The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON -- While the idiomatic silver lining in the cloud isn't always immediately evident, Nick Page is testament to the fact that a bit of effort and the right attitude can make the difference between darkness and light. While bedridden for seven weeks with a herniated disc, Page chose to focus his energies on learning a new skill -- one that has resulted in a burgeoning photography business.

Page grew up in Dayton and graduated from Dayton High School before spreading his wings to experience life in Spokane, Illinois, southern California, Portland and Seattle. But hometown roots run deep and Page returned to Dayton in 2005 where he is now raising his three-year-old son, Zane. Page has worked for the Columbia County Parks and Recre­ation Department since 2007, as the Facilities Assistant for the golf course and fairgrounds.

In 2010, Page ruptured a disc in his back while lifting a heavy gate and underwent surgery that November. At that time, he bulged the disc above the one that was repaired. Two years later, in August 2012, the second disc began to infringe upon his spinal cord and Page was bedridden while awaiting a second surgery. The discectomy/laminectomy surgery, in which the herniated disc would be removed along with a por­tion of the vertebral bone, was scheduled for late September.

"As I lay in bed, I felt I needed something to occupy my mind for the present and to fill the void left by music for the future," said Page. "I've always been a musician, playing in bands and shows. But with my performing days behind me, I knew I needed a new creative outlet."

Page, who owned only a typical point-and-shoot camera at the time, decided that pho­tography and videography seemed like a good outlet. "It was something that I didn't need to rely on other people to make work and something I suspected I would really enjoy," said Page. It would be three months before he would purchase his first DSLR; the relatively simple Canon T3i he still uses today, though he's added an assort­ment of lenses and lighting equipment.

While bedridden, Page gave himself a crash course in photography by watch­ing one photography video after another. At the time, he watched videos from many content providers but now prefers www.lynda.com, a fee-based website with hundreds of photography training videos, as well as video courses on software, business and other creative fields.

Page admits a characteristic obsessiveness in his interests may play a key role in his success. "I tend to live and breathe whatever my current endeavor is. I'm a firm believer in the notion that talent is a myth. With the right passion, effort and practice, anyone can do the things they set out to do unless physical limitations get in the way."

'Talent' or no, Page's photos didn't take long to get noticed. With social media and word-of-mouth as his only means of visibility, Page has achieved a level of local noto­riety and finds himself busy with his "hobby" nearly every night and weekend.

"On a busy week, I might have as much as three family shoots, a wedding and a senior portrait," said Page. "During a typical wedding I will take something like 1,200 pictures. Then, if I get a weekend where I don't have many book­ings, I am likely dragging my son out to do some landscape photography. Every hour of photography I shoot can equal another hour or more of editing on the computer. Suffice it to say, I spend a lot of late nights, staring bleary-eyed at my computer monitor."

Page is most drawn to what he calls epic or dramatic land­scapes and special, noteworthy moments. "I guess I have two separate photographers in me," he said. "One side loves to try and capture the drama of nature - a beautiful Milky Way sky, old beautiful and forgotten structures, etc. - and the other en­joys photographing interesting people and attempting to tell a piece of their story in a single, captured moment."

Initially drawn to land- scape photography, Page ad- mits his work is sometimes more about how he wishes something was rather than how it really is. "Today's software gives us the ability to put our own spin, flavor and touch on reality. For a control freak like me, that's awesome! I also really like it when I can make people look at something they've seen a hundred times before, in a fresh new way."

While most photographers narrow their personal style to help them stand out in the market, Page has found that, in Dayton's small market, being as versatile and well-rounded as possible helps him to be more useful to more people and also helps him grow as a photographer.

"I have been doing por- traits and weddings for about eight months now and while it is certainly more challenging, it is also more reward- ing. Often, I am capturing photos that will be on a fam- ily's wall for years to come, or getting pictures of little Johnny at the tender age of three or capturing the mar- riage of a young couple just starting their life together," said Page. "I develop rela- tionships with the people I photograph that last long beyond our little photo shoot together."

Page's penchant for "in- teresting people and inter- esting stories" resulted in some unexpected notoriety last month when he noticed a family that was "living on a bus that looked like it had come straight from 1969." Page jumped at the chance to photograph the family and hear the story of their nomadic life.

After posting photos of the family on Facebook, Page was contacted by a local woman who said the family had stolen her dog. About a week after that, he was contacted by a Med- ford, Ore. Sheriff's deputy looking for the family re- garding a custody issue. The following day, a YouTube video began to circulate on Facebook, showing one of the children being separated from the mother by a police officer who slapped the child on the forehead after being bit on the hand.

"It was just very crazy how this all played out, and before I knew it I was being interviewed by news chan- nels in Oregon because I had recently photographed the family and had seen how they had been living," said Page.

Palouse Falls

In spite of the unwanted attention Page remains in- terested in photojournalism and is excited to see what the future holds for his photographic journey. "The land- scape side of me is excited to travel to distant lands, the portrait photographer in me is excited to tell the stories of the people right here in our area that have amazing stories to tell," said Page.

"It's not too difficult to envision this becoming a full time endeavor, though I am supremely blessed to have two jobs I love," Page continued. "Not many people can say that. The level of security and stability my full-time job offers me would be a very hard thing for photography to deliver."

Nick uploads photos daily to Nick Page on Face- book and gladly accepts new "friends". Many of his landscape photos can be seen on his Nick Page Pho- tography page on Facebook. He can be contacted directly via Facebook message or emailed at nickpagephotography@gmail.com.