Today we’d like to introduce you to NATASHA SALEM.
Hi NATASHA, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My husband and I moved to Oregon from Colorado chasing everything outdoors — rock climbing, hiking, camping. Once we got here, I needed a creative outlet to match that pull toward the wild, and outdoor photography was it. I’ve been shooting for about four years now, but the last two are really when I started digging in and seriously learning the craft. Over the years, Matt has taught me everything while continuing to learn himself.
The real start goes back further, though, to Denver, before I ever picked up a “real” camera. My husband Matt has been shooting for over a decade, all over the country, and when we were dating, we’d wander downtown taking photos and striking up conversations with total strangers. That was my first real introduction to photography — not technical, just curious. Now he’s my mentor, and we’ve combined his eye for portraits and street work with mine for the outdoors to build Unveil Photography — a studio that works just as naturally in the mountains as it does in front of a backdrop.
Stylistically, I’m drawn to things that don’t quite match — the weird, the opposing, the uneasy pairings. I love playing with the balance of light and dark, good and evil, and I try to let that tension show up in every session, whether it’s an adventure shoot in the hills or an intimate portrait in the studio.
Where I’m headed next is more conceptual, series-based work — building out full creative shoots rather than one-off sessions. My dream project is recreating the entire tarot deck through photography, one card at a time. We’re based in Grants Pass, but happy to travel anywhere in Southern Oregon for the right shoot.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t been entirely smooth, no. The biggest struggle has been being new to the area — building a network from scratch and finding people to collaborate and work with takes time when you don’t have that built-in community yet.
The other piece is that I work a 9-5, and that’s still my main income. So it’s been hard to step into Unveil with both feet the way I’d eventually like to. Right now it’s a passion project — one I pour into as much as I can while balancing work and life around it. I’m okay with that pace for where I’m at, but it does mean growth happens in the margins rather than all at once.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think what sets me apart is that Unveil isn’t just one perspective — it’s two. My husband Matt has over a decade of portrait and street photography experience, and I bring an outdoor, adventure-driven eye along with that light/dark aesthetic. Combining those means we can move fluidly between studio and outdoors, between polished portraits and raw, adventurous work, without it feeling like two different businesses.
What I’m most proud of is my rope art. I want to be clear that this isn’t about bondage or BDSM — it’s about taking the stigma out of being bound and portraying it instead as strength, power, and even softness, as if the subject is breaking their bonds rather than being restrained by them. One of my favorite examples is a shoot I did at a creek here in Southern Oregon: red rope against a white dress, the subject seated on stone at the edge of moving water with a waterfall behind her. The rope becomes almost sculptural against the current and the light, and there’s this quiet tension in her expression — caught between restraint and release. That balance of vulnerability and strength, set against the raw outdoor backdrop, is exactly the kind of story I want my work to tell.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Childhood for me meant moving around a lot. From one low-income apartment to another. As a child, I got used to it and almost enjoyed the new adventure of a new school, new friends, and reinventing myself. I learned to navigate new environments and talk to new people. It also made me restless. Always looking for the next new place. I grew up in Florida and always dreamed of being on the beaches of California. So as I grew, I moved to new states, reinvented myself over and over until I landed here in Oregon.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: unveil_photography
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61571908344323
Image Credits
The photos with rope are done by Natasha, and the portraits are done by Matt.
