Dangerous Waters
Nathan Meadows hunts sharks—with his camera. His passion for underwater photography and diving alongside sea creatures has resulted in a paycheck from National Geographic, but more importantly, it’s been a way to satisfy his appetite for adventure.
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Massive Great White Sharks are just some of the toothed fishies that Nathan photographs regularly. |
Nathan Meadows is a lucky guy. He swims with sharks—sometimes hundreds of sharks at one time—with nothing between him and the ocean’s most intimidating and often terrifying species but a neoprene wetsuit and a camera. If you knew he’d never been attacked by one—and he hasn’t—you’d think: “Wow, he’s a lucky guy.” But that’s not why he considers himself lucky. Being able to travel the world doing what he loves and having the support and encouragement of his amazing family makes him one of the luckiest guys he knows.
While most kids his age were reading Spiderman comics or playing with G.I. Joe figures, Nathan had his nose buried in shark books. When he was in his mid-twenties, post-college and married to his wife, Lindsay, he saw a National Geographic video that showed people diving with great white sharks. He looked at Lindsay and said, “I’ve got to do that.”
Since seeing that video nearly 10 years ago, Nathan, now 35, has been traveling the world photographing sharks, whales, marlin and other large ocean animals. And earlier this year, National Geographic purchased whale photos from him. “It doesn’t even come close to what I’ve spent!” he says and laughs. “It was exciting to get paid, to get a check from National Geographic, but it put on more pressure, and I didn’t really like that.” Work for Nathan is an auto salvage business west of Springfield that he and his brother own. The partnership allows Nathan to take a month-long vacation each year with his family.
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Nathan MeadowsPhoto by Kevin O'Riley |
Getting to Know the Great Outdoors
Nathan wasn’t always this adventurous. In fact, he came very close to settling down in Joplin when he was 20 years old. He was engaged to be married and working for his father in his family’s auto salvage business. But something was missing. “I just wanted to get away and have adventure,” he says. “And Alaska was about as far as I could go and still be in the U.S., and I just said, ‘I’m doing it.’ This is the only time in my life I’ll have the chance. So I broke off the engagement, loaded up a Dodge pick-up and drove to Alaska.”
Nathan enrolled in classes at Alaska Pacific University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in outdoor studies. “I took classes like ice climbing and rock climbing and winter camping,” he says.
He met Lindsay in Alaska. Also an avid lover of the outdoors, Lindsay was eager to support his love for sharks. So when he planned to go on his first shark dive, she went with him. By now they were back in Missouri. Neither had ever been scuba diving, so they took the open-water course and were certified at Aquasports in Springfield. They dove in the pool, and they dove one time at the lake. Then they were literally thrown in with the sharks.
