Brayden “TheRockJohnson” Hall hails from Vancouver, Canada. He has a thirst for adventure and has been traveling the world since 2014, after he completed a backpacking trip to South America. He quit his corporate job at a software development firm to travel the world and live his best life.
He said, “I had my friends at the software development company, but I absolutely hated working in an office environment. I felt like a freaking caged tiger. I decided to take a sabbatical and went on a 6-month backpacking trip through South America. As cliché as it sounds, travelling absolutely changed my life.”
If he were to go back in time, he would have brought a camera on his 6-month long trek through South America. “I experienced some of the most amazing places in the world before Instagram…I would have loved to show people the fantastic places I visited back then but with the skills I have now.”
As an outdoor enthusiast, he says he has a greater sense of peace and well-being. It’s completely humbling to look at these mountains that have been here for millions of years and feel how small and insignificant you are in the grand scheme of things.
He is the founder of All About Adventures, a community of photographers and creators that inspire others to explore through their collective content. His whimsical stories will captivate your attention, just like his photographs. Because for him, it really is all about adventure.
Welcome Brayden! First of all, can you please explain us what motivated you to pick a camera in the first place and what is driving you nowadays?
Oh man, a lot has definitely happened. The thing that motivated me to pick up my camera in the first place is pretty much what started this whole crazy rollercoaster of a career! After high school, I worked at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries as a manager and then went on to work at a software development company for a couple of years. I had my friends at the software development company, but I absolutely hated working in an office environment. I felt like a freaking caged tiger. I decided to take a sabbatical and went on a 6-month backpacking trip through South America. As cliché as it sounds, travelling absolutely changed my life.
After getting home I had an uncontrollable urge to explore, so I started hiking and exploring the local areas around where I lived in Vancouver. On these hikes, I started taking photos with my phone and posting them on Instagram. I ended up buying a drone before even owning a camera and that’s when my social media started growing…lots and lots of drone shots were taken hahaha. I finally decided to buy a camera and that’s when I figured enough was enough and I quit my job and travelled to Colombia. After getting home from Colombia I couldn’t stand the idea of going back to an office job. I started putting my camera to use and began the challenging journey of becoming a freelance photographer.
You have been to so many countries already! Was traveling a passion of yours before diving into photography or is the other way around, photography is your main motivation to keep traveling?
I think the answer to question one slightly answers this one but I can elaborate on it. Travelling was definitely my passion before I even knew that I had the slightest interest in photography. I would sit at my desk job daydreaming about ways that I could make travelling my career full time. It became evident to me quickly that capturing the beauty of the world is equally as inspiring as visiting it firsthand, so one thing led to another and photography became as large of a passion as travelling. So eventually travelling and photography went from being beasts of their own to beasts that are continually working together to figure out how to achieve the next greatest thing. It’s hugely addictive, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Among all the countries you have visited, which country was the biggest surprise to you?
It hands down has to be: Colombia! For a country that had such a bad reputation and had been impacted so poorly by the drug war, it ended up being incredibly safe and is home to some of the most genuinely lovely humans I have ever met! Besides the extremely friendly locals, Colombia is also amazing! It’s beautiful and has mountainous landscapes with glaciers, jungles, deserts, and some of the nicest beaches I have ever set foot on.
I am really curious about your trip around Europe! You have been sharing some beautiful photos from EU! Besides its wonderful landscapes, what do you like the most about EU? How would you describe its people and culture? Is it that different from the US?
The whole time I was in Europe I couldn’t help but think, “This is pretty much like Canada, but it’s just not!” The similarities were crazy, but all of the sudden I would find out that the building that I was currently staying in is over 500 years old which is older than Canada. And there is a massive castle down the street. Also… Sorry for any Europeans that might be reading this but the breakfast game was not on point hahah! I remember spending hours with my friends trying to find “hipster” breakfast places with avocado toast or eggs benedict but would always settle for a buffet of bread and cheese.
Please now imagine for a sec that you have a super power! You can go back in time! What moment would you like to re-experience again?
It would definitely have to be my 6-month backpacking trip throughout South America….But this time with a camera in my hand. I experienced some of the most amazing places in the world before Instagram was as large as it is today. I would have loved to show people the fantastic places I visited back then but with the skills I have now.
As a photographer, I am sure that you feel attached to all your photos. All your pictures represent unique moments of your life. However, among your works, do you have any picture that you really like? Which is your favorite photo?
Sometimes when I go on a trip, content assignment, or expedition I will have an exact shot in my mind that I want to create but have no idea if that shot is even remotely possible to capture.
When I set out on my 6-day trek around the Ausangate Mountain to the Rainbow Mountain the shot that I really wanted to create was to capture a group of alpacas all running towards me, each one of them with a hilarious look on their face, with Ausangate towering over them in golden light. On the third day of the trip, I managed to do just that as the sun was setting and we were reaching our camp for the night.
You have been traveling for a while now! What do you like the most about the nomad lifestyle?
I absolutely love the feeling of wondering what a new place is going to look like and then at that moment just stopping everything that I am doing and heading to that exact place. I also love the feeling when I am in a particular town or region that I am not that keen on and then just having the option to just pack up and leave without any repercussions.
Imagine yourself at the beginning of your professional career as a photographer. What four pieces of advice would you give to yourself?
1. Stop comparing yourself to other people. Where someone else is at in their career doesn’t define where you should be at in your career.
2. Likes and followers do not equal good content. Although likes and followers may help you make money when doing social media promotion, they do not define how good your content is. There are plenty of people out there with less than 1000 followers who have top-notch content…and plenty of people out there who have a lot of followers and sub-par content.
3. Don’t give up. Seriously don’t do it. If this is something you want to do and you believe that you can do it just keep pushing on. I almost quit a few times, and if I did that would have been the worst idea of my life.
4. Don’t be afraid to be original. Don’t just shoot a spot because you know it will get a lot of likes on Instagram. Although I have been guilty of this before, I always try my best to find new angles of popular locations or better yet go to places where no one has gone before.
Is there any artist/photographer who has inspired your art? Can you name three?
Of course!!
Would have to be my good friend and fellow team member from All About Adventures Rod Trevino AKA @rodtrvn. Rod continually inspires me to be original and pushes me to grow as a photographer in the direction that I need to go. He ain’t no basic bitch that’s for sure.
Quin Schrock AKA @everchanginghorizon is a huge inspiration of mine. The dude is continuously sending it everywhere and getting some of the cleanest and original shots in the process. The way his editing style stays true to what the actual location looked like is amazing too.
Cath Simard aka @mydetoxtravel is extremely inspiring as well! Her post processing is simply mindblowing and she can make even the most popular destination look as if it’s not from this planet. That being said she is also always on the hunt for original content and never ceases to blow my mind by showing me places I have never seen before.
Where will we find you 10 years from now?
That’s a great question! Once I am burnt out, I would love to transform my business/photography collective called All About Adventures into more of a creative agency. It technically is a creative agency at the moment, but rather than contracting other creatives out for social/content campaigns we keep everything in-house and do it ourselves with the All About Adventures members. We are all WAY too into exploring the world right now and love to get out there and experience it for ourselves, but at some point, I would love to take a step back and manage a team that can experience the world themselves and work together with me to make creative visions come to life.
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