Lessons Learned From Life On the Road

April 12, 2022

The pursuit of dreams is not for the faint of heart. It takes so much passion, desire, and endurance to bring a dream to reality. When I upended my life and headed to Florida to chase my photography dreams, I had a lot of per-conceived notions about where my life was headed and the direction everything would go in when I left Colorado. Little did I know a lot of those visions would be shattered and replaced with so many more important life lessons and experiences that I could have never imagined. I cannot express my gratitude for the journey that I was able to go on during my time in Florida. Here are some of the best lessons I learned during my time on the road.

Money Is Not Everything

When I started my journey east, I had everything someone could seemingly want in their career. A great salary, a line for another promotion, travel, an expense budget, the works. And yet I was so devoid on the inside because I was no longer doing what I loved in life. Don’t get me wrong, at one point I loved my day job, but as time went on, my passion and love for it subsided. I finally realized that the money I was making was coming at the cost of my soul, and the further and further I went, the more devoid I was feeling inside. We all need money to survive, but I lived on so much less the past few months and I can freely admit that I feel like a different human being with the amount of stress that has left my body from only focusing on my photography and not doing a job I no longer loved.

Planning Helps a Ton, But Be Willing to Adapt

I will be honest, I hate planning- I always have and it’s probably why I am like chaos to most people’s lives! I will admit though, I planned a LOT for this trip. I began the planning process back in September and it helped a ton with the journey. Not everything went according to plan though and where I thrive is in the chaos so I loved being able to adapt on the fly. Plan for the best, expect the worst, and enjoy the hell out of the randomness of life, it is one of the great joys of the journey!

You Have a Way Larger Community Than You Think

One of my favorite aspects of this journey was that I never knew who I would see week to week. I kept my website up to date and shared where I was going to show constantly on social media. By sharing more, I kept seeing more people that I never expected to! Family, friends, old acquaintances- I welcomed all that came to see me and the hospitality that everyone showed me was so unbelievable. The journey towards your dreams can be a lonely one at times, but it doesn’t always have to. Accept the help when others are willing to give it and welcome all experiences, they may just change your life!

You Do Not Have to Be a Lone Wolf

Growing up I was so enamored with the people that I felt hit these pinnacles of success by their lonesome, and now more than ever that’s what people think happens thanks to social media. I cannot express that I could not have made any of this journey happen without the enormous community that I have behind me. People were willing to help me around every single corner and I could not be more grateful for it. Everyone loves feeling like they are a part of something bigger, and they truly are. I would not be where I am today without the people and experiences that I have had in my life and being able to see that over this journey was deeply meaningful.

Don’t Lose Sight of Why You’re Here

This is a saying that multiple people told me at different times on this journey. One of the hard parts when you are first starting out on your own is being consumed with where the money is going to come from. I kept worrying about this for a while and then I got back to focusing on the creation and making my business better every single day. It all worked out in the end and at the end of the day you can always go back and get another job. If you lose sight of why you’re doing what you’re doing you will get lost along the way. Once I put things in perspective again, I had better experiences (and better sales) to help the world around me, and I took the best photos I could have imagined during my time in Florida.

People Are Willing to Help More Than You Know

Be a good person! It’s how I try to live my life and how I treat the world around me. Thanks to this philosophy, I had a number of other artists be so willing to help me along the way. I cannot even come close to expressing my gratitude for other artists because without them I probably would have failed in this process. Help other people the way others have helped you, and be willing to eat your ego and listen to what other successful people around you have done before.

You Only Have One Life to Live

This saying seems so trite and I am guilty of saying it over the years too. I never actually felt it until this trip however. I realized all of the time that I had wasted on meaningless shit and now see that I can never get that back. I don’t live in regret but there are a lot of things I wish I had done differently on the way. I know that I am in the best possible place with the life that I have left and I am going to consciously avoid wasting it from here on out. Live life with purpose and meaning, love deeply and tell the people in your life you love them, and make the world around you into a better place with everything that you do. You only have one life, so stop putting your dreams off until tomorrow and go chase them!

Cheers,

Jeremy Janus

Why I Shoot Nature Photography

January 24, 2018

We all have our reasons for getting into artistic outlets. Be it photography, music, or art; these crafts truly stimulate the mind, body, and soul like nothing else on this planet has the ability to do. The creativity, joy, passion, and inspiration that the arts bring cannot always be put into words.

I started my artistic endeavors back in my early 20's when I got bored and started painting my childhood idol: Batman (just for the record, he is my adulthood idol as well). Painting in acrylics can be daunting due to the quick drying and tough blending of colors but the results can be uncanny and extremely satisfying. The last decade of constantly pushing and improving my painting and drawing skills ultimately led me to find a passion in another artistic realm: photography.

I did not truly start hiking until I moved to Colorado at 18 years old. My late uncle Mike and my dad took my siblings and I on hikes all around Colorado and I fell in love instantly. Those early days of hiking instilled a love and passion for the outdoors that I have never been able to shake, nor have I wanted to.

I spent the last 14 years moving between California and Colorado (7 times to be exact) and as such, I have been able to hike all around the southwest United States. I have seen so many beautiful places and met so many amazing people along the way. What started out as hiking and posting pictures to social sites quickly became a lot of my friends reaching out asking about hikes and telling me that my pictures were halfway decent.

About a year and a half ago I moved back to Colorado and had the opportunity to do a lot of travel and so two of my best friends gave me the best advice I had ever received. I was contemplating whether to buy a DSLR or just stick with my camera phone and continue taking photos on that. I cannot tell you the exact words but they said something like "We're not telling you to buy a camera, but you need to buy a camera". I cannot even fathom how different my life would be had they not talked me into biting the bullet and making the switch to a DSLR.

The greatest aspect of nature photography to me is that it encompasses all of the most important aspects of my life: nature, wildlife, photography, spirituality, artistic freedom, and white space to disconnect from the stresses of everyday life. The way in which I view the world because of nature photography has changed everything- I see shadows, lights, and colors in a way that I never did before (which the acrylic painting has also helped). I can size up an image in my head and visualize the finished product before I even take the picture, let alone upload it on my computer for editing. Nature photography has fed my love for nature and my love for photography- they are so intersected in my life now that I cannot take one without the other.

The community that I have been able to be a part of as a result of nature photography has been tremendous. I have a couple of great friends that have helped me more than I could ever express in photography- ideas, concepts, technical knowledge, and ways to continually push photography have always been a part of the conversations we have had and continue to have. I have been fortunate enough to be able to contribute to Shutterstock.com, Adobe, Fotolia, and Pond5 stock photography in the last few months and have been able to sell photos in 10 different countries and all over the United States. I am a part of multiple other photography communities in which the artists are constantly producing amazing nature photos that only inspire and push me to constantly hone my craft. I have also had the opportunity to help photographers along the way that I have met in nature and have had some amazing conversations sharing ideas.

Whatever type of photography you decide to do make sure you do it with one thing in mind: passion. I remember when I first started nature photography I had a lot of people say not to do it because there are too many nature photographers. I never listened to that advice and neither should you. Do whatever photography you are passionate about and success will come. Passion pushes you through the tough times and gives you motivation when you are struggling. People love to see the end result of photography but they do not see the waking up at 3AM to catch a sunrise hike, driving 4 hours to go to the perfect location, hiking 15 grueling miles to get a beautiful shot, or all of the time, energy, and frustration that comes with trying to edit the perfect photos for hours at a time. The main driving force that pushes you through all those trials and tribulations is passion.

Keep pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone and new opportunities will arise. I hope you give nature photography a try and see if it takes you on a ride like it did me. And if you hate it, then don't do it! But find something you are passionate about and develop it, the world around you will only become a better place! What type of photography or art do you enjoy doing? Feel free to leave a comment below and share your passions, who knows, one day you may find yourself writing a blog you never thought you would...

Cheers,

Jeremy Janus