Welcome to the digital home for all things from Dalton Johnson.
All in Adventure Photography
Gregory Packs and I had been talking for a few months about creating some content together. They were looking for some fun, light-hearted content that matched their campaign, "Make Time". Throughout the months we were chatting, we settled on the location of Lake Tahoe, for its versatility of activities, and the set deliverables of one blog and 8 images.
Imagine, it's a Friday night and you want to go hang with your buddies for an afternoon surf, but can't get in the water. This doesn't mean you can't have a good time. Heck, you might even be able to have more fun. Well, this is kinda the situation that I was in, but still wanted to hang out, so what did I do? Well, I grabbed my camera and headed to the beach.
Quite honestly, I would not have guessed when I made my business official (aka got a business license and started paying taxes under the business name "Dalton Johnson Media") roughly three years ago, that I would be photographing a campaign for @fordbronco or @outwardboundusa anytime soon. Realistically, I just wanted to pay my way by shooting odd jobs here and there to fuel my adventures. I really never had a list of dream clients, nor did I care to reach out to clients. While some of that has changed, my focus remains the same. I am here to live my life in accordance to my own view of success.
Over the last year, I have focused on climbing more than ever before. Taking trips from Joshua Tree to the Tetons to the Buttermilks to Yosemite. Throughout that time, I have been able to meet tons of people who've showed me what dedication to a craft truly looks like. For the most part, climbing is a selfish pursuit, but a pursuit that is totally meaningless. Quite honestly, nobody cares who gets to the top of a boulder, crack, mountain. Sure, we may highlight the story within a community, but there really isn't much to be said about playing on rocks.
At the chance of sounding like a self-help book, “Are you wandering, feeling a bit lost, and looking for a solution?” Well, I have the cure, just pay me $500… LOL! In reality, I was feeling like the above statement and was truly wandering, without much direction, until I was introduced to the concept of Ikigai. Now, I will be totally honest with you, I am not sure if Ikigai is a way-of-life, a philosophy, a concept, a practical guide to life, etc. Ikigai was introduced to me by a Jesuit Priest as he was reflecting upon his own life. While out at lunch, he shared his perspective and encouraged me to look into it for myself.
Let go, allow yourself to flow and see where your feet, your thoughts, your life can take you. Free yourself of social normalities and let go. Allow yourself the space to think without criticism and fear of judgement. Be alone, be with others, that does is choice. Walk away, turn off your phone, or plug directly into the internet. What matters most is your ability to move beyond marketers grasp and free yourself from the entrapments holding you down, so you can be who you wish to be.
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to photograph a project for MiiR. The concepts were a bit broad and sounded a little something like, “we are releasing new colors to our classic bottle and want to showcase them in a lifestyle manner. We like your work and want you to just do what you do.” Now, when I receive assignments with directions that parallel this, I am usually at a loss. The wide open instructions for a photographic assignment often intimidates me for two reasons…
As tears run down my face and stain this paper I write to you on, I smile knowing you are chasing a deer through bushes, surfing an endless countertop filled with bread, and having your ears pet as you rest your head on lap after lap. A few months have past since I watched you laying on that mat, with an IV, holding your paw as you moved beyond this world. Since then, you have filled my dreams, often we are swimming in the lake or you are pulling me on my skateboard, but all dreams end the same way, your belly to the sky between my legs, your tongue halfway out, and your curls overwhelming my hands as I rub your belly.
Tuolumne Meadows sits at 8,619 feet and is home to the Purple Webber lupin, a rare wildflower for California. This sub-alpine meadow is apart of Yosemite National Park and hosts ample climbing, hiking, and backpacking opportunities. Enjoy this sunset timelapse shot from the meadow.
The real question is, “When was the last time you were upset after relaxing in a hammock?” As summer approaches and daylight extends well beyond that of a 9-5 job, what better way to spend your evening than in a hammock, maybe with a book or journal. For myself, living on the road my work hours are all over the map, but whenever I can find a place to hang a hammock and take in the view, I am in my happy place. Below are four of my favorite spots that I have hung a hammock.
While hiking around Lake Sabrina—just outside of the city of Bishop, CA— in the winter, I sat down to watch the sun poke out from behind the range in the distance. As the wind picked up, I hunkered behind a rock to write this poem. Lake Sabrina is a summer destination that keeps holds water for Los Angeles. In this poem, I review an internal dialogue I have with myself about the human race.
Let’s be honest, you have no idea what is going to happen whenever you are starting something. I mean, yes, you can read a book and theatrically plan for “what’s to come”, but reality hits hard once you step out the door and start hoping for the best. In 2017, I started to feel like I wanted to be a photographer, and around 2018 I was making some money. I mean we are talking a couple of hundred dollars a year, but who needs money when you are 24 years old? All I cared about at the time was making my way to living on the road!
On a monthly cycle, I spend most of my nights not sleeping and looking up at the stars. Moving across the sky throughout the night, I imagine an alien looking back upon us. If we spoke in the same language—odds are we wouldn’t—what would they say? Would they know our planet as the blue planet? Would we be friends?
As a photographer, my main focus is to chase light. A mentor of mine described photographers as the “Seekers of Light”. While I must admit, the majority of my work is focused more on the moment than light, I will say that my favorite photographs are those with unique light. Regardless, the purpose of the poem is to dive into what makes us human, keeping in mind the cycles of life. Hoping to highlight the daily as well as yearly cycles we all encounter, putting into perspective the one, hopefully long, cycle of life we are all living.
There was a burning desire inside of me to be on the road trying to become what I wanted to become, an adventure photographer, but I didn’t have the body of work nor the skill to be able to create on the spot. My savings account had roughly $3k from the winter of substitute teaching and I had just pumped most of my funds into a new water housing. I was equipped with two lenses, a 24-70 and a 28mm. The 28mm was the best thing I could buy that would fit into my new housing, so that is what I did.
It's almost impossible to neglect the reality that most of us are wasting our lives. Taking notes and accounting of my interactions with others, I look at and observe how we waste our lives. Often these observations make me as questions like; Why do we do this? Why do we allow ourselves to live an unhappy life?
When I first sat down to write this blog, I wanted to express the beauty and elegance longboarding holds. Erased line after erased line, the string of words could not match the self-expression and feminine endearment longboarding requires. My ego and masculinity wanted to force together words, hoping to create prose. Instead, I was faced with a challenge, similar to that of riding the nose or cross-stepping, to surrender.
Chaos, uncertainty, fear. Most would say,
“You’re lost.”
However, I am just now beginning to find myself.
This world is like a blur, moving so quickly, it is hard to focus.
Click here, double-tap that, swipe left… no right…
Hang up the phone and begin looking beneath your nose.
