Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory And Edward Tester.
Hi Gregory and Edward, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up in northern New Jersey, our parents wanted us to experience the world and see the country. From major cities to national parks, the five of us spent our summers driving all over North America. Capturing our adventures using our father’s 35mm Nikon was an integral part of each trip. During our travels our mother fostered a curiosity for the natural world, teaching us the importance of environmental stewardship and conservation.
Fast forward 20 years, Ed was working in northern Nevada and was awestruck by the beauty of the west. He got his first Nikon dSLR in 2009 and started High Desert Twilight Photography. Greg picked up his first Nikon a few years later and started OdysseyFive Photography to document his adventures from the east coast.
During our first joint trip to Yellowstone in 2017, we concocted a plan to be on safari in east Africa by 2025, the pinnacle of wildlife photography destinations. In 2019, Ed was sent to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for work and was only going to be an hour’s flight from Nairobi, Kenya while he laid over in Entebbe, Uganda. It didn’t take much to convince Greg to join Ed on safari in the Maasai Mara. That was the first trip that we worked together as a team, shooting simultaneously to capture all of the action and adventure. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to merge our portfolios and become a single entity that today is known as OdysseyFive Photography.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Our biggest challenge is that we both have full-time jobs and families and we currently live about 4 hours from each other. However, we always find the time to collaborate on blogs, on content for our social media, and of course plan our next trips.
As adventure and wildlife photographers, our line of work is wrought with hazards. While on safari in Kenya, our truck almost rolled over into a ravine and in the process of extracting the truck from the mud, Greg was almost run over. Ed has flown into the jungles of the Congo to land on a dirt airstrip under heavy armed security. Greg’s had the joyous experience of both altitude and sea-sickness in the same week while in Ecuador and the Galapagos. Ed’s been stuck in remote mountains in the Nevada high-desert and Greg’s survived typhoons and the flu in the Philippines. Ed’s been charged by wild horses and Greg was marooned on an island in the Susquehanna River during a kayak trip.
Due to the variety of environments we work in, our gear can take a real beating. We’ve had cameras and lenses fail on us in the least opportune moments. As masters of our craft, it forces us to pivot and utilize the other equipment we do have, allowing us to tell our story from a different perspective than planned. We always make sure to get the shot.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are visual storytellers, specializing in wildlife and landscape photography. We use these images, coupled with our experiences, to tell a broader story of how these places are impacted by people and the modern world. Our blog series is carefully crafted while we research each topic and we’re always proud of the finished product. We try to make our blogs as relatable as possible with true stories and elements of humor, but the overall message is focused on stewardship and conservation of wild places.
What makes us unique is that we shoot together as a team. As far as we know, there are only a handful of other wildlife photographers that operate in this manner. We first utilized this method when we went to Kenya in 2019. The expense of the trip and the potential for a once-in-a-lifetime shot necessitated a collaborative effort. Switching lenses in the field is time-consuming, so we had five cameras each with a different lens to capture the action from all angles. We learned to communicate really well with one another, putting aside our own egos to ensure we didn’t miss anything. For example, Greg would be shooting with a telephoto lens to get details while laying down low and Ed would use a wide-angle lens and capture the broader scene while standing up in the safari truck. We would then switch cameras to get a different perspective.
Shooting as a team doesn’t mean that we always have to be together. We can split up and travel to different places to cover more ground and experience more of these wild places. In those instances, we’re often supported by friends and family who become honorary members of OdysseyFive Photography.
Growing up, we watched tons of nature documentaries and read a lot of National Geographic magazines, which influenced our photographic and storytelling style. As a geologist, Ed has a better eye for landscapes while Greg is a people person and can capture emotion better. We’re equally matched when it comes to capturing raw and visceral wildlife images.
Pricing:
- Calendars: $20
- Prints: Prices vary
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.odysseyfivephotography.com
- Instagram: @odysseyfivephotography
- Facebook: OdysseyFive Photography
