John Meisner Photography

Great times last weekend getting out to explore new places with Reece and Taylor on their turf. (@stonedgiraffe // @taylormichaelburk) It’s ironic that getting outside for a change of scenery can now be exhausted in this small world. Although it remains a privilege that I am eternally grateful for .. #ExploreToCreate

Brazil is considering a bill that would open up demarcated Indigenous territories to the extractive industries of mining, oil and natural gas. The Kayapo Indigenous people want the world to know: Not only could this mean the end of Amazonia, but it threatens the livelihoods and cultures of an estimated 20 million Indigenous people from more than 350 Indigenous groups. Pound for pound, tropical conservation is the most effective way to combat climate change. Full stop. Which ...is why we work hard at @kayapoproject to get their incredible story out and defence programs in - It is great to see it continue to make waves with the likes of @leonardodicaprio and @global_wildlife_conservation this week. Onward. #KayapoCourage @kayapoproject @floresta.protegida @instituto_kabu @global_wildlife_conservation

The snow gods definitely gave us a morale-booster this week. After the dry weather and whistler getting smashed by the virus, you couldn’t help but grin. Let’s hope for more of these and a smoother road ahead. #ExploreToCreate

off-road in the alpine

It’s int’l mountain day, you know the drill let’s pay our respects to these old farts who owe us nothing yet provide us with clean water, carbon sinks, and an endless playground ... worth protecting if you ask me. #InternationalMountainDay

morning rush for mahi-mahi, #Oaxaca

was definitely guilty of overlooking the coast prior to this summer..

jasper locals .. stay out of their way and they stay out of yours, or so they say. #ExploreAlberta

summer feels in western canada, so far #WetCoast

Having the world suddenly grounded (so to speak) and not be able to go to any corner of the globe at the drop of a hat I think has a hidden bonus. - Scarcity not only cultivates creativity but also gratitude. Yes, millions of plans have been cancelled (some of mine included). However, I believe having the world stay local has caused many people to turn over rocks they’d otherwise overlook. - People are eager to try new things and explore new places. However, since when has ...quality of those two endeavours been proportional to distance?#ExploreLocal #Summer2020 **Some snaps of places that now seem further than ever. @ Right under Your Nose... See more

Last summer, I tried changing up the way I went about hiking. Rather than making day trips or full over nighters, we’d gun for sunrise. Meaning being at the actual objective for dawn. Packing up the car or setting out from camp at 3am is as dreadful as it sounds. Cold, tired, and sometimes even nauseous you’d wonder what the hell you were thinking. Though usually after the first 20 mins of moving you would settle in. Finally, you make it to the top to await the rapi...d warming of the sun while you battled the night’s temps combined with sweat and wind. As you can imagine it’s always worth it. During mid-day the mountains show their magnificence, but at dusk and dawn they show their mystique. Not to mention the photo conditions are prime and you can bag a hike before starting work ;) - Hoping to get more of these experiences this summer in new places with great faces. #ExploreBC @ British Columbia See more

topo. @travelcolumbiavalley

Happy #WorldWildlifeDay !! A day when we celebrate the rich biodiversity this planet has to offer and acknowledge the growing threats against it. We are all nature...let’s not forget that. Pictured here are a couple of Spider Monkeys (endangered) on their morning commute. These are a couple of my favourite #wildlife shots from two summers ago in the Xingu basin, Kayapo Territory. #TheresNoPlanetB @ Planet Earth

Summer Adventures: Coming after a spring near you @ A Lot of Places

90 days ago in Ireland #GoreTex @ Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

I’m all for the current (wet) pow town we’re seeing here on the coast. New snow everyday is hard to turn down. However, I can’t help but get excited for some sun, snowpack, and stability. Along with the human powered missions that come with it. #EarnYourTurns @protectourwinterscanada

Driving up to Whistler the night day I was listening to @chrisburkard on the @chasejarvis podcast while trying to top up on some much needed brain food. One thing Chris mentioned was that almost all the best creatives he can think of started with some kind of road trip. It made me wonder, and then immediately think: Yup, Iceland. ... A couple years ago myself and best friend @rigatony spent 10 days driving around and dirt bagging in Iceland. It started off as a partnership with two Icelandic companies. However, I ended up having our trip published with @subarucanada in their brand magazine. When I look back, not only was it a brain bending trip given the sights and experiences, it also helped me propel my career and learn how to deal with clients, pitching, and all the other components of the freelance dance. Definitely looking to create another monumental mission like that one in the near future. #PersonalDevelopment #RoadTrips #iceland @ Ring Road, Iceland

The world is on fire - what we’re seeing in Australia is unprecedented. I’m a carbon contributor. I travel a lot. Flying, driving, you name it. Shit, I’m even writing this while sitting in an airport about to fly across the country. We live in a carbon based economy and although the world is waking up, it will take some time for us to transition into the renewable electrification of almost all things. Watching what happened in BC two summers ago, Brazil this fall, and n...ow Australia is downright terrifying. The discussion of climate change being a problem of the future is out the window - it’s here now. I want to remind you that your actions as an individual count. Canadians are number 3 in the world for carbon emissions per capita. Which means adjustments at the individual level create a huge impact. Working with @protectourwinterscanada we have easy to use tools to calculate your footprint as well as easy adjustments that you can make. For instance, I transitioned to a plant based diet which removes on average 1.8tCO2e from the atmosphere per year compared to a meat lovers diet. That’s more carbon saved than switching to an electric car! If you truly care and are looking for the easiest way to reduce you impact the keyword is beef. Get rid of it. We’re all in this together whether you like it or not folks. Think mindfully each day and more importantly, give a damn. Photos from a savannah region of the Brazilian Amazon - 2015. @ Think

This is what navigating the Amazon looks like - day in and day out. Trying not to trip over debris while also watching your head simultaneously, all while hiking in a half squat. Fifty fire ants down the back of your shirt or laying a shoulder into a throned palm tree are a couple of things you’ll experience within the first half hour or so. Anything over a bullet ant though...or better yet bushmaster. Following Takoknjoti or any of the #Kayapo through the rainforest is lik...e nothing you’ll ever experience. Their sense of direction is truly superhuman and they have eyes like you could never believe. They’ll tell you exactly what animal was nearby and how long ago from the faintest tracks you’ve ever seen. This is what comes from a lifetime a navigating dense and rich tropical rainforest. It continuously boggles my mind that communities and cultures like the Kayapo exist today and that the big agro private sectors of the world can’t recognize the sacredness of both their land and culture - Our work with the @kayapoproject will do everything in its power to continue to protect their land and livelihood. The future starts now. #TropicalConservation #KayapoCourage #BoycottBeef

One of those shots that you dismiss right after as being sub optimal and not what you’re looking for ... Only for it to catch your eye a few months later. #ExploreToCreate @travelcolumbiavalley

Yesterday, we managed to pull off quite a feat raising $84,088 in 24 hours for @protectourwinterscanada with the help of our friends at @arcteryx - It’s incredible to see a collective group like our members and partners come together and pull off something like this. 2019 has been a huge benchmark year for us. With international campaigns, team growth, and policy generation. Can’t wait to continue riding this wave with this incredible organization into the new year...Big things to come #POWerInNumbers #Community #ClimateAction Photo: @angepercival

That moment when you finally reach your camp spot. You throw down your 50lbs of gear. Feel the chill down your back as your sweat soaked shirt finally touches fresh air. That sigh of relief as you begin to switch into comfort mode. And in this case, have the night sky put on a show. I guess you can say this lull season really has me reminiscing...Anytime now winter. #ExploreToCreate @ Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia

Seeing the arrival of winter back in Canada is sure getting the stoke gears turning #TouringSeason @protectourwinterscanada

Late afternoon drama on Bugaboo Glacier @protectourwinterscanada

A young Kayapo girl shows us a baby Capuchin Monkey in the village of Krinoere. Last month myself @natalieknowles and @barblewzim were down in the Kayapo Territory scouting sustainable eco tourism development. It’s always when you get away and back into the real world when you realize the substantiality of what’s going on down there. Consume consciously, lean for a better future, and do your part. @kayapoproject #KayapoCourage

Tomorrow I head back into the Jungle for another stint in the Kayapo Territory for @kayapoproject . The goal of this trip is to assess eco-tourism opportunity, survey local wildlife, and expand our current partnership with @untamedangling . This initiative provides sustainable income as a micro-enterprise for the project that helps fund river guard posts (led by the kayapo) and surveillance programs that aid in combatting illegal gold mining and logging. The current state... of rainforest conservation came to light last month with the explosion on social media with news about the Amazon fires. Your feeds have most likely moved in by now but the route of this problem has by no means been addressed. Luckily, all of the land (11,000,000 hectares) that’s legally demarcated to the Kayapo has been unscathed. However, the fires aren’t far. This is what happens when you properly invest in both effective and legal conservation initiatives. The future of their communities and Amazonian ecosystems are decided by our decisions today. Excited to see what this year’s trip brings...the Amazon never holds back #KayapoCourage @ Sao Felix Xingu / Pa See more

Last week I had the privilege of having one of my best friends @davidmcpherson_ come and visit me in the mountains. I find when you move away from home, (me being your typical Ontario-BC transplant) you often find that you develop two lenses through which, you perceive your life through (friends, past, jobs, family etc.). And they are completely independent to one another. But having the visits like these ones help make those lenses feel a little more fused together. Dave overlooking Jumbo mountain on our way out #ExploreBC

Eat your greens.

Shale Shuffle at Dawn #ExploreToCreate

This place may mean more me to than the average person. However, I cannot express enough how important it is to EVERYONE regardless of how much you care. Every single biome on earth, one way or another, is linked to this ancient forest. The only positive I see coming out of this right now is the immense awareness going down on social media. Despite it taking this much carnage, it’s amazing to see the world is finally waking up. You CAN help, whether it is simply spreading the awareness or donating to an NGO, everything you do has a ripple effect. And losing the Amazon is the ultimate global tsunami...whether you like it or not. @kayapoproject @ Brazil www.kayapoproject.org

For the love of it. #WeekendMode

Iceland? No. New Zealand? No. East Koots? You betcha. Glacial sediment seeps into streams and rivers creating patterns and colours like I’ve never before seen. Bedrock carved out by hundreds of meters of crawling ice over millennia. The glaciers all over the earth today are living fossils of the last ice age. And despite their beauty, they remind us of the sobering fact that they are fading. The decisions we make in the next 5 years will have a 10 fold impact in the next 100. We know what we have to do - so let’s step up. @protectourwinterscanada #ClimateAction #ExploreToCreate

Find yourself somewhere new this weekend... #ExploreToCreate @ British Columbia

Up close and personal - This is one of those spots that you’ll see everywhere on social media. Epic views, relatively easy terrain, and simple access. Don’t get me wrong, the vistas were endless and the scale was epic but there was more to it than the views. Not far from the summit I realized we were walking along a beautiful meadow that was riddled with mountain flowers that are most likely overlooked. Amidst all the chossy limestone there was still room for some lushness. The irony caught my eye and subsequently inspired this shot...EEOR highly recommend. #UnderTheNose

Straight out of camera #RAW

Vowell Glacier being dramatic. Crazy to think you could drive a school bus through each one of those crevasses. @kootrocks @hellobc

Shop Talk: For me, when it comes to a certain style I find I always tend to shoot wide. I enjoy being able to layout a frame in front of me. Shooting down and along a scene has always been ideal and 24mm seems to be my go-to for this. Sometimes I swear I could get by with that focal length alone. I’ve never been one for striking portraits or macro shots, although they have their place. For whatever reason I find telephoto limits what you’re able to say about a scene other than scale. I prefer to find a composition that has several elements sprinkled through the frame that guides your eye through the it. I think I’ve realized that to me, depth matters more than aesthetic from what I produce. And knowing exactly how someone will view your image is what makes it all worthwhile. @canoncanada @hellobc

So far so good this summer from a forest fire perspective. This is what last year’s after math looks like from hiking through the Park a few weeks ago. Fingers crossed going forward @protectourwinterscanada

Minimalist Approach. #SkiTouring @ British Columbia

Farnham Glacier at Sunrise: The Alpine still has a bit of catching up to do. But from a skier’s perspective I’m not complaining. #ExploreToCreate #SpringSkiing

Camping cobwebs have been cleared - bring on summer #ExploreBC @canoncanada

Cruising through these granite monoliths was truly something else. Cracking the window and having these 11,000ft walls buzzing had my jaw on the floor. And being able to compare exploring the bugaboos on foot versus in the air just goes to show how mighty this terrain really is. Excited to be heading back there this summer #ExploreBC @canoncanada @babin_air

This summer one of my goals is to spend less time on autopilot when it comes to creating. I think this has been something I’ve struggled with for the last 18 months or so. Search, snap, quick edit, post, done. That has been my general approach to my workflow and it’s lost its sense of experimentation. The aspect of sharing comes before the initial creative process and I want to regain that level of curiosity I had in the days when I was first playing around with a camera. Thi...s involved a learning curve, which is why I’ve decided its time to dive into video. I’ve always told myself I wanted to master photography before diving into film but I think this limitation I placed on myself has morphed into more of a procrastination. So expect to see some MP4 coming your way over the next few months...Oh and as always get outside this week. #WeTheNorth See more

Definitely one of those lesson learned kinda days. @olicreighton on the decent looking back to where the car is at the back of the frame. We reached our campsite only to find nothing but 3 feet of snow everywhere at about 10:30pm. At that point bailing was a far better option, than duking it out in waist deep slush. Nothing that good tunes and some AA batteries can’t solve on the way out. #ExploreBC @canoncanada @ Kootenay National Park

What’s funny about nature is how much of a mess it is yet we see it as perfect. A cloud or mountain is shapeless. They take no form which we can actually name. No straight lines or right angles and yet there’s never a thought of its design being wrong. Our way of building houses, folding clothes or organizing information all stems from straight lines. It makes me wonder at which point in history did humans begin separating themselves from the chaotic environment that we evolved from. And our ability to dismiss nature’s chaos as irregularity. #ExploreBc @hellobc

That’s a wrap for life on the coast!! Beyond stoked for the season I had meeting new people, learning new things, and exploring new zones. The coast really is an incredible playground and it’s safe to say I’ll be back. But in the meantime... #KootenayBound #ShotOniPhone @ Whistler, Canada

After a morning out Ski Touring Chris and I figured we’d get a closer look at one of the neighbourhood glaciers. I had never been in an ice cave before and it sure didn’t disappoint. In some ways it’s a total time machine and also illustrates the macro scale of climates. #ShotOniPhone #OnlyInWhistler @whistlerblackcomb

One last blast of winter coming up this week folks, you in? @rei

Coastal Smoke @hellobc

This, or more Boston Pizza’s, Marriotts and traffic lines? You tell me. #KeepJumboWild @jumbo__wild @canoncanada

Just finished a whirlwind sprint across the province spending the last three days skiing new zones, seeing great friends, (driving), and eating rice crispy squares. It’s great to be back on the coast. Spending some time away makes me realize how dynamic and special this coastal playground really is.. #ExploreBC @canoncanada

Out of every outdoor sport I’ve come across, Ski Touring is definitely number one. The combination of low impact, rigorous exercise in a winter wonderland finished with pristine skiing (somedays) makes it incomparable to other outdoor sports. You earn your turns in every sense and the experience is much more intimate than lapping the lifts. But as always, if you’re going to venture into the backcountry get trained, have the proper gear and #KnowBeforeYouGo Canon Canada @ Winter

Small Country, Big Terrain @lagooncarrental #icelandair

Twilight Hour spent with the Lions @canoncanada #ExploreToCreate

sunday kinda mood @canoncanada

The old growth forests here on the coast are a serious plus Destination British Columbia #ExploreCanada @ Lynn Canyon Park

Today, the whole city of Vancouver was up in the sky #ExploreCanada @canoncanada

Freezin’ Season #explorecanada @canoncanada

Life Update: I’ve been awfully quiet on social lately and it’s because for the entire fall I was actually back in the classroom believe it or not. I am now finished and excited to have started yet another business @bugaboomarketing. A digital marketing consultancy for small to medium sized businesses specializing in outdoor & adventure tourism. Stoked to be taking on new clients to start 2019 and combining my creative skills in order for my work to become brand centric. Wishing everyone a happy new year thus far!! #HappyMonday

goodnight bc @hellobc

Happy Int’l Mountain Day folks!! Can’t say how grateful I am for these beasts that provide endless adventure. Beyond the fun, it’s important to realize how much they provide for our natural world. From fresh water, to biodiversity this is yet another thing we can’t afford to destroy. #ExploreToCreate @ Out There

‘Tis the skeason @burtonsnowboards @kootrocks

I haven’t spent this amount of time away from my camera since I first picked it up. I am living on the coast now and still getting used to my surroundings. But in all honesty I’m enjoying this time to slow down, learn new things, and reset for the upcoming winter season. Looking forward to getting the creative juices going again soon. And stoked for the season...it’s gonna be a big one. @hellobc @canoncanada @earthpix

Summer Nights: A small town below lighting the foreground and the Milky Way taking care of the background...I took this photograph this summer using 4 exposures blended and balanced in post. @hellobc @stayandwander

All of us here on the coast have been patiently waiting for winter to arrive...Stoked to see that it’s on the way #ExploreToCreate

HOLIDAY PRINT SALE - Updated Print Store! Pick from Ready-to Hang, Float mounted Canvas, Metal or Wood Prints. Paper prints available as well!

Temper tantrums in the Alpine

End of day in Lions Bay #explorecanada

Russia || Kazakhstan@enjoykazakhstan #NuhrlyZhol

The choice is yours @lagooncarrental

Sediment Express: I think what draws me to the mountains time and time again is the about of dimensions they possess. Not to mention how magical each one is.. @kootrocks @hellobc

Kings of the Coast @hellobc @jeremykoreski #explorecanada

Daily reminder to chase perspectives...(ps Happy Halloween everyone ) @pacificcoastalair