I came across Taylor's photographs last year while browsing through my Instagram feed. One of his images was featured on a wilderness account I follow. I really liked the shot and after looking at his feed, I quickly became a fan. I loved his approach and the natural feel his images had. The images didn't try to hard and felt really authentic. Taylor was great to chat with and the fun and natural vibe conveyed in his images carried through to who he was as a person. -Matt
Tell us a bit about what you do?
I'm a freelance adventure and travel photographer and I've been doing it full-time for almost a year. Right now I'm in Pismo Beach, California but I used to call Edmonton, Alberta home. I got rid of my place there last Spring and I've been travelling ever since. I am currently living out of my vehicle, camping and staying with friends when I can. I had no real reason to be in Edmonton anymore; I’m just not really into the city lifestyle, so I opted for something different.
What was your path to becoming a full-time photographer?
A few years ago I was travelling and came across Instagram. I wasn’t really into social media; I didn’t have Facebook or any other social apps. I was happy without it but I thought I'd give Instagram a try because I had all these photos from my travels and I wanted to inspire my friends to get out and see the world. I learned that Instagram was a great place to share photos, so I signed up and started to upload my pictures there. When I got back to Alberta I ended up getting an iPhone and I was amazed by the quality of photos it could take. They were way better than the camera I had previously.
From there I just had fun shooting my everyday life: going for walks, going to the mountains, going here and there. I had fun trying to capture different angles and perspectives. Mobile photography was nothing like anything I had done before. From there, photography developed into more of a hobby and eventually some friends said, “You should just buy a DSLR camera.” I agreed due to an upcoming trip. I wanted to capture high quality memories. I bought a Canon Rebel T3i and I took it on my trip. I had no clue what I was doing with the camera though, and I quickly got fed up with it. I preferred my iPhone just because of its ease. With the iPhone you just point and shoot, with DSLRs it has all these crazy settings. It was a bit overwhelming and I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I bought this expensive camera and it was just collecting dust in my house.
Until the beginning of last summer, I only posted iPhone photos. In that time though I was learning, asking questions, watching YouTube tutorials. I had friends in photography and would learn from them, gain insight and practice, practice, practice. I would see a shot–like a slowed down waterfall or a Milky Way–and I would research and figure out how to get those type of shots and just kept practicing until I was able to capture what I wanted.