Hi, I’m Nimisha!
I’m an adventure + travel photographer based in the Pacific NorthWest focused on bringing more diverse stories to the outdoors space. Growing up as a South Asian immigrant in the US and Canada, there was never much representation for me to identify with. Whether it was the film or outdoor industry, there was a lack of stories that resembled anything like me. This sparked me to pick up my camera and tell the stories I wanted to see in the world.
I’m dedicated to being an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), sustainability, and sharing stories for communities that grew up without representation.
Keep reading to learn more about my story
My Story
My love for the outdoors started with the stories my parents told me about their home country, Fiji. Before I was born, they migrated to Canada to provide a better life for my sister and me. The Indian diaspora migrated all over the world and from a young age and my family was privileged enough to travel to visit my grandparents and cousins in Australia and New Zealand. And thus a love for travel was born.
Growing up, I listened to countless stories about my parents’ life back in Fiji. Every story was about climbing mango trees, drinking from fresh coconuts, and an ocean with water so blue you’d have to see it with your own eyes to believe it. But the outdoorsy lifestyle they talked about in their youth was far from what we experienced growing up. After moving to the US, our connection to outdoor spaces began with smaller family trips to see everything California had to offer.
Looking through photos of my dad’s travels in India and life back in Fiji, I fell in love with the world through his photographs. I picked up my first camera at 14 and couldn’t stop shooting our family trips. I wondered what life would be like if I could travel and take photos for a living, but being in a typical Indian immigrant family, I focused on my education, which meant that creative pursuits were pushed to be side hobbies forever.
I didn’t have many people to look up to who were pursuing travel, so the idea of being a photographer slowly faded from my mind. Travel and photography became hobbies, and my love for animated movies led me to pursue a career in the Animation & Visual Effects industry.
While working full-time managing animated films, I began hiking nearby trails and fell in love with seeing more of the world and capturing these moments. I became the typical weekend warrior who spent all their vacation days planning trips to National parks in the US, the Canadian Rockies and traveling internationally. I borrowed outdoor gear from friends, started backpacking to special places with my camera gear, and slowly built a travel portfolio. There were brief moments on the trail where I thought about what it would be like to pursue photography as a career but again I found myself pushing these thoughts to the side.
While working with a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiative during my day job, I was conflicted about how to express my concerns for inclusive storytelling in film and the outdoors. As the issues of representation (or lack thereof) continued in the film industry, I saw the same issues within the outdoor space.
The cost to participate in outdoor activities was high for a newbie like myself. Camping and backpacking gear isn’t cheap. Plus, there’s the added cost of camera equipment. There weren’t many stories being shared about people who looked like me. Nor were there many womxn photographers in yet another male-dominated space.
After years of watching people pursue their dreams online, I realized how important it was for me to pursue my dreams too, not only for the sake of representation but to use my images and voice to shape a new narrative that was not being told. Using the power of social media, I could be the change I wanted to see in both industries. So I quit my 9-6 job to travel and share my stories as a South Asian woman in the adventure travel space.
Fast forward to today, I’m working as a freelance photographer based in the Pacific NorthWest. The journey has led to having interesting conversations about solo trips with my desi parents and figuring out how to freelance with no prior experience. Life is about embracing the adventures along the way, and I value those experiences over everything else.
Why this blog?
Starting a creative or outdoorsy life isn’t accessible to everyone, and this blog can be a resource for those who have felt overwhelmed by starting anything. Here you’ll find a different perspective of a late outdoorsy person who shares their experiences of being a woman of color in the travel and adventure photography space.