about

I'm Kjell Arild Danielsen. Because my Old Norse name is virtually impossible to pronounce for English speakers, I just use KA. My day job is as an ENT consultant with a background as a head and neck surgeon, holding a PhD on chronic rhinosinusitis and bacterial biofilms. I love the outdoors and tend to lug a camera along.

Richard Louv introduced the term Nature-Deficit Disorder in his 2005 book, Last Child in the Woods. The idea is that reduced exposure to nature hurts children's development, contributing to impaired concentration and predisposing them to stress, anxiety, and depression. In my medical practice, I see a lot of patients where the main problem turns out to be stress and a struggle to cope with the pressures of their daily life. It is my firm belief that an unbalanced life with too little exposure to nature—and failing to simply wind down without a screen—also affects adults. In short, a lot of us are "Nature-Deficient".

Parallel to our increased estrangement from nature, we degrade our natural habitats at an alarming rate. Nature photography today, especially underwater, confronts you with the horrific imprint our species has on our environment. This is an ever-important topic, but I think it's vital to also tell the stories of what we have left. The positive news often drowns in a deluge of negative, click-baity stories. We still have a lot left to fight for, and it is my firm hope that we can still turn this around. It's exceedingly simple: we are animals that need unspoiled nature around us, and our wonderful Earth needs our guardianship. I hope to inspire some of you to get out, crawl around in some mud to get the ideal camera angle, or don a mask and snorkel to just enjoy the ocean, your local lake, or a river.

Contact me for enquiries regarding assignments or the use of my work.

Contact me for enquiries regarding assignments or the use of my work.