. I drive a couple of hours and park someplace, then spend the next eight to 10 hours “bushwhacking” through the jungle forest (no trail) in search of waterfalls to document (take pictures of, measure the height of, record distances and directions to locate each waterfall — all info that will end up in a guidebook). Toward dark, I hike back to the vehicle and drive home. Often I don’t get to eat lunch until 3 or 4 p.m.; then it’s just a smashed turkey wrap as I hike. There is never enough time in the woods for me, so I don’t take a lunch break — I keep hiking. Once back home, I spend a couple of hours doing paperwork, downloading and backing up the photos I’ve taken during the day, then more paper/ computer work. I typically work nonstop from 4 to 5 a.m. until midnight each day, seven days a week, when I’m doing a project like I am now.
Q: What makes Arkansas a great place to explore?
A: Arkansas has a wide diversity of wild landscapes and a lot of what I call intimate detail. You don’t have to have a 50-mile grand view — there are thousands of views right in front of you. Also, in the general scheme of things, Arkansas is still relatively undiscovered by the masses. Sure, we have some crowded trailheads, but 99 percent of our backcountry remains wild most of the time. An example — I’ve spent nearly 100 days in the woods so far in 2019, and other than during my photo workshops, I’ve not seen another person in the woods other than a hiking buddy of mine. And there is great beauty here all year long. Winter is often just as beautiful as spring or fall, so Arkansas is a multiseasonal outdoor playground.
Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching photography?
A: It is so great to work with students who think they don’t know how to take pictures (most folks feel like this). Then at the end of the day, they produce a worldclass print and are stunned at themselves. Nature photography is really very easy. You just need to know a few simple basics and be there at the right time.
Q: What are some of your favorite easyto-get-to waterfalls for first-time explorers?
A: Falling Water Falls, Six-Finger Falls, Triple Falls at Camp Orr, Cossatot Falls, Natural Dam, Blanchard Springs and
Mirror Lake Falls, Cedar Falls, Eden Falls. I’m working on a new waterfall guidebook that will be out in the next year or so titled Arkansas Easy Waterfalls. There will be 100 easy waterfalls in that guide.
Q: What is the most essential piece of gear for someone looking to explore Arkansas’ outdoors?
A: A guidebook, of course. We sell ours at nearly 200 retail outlets in the region — including bookstores, outdoor stores, park visitor centers and offices — or order direct from us at www.timernst.com, and you can get them autographed and personalized if you let us know.
Q: What are some challenges of getting great photos?
A: Beautiful light is the most difficult thing to find. You can’t control it or call it up on demand. You have to simply spend a lot of time seeking it out and be ready when it appears. Wind can be a problem and is also something you can’t control. A
great deal of my life has been spent just sitting or standing and waiting for the wind to stop — sometimes even a tiny breeze can mess up a reflection or cause a tiny wildflower to move and blur the picture. I once stood with my finger on the shutterrelease cord for four hours waiting for the breeze to stop. It did, for 20 seconds, and I got the picture! It takes a lot of patience, grasshopper.
Q: What are your goals for the future?
A: One goal is to sell every book in our warehouse. We currently have 16 books in print, with several more due out this year and next year, so we have tens of thousands of books on hand at all times. My wife and I are the publishers, warehouse, sales team, order takers, shipping department and floor sweepers. I have two new picture-book projects and five more guidebooks I’d like to get done before I retire. Oh yes, I would like to retire some day, but I’m not sure how we could do that.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: Social media is filled with complaints about there being too many people on some trails. That’s true — some places are very popular, especially the easy ones, in the middle of the day and on weekends. But in general, our trails are not nearly as crowded as elsewhere in the country. They should hike in Colorado or in the Smokies to see real crowds, my goodness! My advice is to be at the trailhead at first light. Don’t sleep in and arrive when the peak crowds do. Get up and get out. Early morning in Arkansas is the most magical time of day anyway. And if you can, take your vacation right here in Arkansas, and go explore during the week, not always on a weekend. You will discover not only much-less-crowded places, but probably more of your soul, too, and you’ll have more fun.