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Joshua Yates
@_joshuayates
Photographer based in New Zealand
From a young age I’ve always had an urge to be outside. If someone needed me, and this still applies today, you’d generally find me up a tree. Freedom is very important to me. When my freedom is blocked by something, I feel like a part of me is dying. That’s why I love to travel. When I am traveling and exploring that sense of freedom is fulfilled and I feel truly alive. Being immersed in nature fills me with curiosity and creativity. My mind clears and fixes itself in the present.
"Whether it's a wild horse, a colossal tree or even the simplicity of an autumn leaf, beauty is to be found, and I will find it!"
"I started photography when I was sixteen when I bought my first camera."
When I was younger I wanted to be a national geographic photographer but pushed the dream aside because of how expensive a camera was. I remember one day, after coming home from my weekend job, I had a revelation…I can afford a camera now. I hadn’t thought about photography for a while so it was somewhat an out of the blue realisation. I couldn’t deny my excitement and re instilled passion, so the next day I went and got a Canon 760d. Since then I have been going on adventures and practicing as much as I can!
"My dream to someday become a national geographic photographer or even just a professional travel photographer lives on today and is as strong as ever!"
As I am an active person and had this continuous longing to be outdoors, I wasn’t quite fan of school stuff, sitting down and listening. Believe it or not, I even sat down with my dean at school and asked her whether it would be possible to pass the year and get university entrance without doing the exams (I hate exams). She showed me how I could do it and so I did. The main motivation was because I wanted to go on adventure, a real adventure.
"So in the beginning of 2018, instead of doing my end of year exams, I embarked on a very special journey of two and a half month in New Zealand. This was probably the first of many!"
"Together with my cousin I walked the length of the South Island of New Zealand."
The total distance was 1307 kilometres. It took us 55 days. This walk was the best experience of my life. I met some incredible people, learnt a lot about myself and got to see parts of New Zealand that very few people get to see. I remember there was this one day where I was sitting in some long grass in a valley with mountains on either side. The sun was out and the temperature was just right, a soft wind making its way through the valley carrying the scent of wild flowers. I could hear the trickle of a stream nearby and native birds were singing. I had a cup of tea next to me and I was writing in my journal.
"I realised in this moment that I was happy."
I was truly, truly happy. All I had was the things that I could fit in my backpack and fifty dollars in my wallet. Physically I had close to nothing, yet spiritually I had everything. I learnt that I really don’t need much to be happy. I’m a christian and one of the ways I feel I can connect to God the best is through nature. There is nothing like standing in front of something truly beautiful to remind you of the ultimate content creator.
I found that the most effective way to keep going was to plan for my periods of low morale. A light pack is important, but what’s more important is a good morale. I learnt quickly the importance of having ‘pick me ups’ with me at all times; I don’t care if my pack is a bit heavier if it means I can eat a mars bar at the top of a mountain or get lost in my favourite book from time to time…it is essential if it keeps you going! We would walk an average of thirty kilometres a day – sometimes doing fifty on flat days and sometimes only twenty if the terrain was particularly mountainous. Dotted around New Zealand’s wilderness are hundreds of back country huts, where we would stay in most nights. They are put there by DOC (the department of conservation) and can be as big as one hundred and twenty bunks or as tiny as two. The size depends on the walk’s popularity. Most have a fireplace and a bench to prepare food.
"The true understanding of basic, and I wouldn't like it any other way!"
The other ten percent of the time we would stay in a tent at campsites or in a hostel when we passed by towns. To date, my favourite photo is one I took in the mountains of central Otago, at one of these huts where we would sleep that night. The sky was alight, but not with the Sun. Stars littered the sky, the milky way was clear and as dazzling as ever. The photo I took that night is special to me. It reminded me of the sky I had the pleasure of looking at everynight for 55 days. It are experiences like this that really drive my passion for the outdoors and the simpler things.
"Photography is now an integral part of these outdoor adventures. First and foremost I love that it gives me more of an excuse to get outside."
Capturing and sharing beauty I believe is a gift that I have been given by God. Sharing His beauty is my passion. An important part of it is that I love to share with people what I see. I feel unsettled and unseen when I can’t. When someone is admiring my work I feel so understood. I feel this way because I pour my heart and soul into my photos so when someone appreciates it I feel like they ‘get’ me, feel me, or at least they can see what I’m seeing! Being able to relate on such a deep level like that is really fulfilling. If the work that I pour my heart into touches the heart of someone else, I feel like I have achieved my goal.
"At the same time I use photography as a way to be more present."
I find that nothing centers me more than staring through my camera at something glorious. I am also a natural communicator and very relational so being able to share what I see with people feeds my soul. I hope to inspire people someday too as well as I am inspired by seeing what other people are capable of. I love this Earth and I feel as though humankind has not been very kind to the planet. My hope and dream is that my photography/content can inspire people to take better care of this beautiful Earth. When you love something, you want to take care of it! I want to help people fall in love with the planet!
"The drive to create moving and persuasive content is born out of impressive moments I lived myself and that put with me both feet on the ground."
When I was sixteen my dad and I went to Malaysia. We travelled to Sepilok where we visited the orangutan sanctuary. As we were walking on the boardwalk through the jungle, one of the orangutans came down from the trees and laid himself down on the rail of the walkway. He was about 3 metres from me, his arm was stretched out and his eyes staring directly into mine. This was a breathtaking moment. What I saw was curiosity and intrigue in his eyes. It was a surreal moment. My heart was pounding out of my chest. The feeling was somehow both electric and calming.
"Here I was being stared down by a massive wild animal that could easily kill me if it wanted to, but it didn't."
He just sat there, locked in a gaze, calm and peaceful. The moment passed when the guide pulled me back away from the orangutan, warning me of their potential danger. Walking away from that experience I felt a deep sadness for this beautiful creature as its habitat is being ripped apart. Palm oil plantations are rapidly encroaching on the orangutans natural habitat robbing them of their home. The impact of these moments lives on in me and I’d love for my content to help people see why they should care more for the planet, and make more environmentally conscious decisions.
"Landscape and nature photography is probably my favorite as I somehow need it to feel whole and I can spread a message."
However, I think simply saying yes to other opportunities has been one of the best ways of learning and developing. Just because I love adventures, traveling and nature doesn’t mean that I don’t say yes to shooting something different. If an opportunity comes my way that is a bit left field, I still say yes. I may meet someone who I can learn from or I may even pick up a few more skills. Just be open minded. My brother’s best friend is a wedding photographer and there was an opportunity for me to be a second shooter for him for one of his weddings!
"Even though I had no idea what I was doing and was quite nervous I went for it!"
Since then I have photographed three of my own weddings and been a second shooter for many more. I have learnt so much from my experience with weddings that I wouldn’t have ever learnt had I not said yes. Some of these things include how to market yourself and communicate with clients, which lenses are best to use in different situations/settings, how to quickly adjust my settings to make sure I don’t miss any shots…the list goes on! Of course we have to say no sometimes to protect ourselves and keep some time to be peacefully on our own, but saying yes will surprise you, challenge you, teach you…it helps you achieve things you had never imagined you were capable of.
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