About

Hi!

Thanks for stopping by the Dreamtime blog, where you’ll find out more about what’s going on behind the scenes of my photography business.

My name is Nathan Welton, and I came into wedding photography through a circuitous path. I graduated from college thinking I wanted to be a doctor or a marine scientist, but before I went any further I decided to travel for a while. In 2000 and 2001 I lived out of a backpack, rock climbed and taught scuba diving throughout New Zealand, Thailand, Mexico and the British Virgin Islands. By the time it was all over, I decided I didn’t want to spend my 20s (or the rest of my life) basking in the halogen glow of a hospital or science lab. So I instead earned a master’s in science and health writing, which seemed like a good fit. In theory, I could have the adventures and avoid the hassle.

For years I’d been a photographic dabbler, but in graduate school I paid off my rent by working as a prominent Boston photographer’s photo assistant. I think the real-time education was better than what some of the PJ grad students got. When I finished, I worked as a photographer and science reporter at a paper in California, and then worked at a bigger Knight Ridder paper for a while before I realized that I was writing too much and sitting too much. I realized that my weekend wedding jobs and freelance magazine assignments were a lot more fun than my 9-5 workday assignments — so I quit and started Dreamtime Images.

I feel pretty lucky to have wound up where I am now. Shooting weddings is a privilege. I still get to tell stories, but I’m on my feet with a camera in my hand. I get to work with super cool couples all the time, and I’m constantly honored to have people ask me to record the biggest days of their lives.