A longtime nature and ocean photographer goes public in a big way.

Jason Bradley was pursuing a career in marine mammalogy when he strategically decided to take up photography as a vehicle to indulge his love for nature.

“I had never taken a picture before I made this decision,” he writes in an email. “I knew nothing about shutter speeds, cameras or composition. I wanted simply to exploit the possibilities photography offered to work more with, in, and for the oceans.”

Luckily, he says, he fell in love with photography. He’s done it for 15 years now, traveling to Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, British Columbia, Latin America, Mexico, leading photo safaris and field expeditions, on solo assignments shooting landscapes, seascapes, animals, conservation and science efforts.

In related projects, he also blogs for Outdoor Photographer Magazine, runs Bradley Photographic Print Services and wrote a book called Creative Workflow in Lightroom. He’s shown his work in a handful of regional venues, and he’s competed in, judged, and spoken at the annual underwater Digital Shootout in Monterey Bay. But all this time, he’s worked out of his home, known primarily online or through word of mouth.

His ventures have outgrown his home office, so he’s expanding and opening Bradley Gallery in Pacific Grove, a space that he hopes will confound convention.

“It’s not just a gallery,” he says. “We’re going to do so much in this new space.”

He wants it to be a hub for photographers, a meeting place for people to learn the craft; he wants to print others’ works, host seminars, talks and workshops. He calls the gallery an excuse to throw a party every few months.

The gallery is 800 square feet, with two long walls that he’ll use to hang photo prints onto metal sheets with magnets, without the glare of glass or glossy paper. The grand opening show will consist of his work and that of two of his friends and colleagues – Jon McCormack and Joe Platko.

“The show is intended to be… a bit of a retrospective of each of our work, and bit of a best of,” he says. “How they fit together on the walls will be decided by color, shape, tonality and even feel.”

The art will be for sale ($450-$2,500) and he’s inviting collectors, but he wants it to be, foremost, a place for photographers and their work.

“I’m open to anything but my initial thought is nature and underwater photography. I plan on beginning a portrait project. People, being part of nature, are absolutely fair game.”

BRADLEY GALLERY grand opening is 6pm Saturday, July 14, at 178 Grand Ave., Pacific Grove. 818-415-2767, bradleyphotographic.com