During a family vacation in the Alaska fjords, Nathalie met famed wildlife photographer David Shaw. David was intrigued by Nathalie’s commercial photography experience, and she was impressed by his wildlife photography adventures. The two stayed in touch and mentored each other regarding their different camera specialties.

One year later, David reached out to Nathalie to co-lead a photo camp in Brooks Range inside the Arctic Circle. He wanted Nathalie to provide her sports action and commercial prowess to the participants, some of whom were professional photographers for USA Today and sponsored by Tamron. Not only did Nathalie teach two workshops on lighting and action shots, she was also an important teammate for the intense trek along Dalton Highway.

Within an hour of the journey, the team’s Sprinter Van window shattered from rockfall and the group jerry-rigged the pane with cardboard and duct tape. Five hours later, they made it to their destination of Wiseman, Alaska where they doubled the town’s population from 12 to 22 for the week. Although the team dealt with unexpected weather, Nathalie went with the flow and used her enthusiasm, charisma, and knowledge to make the trip worthwhile for the photo camp’s attendees.