Nick Selway
NATURE | OCEAN | LANDSCAPE
FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHER
THE BEGINNING
Born and raised in Lake Stevens, Washington, at the edge of the North Cascade Mountains, Nick Selway developed a love for wild places long before he ever picked up a camera. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest meant being surrounded by mountains, forests, rivers, and rugged coastlines—landscapes that would eventually become the foundation of his life’s work.
In 2002, Nick enrolled at North Idaho College and took his first photography class. What began as curiosity quickly became an obsession.Two photography professors, Tim Christie and Phil Corlis, recognized his potential early and encouraged him to pursue photography seriously. By the age of 18, Nick knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life: travel the world and photograph the beauty, power, and fleeting moments found in nature.
That decision would shape the next two decades.After college, Nick moved to Kailua-Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, where the ocean, volcanic landscapes, and extraordinary light transformed his photography.During his 14 years in Hawaii, Nick became known for photographing some of the islands’ most dramatic environments—from powerful shorebreak and underwater waves to active volcanic eruptions and molten lava entering the Pacific Ocean.
Alongside fellow photographers CJ Kale, Don Hurzeler, and Linda Hurzeler, Nick helped establish Lava Light Galleries, where his fine-art photography was represented for more than a decade.
Hawaii didn't simply become Nick's home. It became one of the defining chapters of his photographic career.
A NEW CHAPTER
After 14 years in Hawaii, Nick followed another dream. On July 1, 2018, he opened his own fine-art photography gallery in Breckenridge, Colorado.For the next four years, the gallery showcased Nick's work from Hawaii and across the American West to collectors visiting from around the world. Living in Colorado also opened an entirely new landscape to explore—from brilliant autumn aspen forests and snow-covered mountains to thunderstorms, wildlife, and the rugged scenery of the Rockies.
In 2023, Nick and his wife, Sarah, relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, bringing him closer to family and beginning another chapter in the Southwest.
Today, Nick continues to travel extensively creating new fine-art collections while leading small-group photography workshops and private photography adventures throughout some of the most spectacular landscapes in the United States.His photography has taken him from standing in the Pacific photographing breaking waves to chasing tornadoes across the Great Plains, photographing the Northern Lights deep in Arctic Alaska, documenting active volcanoes in Hawaii, and exploring remote landscapes throughout the American West.
More than 20 years after taking his first photography class, the goal remains remarkably simple:
Go somewhere extraordinary. Chase the light. And come home with something unforgettable.
THE WORK
Nick's photography is defined by a willingness to go beyond the overlook and experience the landscape from within it.That approach became internationally recognized through his groundbreaking photographs of lava entering the Pacific Ocean from the water. Working in extreme conditions near Hawaii's active lava flows, Nick created images from a perspective rarely seen before—placing the viewer at the meeting point between molten earth and the sea.
For more than two decades, Nick has photographed landscapes, oceans, waves, wildlife, storms, and the night sky, continually searching for moments when extraordinary light and extraordinary conditions come together.His photographs have appeared in publications including National Geographic, Surfer Magazine, and Outdoor Photographer, and his work has been featured on The Today Showand other national and international media.
Nick's photography has also been exhibited through Nature's Best Photography and the Smithsonian, along with receiving numerous awards and honors throughout his career.Today, his limited-edition and fine-art photographs are collected and displayed in homes, businesses, hotels, and private collections around the world.
But awards and publications have never been the reason Nick photographs.It is still about the same thing that fascinated him when he first picked up a camera more than two decades ago:
Being there when nature does something incredible—and capturing that moment before it's gone.