ABOUT
Nik began taking photos at age 13 when his mother reluctantly agreed to buy him a used Olympus Pen Half Frame from the local camera shop that worked when it felt like it. It cost $35 and he wishes he still had it.
He was greatly influenced as a child by The Family of Man, an exhibit and book curated by Edward Steichen for The a Museum of Modern Art whose images of global humanism left Nik with a sense of curiosity and empathy.
Nik spent over 35 years as a photojournalist (with cameras that worked), beginning his career as a regular contributor for the New York Times, Time and Newsweek. He’s been published in countless domestic and global publications since. He spent 12 years at ESPN, first as the founding Director of Photography for ESPN The Magazine, directing well over 100 covers shoots, then producing and directing documentaries. Previously, he worked at Sports Illustrated as a Photo Director. His photography was featured at The New York Times exhibition at Photoville.
His work was honored by the American Society of Magazine Editors and Advertising Age with Magazine of the Year awards and he’s won numerous awards from Communication Arts, American Photography, Society of Publication Designers, Graphis and the Eisenstadt Awards. He’s been a judge for the American Photography competition and a guest photo editor for the Day in the Life book series. He's won three Emmy Awards and has been nominated eight times.
Nik was born in Queens, New York and is grateful for the experiences he's enjoyed around the world. He was humiliated in a game of one-on-one with Michael Jordan and later invited by him to cover his first visit to China. He piloted a Caribbean Express flight from the Bahamas to Miami without prior flying experience when returning from an assignment for Time Magazine and no one died in the process. Nik was spray-marked by a possessive 500lb. lion he befriended during a Barry Sanders shoot. Ricky Williams agreed to wear a size 22 wedding dress. A video he produced that told the story of an Inupiat high school football team in the Arctic Circle resulted in the donation of an AstroTurf field laid down over the frozen tundra by the Chukchi Sea. He currently resides in San Diego.