Nick Kelsh is a renowned photographer and author of nine books. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, he attended North Dakota State University and then earned his degree from University of Missouri's School of Journalism and began a career in photojournalism, which led to a staff position at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He resigned in 1986 to co-found a communications firm, now called Kelsh/Wilson Design, which specializes in the design of and photography for annual reports, university viewbooks, and other corporate and school publications.
Kelsh co-authored the best selling Naked Babies and Siblings with author Anna Quindlen, produced photography for a new edition of Rachel Carson's The Sense of Wonder, and wrote and photographed How to Photograph Your Baby, How to Photograph Your Family, How to be Santa Claus, How to be Dad and How to Photograph Your Life.
Nick's photography has earned numerous awards. He is consistently invited, as one of the world's top 100 photographers, to contribute to the prestigious A Day in the Life series and his photos are featured on the cover of several of these books, including A Day in the Life of China and A Day in the Life of Thailand. His work has appeared in most major national publications, including Time, Life, Newsweek, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Forbes, Fortune and Business Week, and has been used in marketing by such companies as Olympus, Microsoft, Kimberly-Clark, Ikon and SunGard.
on the cover
This photograph was taken in the city of Bangui in the Central African Republic on Feb. 28, 2002.
The woman is a street vendor selling pieces of extremely low-grade coal used for heating and cooking. It may look like a pile of heavy rocks but was actually lightweight, which is why she balanced it on her head so easily.
I liked the symbolism of a woman in a poor, AIDS-ravaged country appearing to have the weight of the world on her shoulders.
The picture was published in "A Day in the Life of Africa." One hundred photographers from around the world documented every country in Africa in one day. Proceeds from this book went to AIDS education in Africa.
