Behind The Lens Series

The Story Behind The Lens are short documentary series of the fine art film photographic collections and legacy created by acclaimed master fine art photographer Nicholas A. Price created exclusively for his new and existing collectors around the world.

In each documentary, Price briefly describes in his own words and photographs the story and artistry of how each collection came to be, as he reveals the equipment, scope of each project, his most memorable shots and more importantly, why the project was important to him.

With over forty years experience of this craft under his belt, and in a style that is uniquely his own, Price's clients and collectors are as passionate of preserving his work and perspective on his subjects as he is in creating the work.

Price's work is featured in collections in over fifty countries and in prestigious institutions including the Library of Congress where his work "Cleared Hot" comprised of 60 large photographs encompass a stunning collection of his exclusive and unique access in creating the human story behind the U.S. Air Force and helped fill an important gap in the archives of America's military history.

The Story Behind The Lens | Trick Trunk

Nicholas' studio is a separate building and entity to the photography laboratory where the conclusion of his creative ideas take place to the finished hand-printed photograph from the negative. When the creative process begins for Nicholas, if you have had the privilege, it is a fascinating process to watch.

Let us take the 1920's steamer trunk, found and purchased in an old antique shop that restored such items, Nicholas brought this trunk into his studio, and in an excited state, cleared the space around it. He then opens the lid and with his eyes closed, deeply inhales the musty smell of age. He then walks around the trunk, deeply in thought and then closes the lid and sits on the trunk, pondering.

Nicholas tells his avid audience a story of the interesting journey this trunk has taken from the history he has garnered from previous owners - circus and sideshow performers!

NICHOLAS A. PRICE © 2022

The Story Behind The Lens | A Dance with Nature

After many years of documentary photography, I have drawn nearer to a subject close to my heart, by putting the faces of human beings to the side and focusing on the wonders of nature – I call this ongoing adventure – A dance with Nature – it has been and still continues to be, an incredible journey and to be honest it’s a story that has no clear conclusion – every day something new arrives, another thing dies, something else replaces it, grows into a new shape or moves to the next stage of its life cycle – ever-evolving always changing in some way or another – but never simple, instead complex, diverse and beautiful. Whether it be in shape, size, color, pattern or pure ingenuity I am never disappointed by my daily study.
Empathy with nature is all the enlightenment I need here on earth.

We are always here, frequently forgotten or ignored, underfoot, in the air and watching from a least expected spot – singing in the trees, hiding in the grass or even underground, all the same we are beneath your noses – hoping you’ll stop to think, ponder and wonder, at life passing by in a matter of days, a lifecycle in just one season or one short year – we are your life story here on earth - from birth until death - never failing to provide inspiration, hope, beauty and so much more.

NICHOLAS A. PRICE © 2022

The Cleared Hot Collection

As a civilian, Price was granted unprecedented access and complete artistic license to film every corner of some of the largest military installations in the country. He focused primarily on two U.S. Air Force bases in Nevada—Nellis in North Las Vegas, home to more squadrons than any other Air Force base, and Creech in Indian Springs. At Creech, Price had access to the training facilities of the ground-combat forces, the largest flight-testing range in the country, and the testing and exercising of the very latest equipment and technology in the sectors of flight, combat, intelligence, mission support and reconnaissance.

Price said, “Without the men and women who secure the base, provide ground-combat forces, embark on new technologies, take care of the military family and equipment, the wonders of flight and air supremacy would not be possible.” Price’s photos also depict the nation’s most demanding aerial combat exercise, Red Flag, and offer a look into the world of unmanned air vehicles and the men and women who operate this new form of warfare.

Price shot the entire project using two 35mm professional film cameras and a range of black-and-white film. He developed and printed every photograph by hand.

The Story Behind The Lens | Playground of The Gods

A little over 60 miles from America's largest adult playground, there is so much more hidden away - the spiritual energy of the past and present in rocks untouched for eons and laid down over 150 million years ago.

In this mass of color, texture and character, there are faces and creatures that can tell a story or two. The tests of time have taken their toll on these fragile ghosts and you could take heed in this – my Playground of the Gods.

Perhaps it was here that those experiments were conducted prior to completing the finished articles. These forms of man, woman and beast, those bodily shapes tested here, larger than life - and all you saw was a mass of rock. Well, here I will show you a little more - I never stopped at the favorite spots to point and shoot, instead I spent 3 months climbing and wandering in the desert heat, living on a diet of carrot juice and discovering an otherworldly dreamscape well beyond the beaten track – armed with three cameras and a bunch of my favorite lenses - this time there was another addition to my bag, not just my favorite black and white film, but the final remaining stocks of Kodak Kodachrome 64 professional color, at that time the days of this famous film were numbered and by the time I got through the last of this legendary film it was almost all over forever – nevertheless it served my purposes well, catching the most amazing colors we could ever dream of and preserving them just as I’d experienced them firsthand.

© 2006-2023 Nicholas A. Price

The Story Behind The Lens | Vintage Vegas

These photographs feature in my Americana Portfolio and show the national motel, hotel and business signs of years' past.

This particular collection focuses on Las Vegas and became a photographic study spanning five years in the height of a major restructuring of the city I once knew well, my photographs were taken on black and white film for the night signs and color by day, I carried all my best equipment around from sign to sign in the trunk of my 1977 Lincoln Continental Mark V, the car even fitted in rather well in a few shots!

Most of these wonderfully iconic signs have disappeared as new projects and changes to the skyline took place, particularly with the influx of high-rise developments.

These photographs preserve the origin and historical foundation of some of America's ingenious marketing ideas. I spent a lot of time, both day and night searching out the best

© 2000- 2023 Nicholas A. Price

The Story Behind The Lens | Dance In Focus

The complexity of dance, the simplicity of form, the combination of available light, fast manual Carl Zeiss lenses and the use of black and white film provided the perfect medium for my Dance in Focus collection.

These photographs are part of a broader study and illustrate how the human body, caught in a moment, can provide the eye with a delight similar to that of an abstract sculpture. I wanted the dancers to appear as statues for a moment rarely appreciated whilst a dance is being executed upon the stage without any distraction from either camera lighting of my presence in their creative moment.

Furthermore in looking for a dance subject I wanted to undertake something which was not only a documentation of an entire dance company but a visual inspiration

On my travels I found a ballet company in Sarasota Florida, the then new director had made the bold albeit risky decision of putting an entirely different set of productions on the American stage, many having not seen the light of day in the United States in recent years if ever to my knowledge.

This was the opportunity to not only see and document something different but to work closely with the company to show the entire process from start to finish in a candid documentary style. I managed to photograph the practice, the costumes, the rehearsals, the nerves, sore toes and final stage production. The entire project was shot on traditional Ilford black and white film, with available light only and I manually push-processed the film and later hand printed the results in my darkroom.

© 2009-2023 Nicholas A. Price