Storytellers Photo Mission 14: Adventure

 Every month we challenge our team of photographers from around the world with a mission.

Adventure. It takes many forms – from the smallest moments in life to epic travel. We challenged our team of photographers from around the world to share with us their best photographic interpretation of “Adventure” and what it means to them. Enjoy the gallery and be sure to pass it along! #ADVENTUREAWAITS

Adventure: Alastair Lee

“’I’ve spent a lifetime having adventures, from getting stuck in clay pits when I was kid, to first ascents on the wildest mountains on earth. Adventure for me means stepping into the unknown; there must be unknown factors for true adventure to occur. There’s a fine line between too much information and not enough. Too much, and it’s really hard to define what you are doing as ‘adventurous’, and we see this time and again as the word adventure is applied to many tours and products that have little to do with an actual adventure. Too little information or preparation and you could be accused of being a little foolhardy, where failure or worse is certain in your endeavours. Of all the trips, expeditions, travel and climbs I’ve been on, I think this image sums up why I have reveled in adventures so well over the years: the chance to experience the raw natural beauty of an unknown landscape from an incredible position. This image was taken high on the Venezuelan Tepui of Autana during the first ascent of its east face. Climber Leo Houlding is seen here in the world’s highest cave system above the Amazon rainforest at sunrise. A pretty special moment that I could never have foreseen considering the hell we went through to get there.”

Adventure: Rachid Dahnoun

“This was my first time seeing the northern lights. I was on assignment in the Yukon Territory and the illuminated yurt was my home for two weeks while documenting newly developed mountain bike trails in the area.  I have a lot of great memories from my travels but this remains one of my favorites. I felt like a kid again, full of awe and wonder, as I watched the green hues dance across the sky.”

Adventure: Alessandra Meniconzi

“Driving through winterly Mongolia will bring you to the edge of your physical limits. The land is a real adventure playground: ice, wind and cold never leave you alone!”

Adventure: Nick LeVecchia

“Nature always wins. Warren Smith, Iceland.”

Adventure: Hunter McRae

Adventure: Andreas Kieling

“End of February, at the Canadian Hudson Bay. I was waiting in front of a polar bear cave for the appearance of mother bear and her cubs. I had built a protective barrier from ice blocks.  On this day, the temperature was down to minus 40 degrees Celsius. In spite of the extreme cold, the humidity increased. When I took off my mask I realized that the skin that had actually been protected was coated with a layer of ice. These severe frostbites can still be seen on my face today.”

Adventure: Elisa Detrez & Max Coquard  

“Paragliding over Yelapa, Mexico”

Adventure: Erwan Balança

“The Hudson Bay is a particularly cold place. In winter, the sea freezes and winds running through it are frozen. That morning the temperature was difficult to estimate, but the thermometer was stuck at  -50 C …. However Gerald and his dogs seemed to traverse the icy surface with lot of fun. For many years this passionate musher raced in one of the Hudson’s dog sled races, deemed as one of the toughest in the world.”

Adventure: Kyriakos Kaziras

“It’s an adventure! The adventure begins for this little elephant in the middle of the herd. In a desperate race to reach the water hole and work their way through the other elephants to reach the water and roll in the mud to splash and spray the others … a pleasure.”

Adventure: Gilles Reboisson

“Northern Adventure is a long walk in Svalbard on the Arctic Ice. The sun never sets and the cold and winds would appear, but we had to continue at -40°C, in 7 hours, to reach the east coast of Spitzberg.”

Adventure: Viktoria Haack

Adventure: Kylie Turley

“Nauyaca Falls, Costa Rica – a little slice of paradise.”

Adventure: Emily Polar

“Starting up before sunrise can be a slow going feat, especially when it’s cold. But some mornings the depth of a velvety blue dusk mesmerizes even the cold. Here’s to a life of adventure out on the road.”

Adventure: Daisy Gilardini

“Adventure is waiting for 117 hours in front of a polar bear den at temperatures reaching -54C  with wind gusting to 60 km/h , waiting for the mother to come out for the first time with her newborn cubs. Wapusk National Park – Manitoba, Canada”

Adventure: Kristian Bogner

“The Wall. This image was taken while climbing a headwall up to high camp on your way to summit Vinson Massif, Antarctica.  You can see our previous camp site near the middle of the photograph way in the distance.  I used my Toploader 75 AW II and Toploader 50 AW II with hand warmers inside to keep my 2 Nikon DSLRs warm, protected and quickly accessible, without having to take off my big expedition pack.”

Adventure: Bruno Calendini

“Room with a View” Desert of Libya. Physical or spiritual, the adventure starts when our landmarks end and where we lose our habits.”

Adventure: Ryan Struck

“Adventure means so many things to me, and much of what I shoot is definitely an adventure. From camping and hiking, travel in the states and abroad, the sand and surf, as well as city living, I aim to find adventure in everything I do. I choose this image of the Northern Lights that I shot last week in Iceland because it was my own personal adventure. Seeing the lights has been a dream of mine since I first saw pictures of them in National Geographic as a kid. I tried to find them in Denali National Park 2 years ago camping, but was rained out every night there. I found dark, clear skies while in Iceland and waited for the sun to set. Every night around 10pm they would hint an appearance, and by midnight I was screaming with delight at the wonder overhead.”

Adventure: Cole Beal

“I have learned recently, that to me, adventure is doing something that I love with an element that is not the norm. In this photo I was taking pictures at my favorite surf spot with someone I had never shot with before!”

Adventure: Elisabeth Brentano

“Adventure means letting go of plans and finding joy in the unexpected moments.Sometimes this leads to failure, but it can also take you down new paths you never knew existed. When you’re hit with a sense of wonderment that stops you dead in your tracks and makes you scream for joy on the inside, it’s a feeling you never want to lose. Adventure is my drug of choice…what’s yours?”

Adventure: Joseph Roybal

“As a dedicated landscape photographer, my job essentially is to get out and explore the world around us, and looking to create new, unique and compelling imagery that resonates with the viewer (which is getting harder and harder to do). As a result, I have been working to to seek out more remote locations, hike further, and employ new techniques in my photography I hadn’t originally thought possible when I began in this craft just a few years ago. I find within the craft of photography exploration not to be only a physical action, but also an introspective one, forcing us to dig deep within, and pushing ourselves to the next level photographically, mentally and technically. This desire to get out and leave the comforts of home, our bed, our standard photo techniques behind is one that can have incredible rewards.

As many viewers of this blog might be getting the sense (due to my repeated area of focus), I love photographing in the deserts with the incredible formations and rugged landscape; they possess a soft beauty unlike any other, e.g. Monument Valley. I set out just a few weeks ago to explore this vast landscape, searching for a new perspective on a common scene, and was blessed with incredible light and an amazing sky my last night in the field. This image was a risk as it is a blend of seven frames taken vertically to capture the expanse of the scene, all hand-held as the light was changing too rapidly to get my tripod into position. Wishing everyone great light and happy shooting!”

Adventure: Fabio Antenore

“Sometimes adventure means to hike on a mountain and climb over rocks to find the right spot. And sometimes adventure means not sleeping for five days because of the fantastic light during the day and the auroras at night. A journey to Norway’s Lofoten islands is definitely not the time for relaxing and hanging around. I have never been to a place like this: deep blue water, snowy mountains and the most beautiful light ever! And the greatest is the feeling when you see this amazing green light at night. No matter how tired you are, it is just breathtaking.”

Adventure: Matthias Fend

“A journey to the eastern border of Turkey can be very adventurous. Especially to hike up a 5,000 meter high mountain (mount Ararat). The weather was constantly changing and it was hard for us to fight our way to the top. In the end, we did not make it. But it was not a fail – it was a great experience in a different culture.”

Adventure: Peter Hawk

“Lucio B. from Frankfurt has always dreamt about the infinite expanses of space. The future rocket designer started with simple construction plans to get closer to his dream. Until one day his dream came true! Let the adventure begin! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four…adventure!”

Adventure: Tom Bunning

“Being a professional photographer means I’ve been lucky enough to experience some breath-taking views over the years, but a recent adventure traveling north along the Dempster Highway was real highlight…”

Adventure: Thilo Brunner

“We had been on a documentation for Outdoor Magazine in Oman. We were looking for signs of the Arabian Leopard and found pretty interesting tracks in a cave”

Adventure: Craig Pulsifer

“Haida Gwaii, BC – Adventure comes in all shapes, sizes and seasons of life.  On a recent visit to the islands of Haida Gwaii, just south of the Alaskan Panhandle, I bumped into Joyce and John Henderson – intrepid septuagenarians and avid birdwatchers – who set a heart-racing pace along the boardwalked paths to Tow Hill above Agate Beach. The adventure never ends!”

Adventure: Jerm Cohen

“Adventure is riding into the sunset on the Williamsburg Bridge- my favorite place to bike in NYC.”

Adventure:  Dave Cheung

“We are always honored to be flown far and near to shoot our gorgeous couples in amazing places.  After shooting this wedding on the island of Mykonos, Greece, we flew to Athens and drove two hours to shoot a Day-After session at the Temple of Poseidon.  Sadly, security at the gate turned us away, thinking we were doing a commercial shoot for Life magazine! When we realized there was no negotiating with them, we decided to explore the hills nearby, and boy are we glad we did.  Our fearless bride didn’t let the strong winds deter her.  Because of their willingness to explore, we came away with gorgeous images like the one above – and a great story to tell as a bonus 🙂  Adventure indeed.”

Adventure: Frank Lopez

“Adventure is out there waiting to be found, places that have yet to be touched, things that have yet to be experienced. Adventure awaits for those who are willing to find it.”

Adventure: Hugo Pedel

“This mountain is a treasure…every trip up there is an unforgettable adventure, where humility takes all the senses.”

Adventure: Florian Wagner

“One of my most adventurous shootings for Nitro Snowboards in cooperation with Red Bull Media House. Pro rider Elias Elhard had built a kicker to get enough air to fly by the helicopter flown by top pilot Marcus Aulfinger from Stuttgart. Location: Heliskiing the Himalayas in Kashmir, close to the Pakistani border.”

Adventure: Glenn Fajota

“This particular trip was about four guys who have the craziest schedules running their photography business in Virginia Beach, tech company in DC and brewery in the Bronx. They shared one thing in common and that was hiking! Disregarding recent news reports about hiker deaths in the Mt Whitney/Franklin Pass mountain ranges, they planned to leave their family for a few days on the east coast and head west to tackle the highest peak in the continental United States. The week of the hike, crunch time hit and two of the guys had to stay and prepare for their grand opening of their brewery in NYC, which was in two weeks. So only two were able to make this trip. Of the two that were going, one was leaving his wife home who was due with their second child the following week. That left the fourth guy, me, with a huge duty to make sure that he made it back alive or his wife would have at us! If he missed the birth, I’m sure we both wouldn’t be alive when we returned.

All joking aside, the both of us flew cross country and met at the airport only to find the other guy at the service counter because they lost his luggage! We were forced to stay the night and wait til the next day for his pack to arrive on the first flight in. The next day, we stopped by the airport, picked his pack up and made a four-hour drive to the trailhead, with hours just before the sunset. In the dash to the top, we gained 3,000’ of elevation in a few hours and as soon as we took our packs off, we both realized that we had altitude sickness, not a good feeling at 12,000′. So we decided make camp and summit the next day. Once we set up camp, we looked around and found that we’re surrounded by marmots and a mountain lion in the distance, but that was the least of our worries; the altitude sickness had us scared. Right after this picture, we climbed in our tents and didn’t wake up until the next morning. We totally missed a perfect shot of the sunset and the night moon in one photo.

The next morning, we felt 100% better and we finished the hike to the summit, where we enjoyed a beer from the brewery that we brought from home in honor of the two that didn’t make the trip. We learned a lot on this trip and have made an attempt to hike as a group on the same weekend every year. Adventure? I would say so. Happy Trails!”

Amanda Pollard

About Amanda Pollard

Amanda Pollard is the WW Communications Manager for Lowepro. She's a drone enthusiast, who not only loves aerial photography but FPV as well. You can usually find her lurking around Lowepro's social media, writing blogs, and trying to find ways to give bags away. You can reach Amanda at apollard@daymen.com

Our Brands