A pair of avid nature enthusiasts are on track to complete their journey across 59 US National Parks in 52 weeks by the end of the year. Photographer Jonathan Irish and his partner Stephanie Payne embarked on the year-long road trip in January to honour the National Park centennial, the couple have currently visited 47 out of the 59 parks.
Irish tells DigitalRev that both he and Payne had fond memories of visiting the national parks when they were growing up and continued to forge a deeper connection with nature as adults. “The parks are sacred places for us so when centennial year for the park service was approaching, we thought it would be a good time to dedicate one year in our life celebrating those places that we so love. ”
Great Smoky Mountains / Jonathan Irish
Admittedly, Irish does mention that the Fujifilm sponsored trip wasn’t entirely altruistic, as the idea of travelling a year through national parks sounded like a dream trip — One that has so far lived up to every bit of their expectations.
While famous parks such as Yosemite and Yellowstone certainly lived up to the hype, it was the smaller and parks that proved to be the most wondrous for Irish and Payne. “Every park is special and unique in its own way,” says Irish, “digging into them and discovering its beauty was so much fun and sometimes quite surprising.
Grand Teton National Park / Jonathan Irish
To capture the stunning sights, Irish used two Fujifilm X-T1 camera bodies; one equipped with a short zoom XF16-55mm f2. 8 and the other with a long telephoto XF100-400 f4. 5-5. 6. He also carried around a XF16mm f1. 4, the XF50-140 f2. 8, and XF60mm f2. 4 Macro lens as part of his daily kit to prepare for any situation possible.
“It is really hard to keep your creativity on a high level every single day without a break, but the fear of not doing a good job nor representing a park in the best light really drives me to push hard. ”
Thinking back on the time spent on the road so far, Irish says that the National Park excursion has sparked a new sense of creativity when it comes to photography. “ Whenever we move from one park to the next, I feel this tension in my stomach which usually comes from knowing that I am about to discover an entirely new place and I need to dig in quickly and find the best images in the very short amount of time we have. ”
Crater Lake National Park / Jonathan Irish
For each National Park visited, Irish scouts the location by studying it beforehand and pinpointing the areas he’d like to focus on. After spending some time to get a lay of the land, the following days are spent capturing grand shots and the smaller ones that people may have missed. “It's made me a master at pre-planning concepts and ideas for locations, he says. “At cutting quickly to focus on exactly what I want to shoot, at scouting and knowing what will be a good location and at what time, and at working quickly under a stressful situation where there is not a lot of time for mistakes or errors. ”
With the trip winding to a close, Irish tells us that he and his wife will cherish being out in nature, barbecuing outdoors most nights, and spending each day learning and stretching their creative limits as far as it allows. That said, Irish is looking forward to staying in one place each night, seeing friends and family, and spending a day to do absolutely nothing.
Joshua Tree Star Trails / Jonathan Irish
When asked about any sage advice for photographers feeling uninspired, Irish says, “Take a risk. I know it sounds crazy, but every once in awhile you have to throw caution to the wind, take a chance, and reinvent yourself. ” Irish walked away from a dream job at National Geographic because he aspired to do something big on his own and produce content that was purely conceived by himself. He also reminds fellow photographers that future clients are more interested in your work and how you shoot when you’re basically working as your own client.
Irish is still undergoing his epic journey to photograph all US National Parks but he is already set to lead a few trips for National Geographic as a photo expert, possibly work on a book, and a follow up project to The Greatest American Road Trip.
Hot Springs / Jonathan Irish
To read more about Irish and Payne’s 59 US National Parks in 52 weeks project visit The Greatest American Road Trip website here, and follow Irish’s journey on Instagram here.
Big Bend National Park / Jonathan Irish
Petrified Forest National Park / Jonathan Irish
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Kenai Fjords National Park / Jonathan Irish
Death Valley National Park / Jonathan Irish
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Crater Lake National Park / Jonathan Irish
North Cascades National Park / Jonathan Irish
Yosemite National Park / Jonathan Irish
Title photo: Redwoods National Park / Jonathan Irish
Images used with permission
. digitalrev.com2016-11-16 03:00