By Lanier Laney
[caption id="attachment_7699" align="alignleft" width="244"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/nurnberg.jpg"><img src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/nurnberg-244x300.jpg" alt="" title="Paul Nurnberg" width="244" height="300" class="size-medium wp-image-7699" /></a> Photographer Paul Nurnberg[/caption]I bet Paul Nurnberg never imagined when he was growing up as a kid in land-locked Elmira, New York with an avid interest in photography that one day he would be dangling four stories off the side of one of the largest container ships in the world trying to get “the perfect shot”.  
     Says Paul,  “It was a few years ago, while shooting for a magazine,  that I rode a harbor pilot’s boat out to meet the ship coming into the Port of Savannah and climbed up the rope and rubber ladder on the outside of the ship while moving through the ocean, and took photos while the ship came into port. At the time it was one of the largest container ships in the world.”  
“I have flown in (and photographed from) lots of different air planes (and jumped out of two of them) and helicopters, scuba dived and have gotten access to many different places and situations that most people never get to see–paper mills, chemical plants, operating rooms during surgery, food packaging plants and  even large port cranes. I really love this profession because every assignment is something different,” Paul continued
     Paul got a B.S. in Photography from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He assisted other photographers for several years after collage, then worked as an in-house photographer for two large corporations  (FM global and Arthur D. Little, Inc.)  before opening his own business almost 26 years ago.  As the owner of Nurnberg Photography, LLC, in Port Royal, he does all kinds of commercial and advertising photography including industrial, medical, architecture, people lifestyle, heavy equipment and food. Food photography, a particular specialty of Paul’s, is very difficult to do as anyone who has ever tried knows. And you can see Paul’s great work in this area by looking at the cover of and beautiful food photographs throughout Debbie Covington’s recently published cookbook, Celebrate Everything.
    The way Paul got to Beaufort was because of his high school sweetheart, Libby Anderson. He followed her here when she got a job as Planning Director for the City of Beaufort 16 years ago. They will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this September! Paul says that he loves the beauty of all the water, land and history here and enjoys it all at their home off Hermitage Road.
   Although lifestyle, people, architectural spaces and food would be considered Paul’s specialties, he does all types of photography. He photographed the set dressing images for the movie The Gift when it was being filmed in Savannah. “Those are all of the pictures seen in the movie: on desks, nightstands and photo albums. I photographed Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Kate Blanchett and a few other stars.” says Paul.   
   It’s not all glamor though as photo shoots come with their own sets of hazards. “Last year, while photographing for the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build in Beaufort, my camera backpack was set on fire while I was wearing it. It looked pretty spectacular for those watching, but I was really lucky that three people put out the fire before I was injured,” said Paul. 
    Paul has been recognized by others in his profession as well. He is the current vice president of the South Carolina chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers, immediate past president (two years) of the Photography Club  of Beaufort, member of the American Photographic Artists (past national secretary), and he still found time to found the Beaufort chapter of Greendrinks, which is committed to environmental sustainabilty in the community.
    Paul’s secret for success is simple:  “I always try to exceed my clients expectations”.  And he does it over and over again with one perfect picture after another.


Paul’s photography studio is at 918 8th Street in Port Royal. Reach him at 912-429-0189, or production@nurnbergphoto.com
Visit his photography website: 
www.nurnbergphotography.com  
He teaches photography classes as well, from basic “how to use your camera” as well as more advanced classes. He also teaches small classes through his studio and through Artworks. He also does one on one private lessons.