Five years ago, I was homeless by choice hoping to "become a photographer" I was grinding, doing spec work to build a portfolio, living on a few hundred bucks a month, with most of it going to my student loans.
Read MorePhotography Career
Starting and Failing Is Better Than Never Starting
Maybe it is surviver bias convincing me this, but ever since my first "big" investment into my photography career I've been hooked.
Read MoreAn Influencer Told BF Goodrich To Hire Me and They Listened, Here's Why
An influencer told BFGoodrich to hire me and they listened.
Read MoreReal Content Wins Over Staged Creative Everytime
Have you ever watched somebody scroll their feed? People move quick and don't give you a second chance if you're a brand putting out sterile content that is staged.
Read MoreHow To "Make It" as a Photographer In Today's Landscape
"Making it" just as a photographer doesn't really happen in today's landscape, but it's still possible with some creativity. Take a second and think about the biggest photographer's you know, I bet none of them are "just a photographer":
Read MoreThis Shoot Was My Intro to Meeting Leah, The Dancer.
We all sat around a campfire in Alabama Hills, CA. I lived in a van, Andrew lived in the Museroamer, and Leah lived out of a car while on a road trip. Shooting the shit about photo and video ideas, Leah had an idea:
"I've always wanted to do a photo shoot hula hooping in an abandoned building!"
Read MorePeople Care About You and Your Work, If They Know You
"At the end of the day, nobody cares about you"
False.
It's the opposite. If you don't let people know you exist they don't care about you because they don't know you.
New Work Live: Buff x Surfrider Foundation
New work now live with BUFF® , The Surfrider Foundation , and artist Ian Ross. While, as you can see, the weather didn’t cooperate with us, this has been by far one of my favorite pieces to work on this year.
Read MoreBTS of Succeeding On a Project With a Tight Deadline
A little behind the scenes for all the photographers and videographers out there wondering how to make a tight deadline for a last minute project. In the end, the client, Buff, was very excited with the end result of this photo and video project. So, here’s how we delivered a project in five working days:
Read MoreHow To Start Your Adventure Photography Career
Adventure photography sits at the thrilling intersection of exploration, storytelling, and visual art. It’s about more than snapping “pretty” landscapes—it’s about capturing moments of human endeavor, raw emotion, and the awe-inspiring power of nature. If you’ve ever dreamed of turning your passion for the outdoors into a fulfilling freelance career, this starter guide comes from The Adventure Photographer’s Playbook and will show you exactly how to get started, grow your reputation, and land the work you want as an adventure photographer.
Read MoreUsing Spec Work To Land New Photography Clients
While road tripping down the Pacific Coast Highway, just north of Santa Cruz, CA, I asked Kristin Riegel if she would be open modeling for a spec shoot for Blundstone while we stopped at Sharkfin Cove for sunset. She looked at me with a smile, “I’m ugly right now, but of course I will.” For the past three years, Kristin has always been there for me and the building of my career. For this, I am forever grateful ❤️
Read MoreThis Is What Happens When You Stop Marketing Your Photography Business
For a couple of years I was the go to photographer for water bottle companies. While you can say what you want about photographing outdoor lifestyle campaigns around water bottles, it was rad. Right now, I am smiling as I look through my archive at the countless photoshoots I did for brands like MiiR and Klean Kanteen but something is off!
Read MoreThe First Surf Image That Gave Me Faith I Could Do This Photography Thing
Getting a start as a creative is no easy task, especially when you don’t have a clue as to what you want to do, create, or, most importantly, enjoy. As a kid, I always thought I would be an author, which I became about a month ago with my first book, but the idea of “becoming a photographer” never crossed my mind. Becoming a filmmaker was not something I ever talked about with my family growing up, but my first documentary won a few awards at film festivals last year. So, what the heck did I do as a kid?
Read MoreConsistency VS Frequency, Creatives & Marketers Need To Know The Difference
Consistency is not frequency, yet many creatives think these words are synonymous. Heck, I used to think this was the case until a few years ago, which lead to me leaving all social media platforms for about 2.5 years, but that is a story for another time. To debunk the consistency vs frequency argument, I’m starting with the fundamentals…
Read More16 Tips I Would Tell Myself When I Started Photography In 2016
Here are 16 tips for budding photographers looking for quick advice on getting started in the career of adventure photography. After 10 years in the career, adventure photographer Dalton Johnson shares his experience to becoming the go to content partner for brands with adventurous clients.
Read MoreBecoming A Storyteller Wasn't Pretty For Me
At the end of 2016, I dropped out of the teaching program I was in and moved into a car to pursue a career of storytelling. I always wanted to tell stories via writing, but I couldn't figure out the economic model, so I pursued storytelling with a camera.
Read MoreFree Work Is Never Free
From 2016 to 2022, my focus was strictly on adventure content. I chased swells towering 50 feet above my head as I snapped images from the water, dangled from ropes 3,000 feet above Yosemite Valley’s floor, and all the things in between that stroke an adventurer’s ego.
Read MoreLooking For Adventure In Baja While Road Tripping With Andrew Muse
Last October, I received a phone call from Andrew Muse to be the Director of Photography for the fourth season of Tiny Home Adventures. I’ll be honest, I had never watched an episode of the series, but my interest was peaked by the location, potential adventures, and the client list we would intertwine throughout the series. So, after we chatted on the phone, I watched a few episodes and gave him a call back, “I’m in, it looks like fun.”
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