Deon Towle Media
38 Victoria Crescent V9R 5B8 Nanaimo, BC, Canada

On Journaling ______________ Personally, I always seem to journal when I’m only feeling upset or down, but I feel as though it’s a slightly foolish habit that doesn’t allow me to reflect on the things that make me happy. Not to say I’ve never journaled during good points in my life, I certainly have and it brings me a lot of gratitude and appreciation for my life in that moment. Which is exactly why I’d like to keep doing it. 2020 has been a challenging year. I’...ve learned a lot about myself and my work, as well as some of the things that motivate me. I’ve also excepted change in many respects. Like in the way that I used to find certain aspects of photography meaningful that now come across more shallow. It’s natural to change, but sometimes it’s hard to accept. Life is all about acceptance and that’s something that journaling, meditation, and gratitude practice have all helped me realize. I think my work used to come from a place of ego a lot and, to be fair, lots of work does especially in photography. But I’ve really come to realize how unfulfilling this type of art is for me personally. Through self discovery I have allowed myself to except a higher calling, to pursue deeper work, and to share stories with more meaning. I’m not exactly sure what this progression will look like, it may even look very similar. All I know is that the past few months of pain and unknowing are simply the result of growth and transformation. Much like the growing pains I experienced as a child in the night, this is a figurative representation. It is certainly not rainbows and puppies from here. A great amount of energy is still required to continue progressing. Through regular practice of mindfulness, physical exertion, and self acceptance I believe I will be able to continue forward with success. Remember that. See more

Wow. Let me take a second to share a story from this summer. It hasn't been until this moment, precisely 116 days after the below events took place that I am reflecting on their place in my memory. This was the day @kurtvanisl and @liam_gilchrist1 and I climbed "Into The Mystic" on Mt. Colonel Foster (see the photos to see why it lived up to the name). The night we arrived to the mountain's base, the barometric meter in my watch started going off reading "Storm Al...arm". I guess the Barometric pressure had decreased rapidly, as it happens before a bad storm. This was the first time I had experienced this feature. Fitting that it made its presence known the night before the biggest and most committing climb of my summer. When we awoke the next morning, we unzipped to see the mountain shrouded in a thick, ominous mist like something of an archetypal evil monster's lair (see photo number 4). We took a slow start to the day. We approached the base of the climb, wet and seeping with condensed fog and mist. Honestly, I was not at all stoked about climbing a 1,000m 5.10 Alpine route in wet conditions, but time was ticking and we had no other real options. The three of us sat and waited for over an hour (photo 5) in the hopes the sun would come out and dry the wall for us... I'm not sure if it was pure luck, or if maybe something else was going on "up there" but at what seemed like the last minute, the fog and mist began to clear and Kurt, Liam, and myself felt the warm sunshine break through. It was almost instant that the new late-morning light started drying the wall. Now that we were over 5 hours behind schedule, we had to start moving. I look back at this day with fondness, despite my fears of climbing in wet, stormy alpine conditions. I don't think there's a moral here, but I'm happy I get to share stories like this from the places that mean so much to me. See more

Caught some beautiful light on our way out of Strathcona last week

#lestweforget #remembranceday

Well it was the perfect send off for an epic season of alpine excursions. We bagged three peaks in near perfect weather (despite a touch of snow/ice). Standing tall on the most narrow summit peak I’ve ever been on gave me a good reminder of the way climbing sends a rush down my spine. Nothing but shear exposure down either side of us, it was one last reminder of how small and insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things. That’s why I love the mountains and I think that’s ultimately why I climb #NextGreatAdventure

Flying is a great metaphor for lfe. As a passenger, there's all of these unseen forces keeping you in the air, and your main hope is that everything goes according to plan and that the controls don't suddenly fail, keeping you on your desired flight path. As a pilot though, your job is to constantly be monitoring all of those controls to ensure that failures don't take control, or that an unexpected gust of wind doesn't blow you off your path in another direction. When it comes to your life, be the pilot, not the passenger.

Vancouver Island’s river systems are truly an inspiring sight. Along them you’ll find massive ancient old growths, spawning salmon, elusive steelhead, and hungry bears, among other surprises. I’d say that’s worth protecting.

For Thanksgiving this year Landon, Matt, Selena, Calley and myself found ourselves at this stunning and remote Alpine hut in the reaches of Northern Vancouver Island. It was an extremely beautiful and intimate experience in the nature with a solid crew, as well as a warm welcome to what the winter season has in store. If you want to find out more about this trip, I actually wrote an entire blog post with photos as part of a new creative goal to put out and express more cont...ent that I care about. I'll also be giving away a signed print, so go check it out. https://deontowlemedia.com/blog/an-alpine-thanksgiving #NextGreatAdventure

POV: You're a salmon minding your own when these two humans start swimming with you to try and take your photo Never have I felt as connected with nature as I did in these moments. Matt Walker and I hucked out the wetsuits and made our way down the trail, all while onlookers and tourists watched us in curious disbelief wondering why we were about to go swim in this river. We hungout for over two hours straight, finding quiet eddys along the walls of the canyon to sit st...ill and stare down at the thousands of fish trying to make their way upstream. Some fish didn't even notice us as we swam up behind them, at points you could get so close to touch them. We were like young kids again, constantly looking back at eachother to confirm that what we were experiencing was in fact real. We got to the base of the heavy set of falls, surely the biggest challenge of any Salmon's life, and perched ourselves on rocks with our heads underwater, witnessing the magic that only mother nature herself can provide. In this moment, life was so pure and meaningful, it was hard to grasp if I'm being honest. Nothing else matters to these fish other than the objective of laying their eggs so that the next generations can repeat the circle of life. I appreciate my home for providing this wonderfully humbling experience. #NextGreatAdventure

I remember when we came across this scene it felt like something right out of a Swiss Alps brochure or something. We all had to stop and take in this view when it first came into sight. As we were counting up the valley from here, we actually ended up going off route and headed into some pretty steep and nasty bushwhacking I guess the best experiences are often complimented by the worst ones #NextGreatAdventure