Adam Johanknecht – Portrait of a Photographer

Physical activity, creativity, finding oneself and the power of nature

Responses

Skip to Comments

By Matt Payne | July 27, 2024

Matt Payne

Matt Payne is a landscape photographer and mountain climber from Durango, Colorado. He’s the host of the weekly landscape photography podcast, “F-Stop Collaborate and Listen,” co-founder of the Nature First Photography Alliance, and co-founder of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards. He lives with his wife, Angela, his son Quinn, and his four cats, Juju, Chara, Arrow, and Vestal.

mattpaynephotography.com

I recently received and read a newsletter from my colleague Brent Clark about his latest photographs in which he discussed how he felt like his latest images had more personal meaning. We exchanged a few emails about it, which led me down a path of introspection. He hypothesized that his photographs carried more meaning because they were created by overcoming adversity (both physical and mental) during an extended time experiencing discomfort in nature, having benefited from nature’s healing powers.

The links between time spent in nature, physical discomfort, physical activity, and creativity have always interested me since I have often felt more creative during and after a difficult hike or mountain climb.

The links between time spent in nature, physical discomfort, physical activity, and creativity have always interested me since I have often felt more creative during and after a difficult hike or mountain climb. In contrast, many of my peers have often expressed the opposite to be their truth - that being physically tired makes them feel less creative. The subject of today’s article, Adam Johanknecht, expressed to me profoundly that he also feels these links when he is engaged in physically challenging efforts in nature.

Adam is what many of us here in the United States call a thru-hiker - someone who purposely sets off to complete long (often 300 or more miles) hikes in the ultralight style. What makes Adam somewhat unique is that he often engages in this activity with the secondary goal of making images, much like I did last summer on the Colorado Trail. Adam started his career as a software engineer but quickly recognized the call of nature was desperately needed in his life. Adam mentioned to me that “photographing nature is survival,” which I think many landscape photographers can appreciate. So, in 2022, Adam quit his job as a software engineer and set off to hike the 1,000-mile stretch of the Pacific Crest Trail through all of Oregon and Washington.

This is a premium article and requires a paid subscription to access. Please take a look at the subscribe page for more information on prices.