KAREN THURMAN
KAREN THURMAN
ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Karen shares the story of how On Your Doorstep ( the project and the magazine ) came to life . It ’ s a slightly unusual love story ...
This is a love story . An unlikely one . A non-traditional one . But a love story nonetheless . This is the story of how I fell in love , gave up my career and became a photographerenvironmentalist-magazine publisher .
I am an unlikely environmentalist . My family moved to the Far East when I was 18 months old and I grew up in the concrete tangle of high-rises and expressways that marked their economic development . The closest thing to nature that I can remember is the banana tree that grew next to the pond by our apartment building . And yet I loved that tree , and the creamy white of the water lilies that filled the pond during rainy season ( Thailand has two seasons : hot-n-raining , and hot-n-not raining ). My family weren ’ t into the outdoors – no hikes or camping trips for us – and yet here I am , decades later , doing just that . deserts and coasts , as I sat for hours , as I watched for hours , I came to appreciate not just the wildlife but also the flora it inhabited . So , I started experimenting with landscape images . Over time I moved to black and white film , and then to large format , capturing the magical textures , tones and shapes all around me .
As I was doing that , I developed a deep devotion to the natural world I was exploring , and wanted to find a way to imbue that feeling in others . I did a Masters Degree in Environmental Decision Making , but what to do with that ? I looked for roles with NGOs . I joined an alternative energy company , but that was too removed from the land . I applied for research roles . After each failed attempt to find my place , I would retreat into the corporate world , plotting my next escape .
Becoming a photographer was less surprising . I started photographing in my teens as something I could share with my Dad who , for a time , worked in a photography studio in China in the 1940s . Over the years I played with different genres but wildlife grabbed my heart and for nearly two decades , when I wasn ’ t chained to my corporate desk , you could find me all over the world , Velvia-filled Nikon FM2s at the ready , waiting patiently for that moment when the light and composition merged perfectly and moved me to press the shutter . As I walked for hours through forests ,
I kept travelling , taking pictures , sharing the beauty of what I saw with friends and family . The older I got , the more I felt drawn to exploring the UK ( where I ’ ve lived for over 20 years ), and so in 2012 , Mick and decided to give up international travel until we had done more than scratch the surface of our home country . We upgraded my trusty old one-man climber ’ s tent and booked our first long weekend away . Since then we ’ ve added two dogs to the family and upgraded our tent to a four-man expedition-quality beast that has seen us through everything from comfy campsites
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