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Patrick Koetzle
@patrickkoetzle
Landscape photographer based in the US
I have my roots in Peru, but I was born in the US shortly after my parents moved to NYC. I remember traveling back multiple times a year to visit my grandparents who still live there with my entire family. I am proud of my heritage and deeply inspired by the beauty of Peru. Especially because of the rich history and the varied geography throughout the country, from mountains, jungle and glaciers to deserts and beaches, all surrounding a few dense cities. My parents genuinely love to travel and have been taking me and my siblings, and now my wife, all over the world every time we had a moment to get away. I’ll never forget when my dad took me on a trip to Machu Picchu for the first time as a kid. Since then, I became eager to discover new countries, new cultures, and different ways of life.
"The world is a lot bigger than you can ever imagine and discovering as much of it as I can is one of my favorite things to do. I hope to instill the same passion in my daughter who will be born this year in May."
Although my parents moved to NYC, we didn’t stay there for long. I grew up in Miami for over 20 years after which I moved to Washington, D.C. with my pup, Mauii. The long days of studying begged for reprieve and exploring the city with Mauii became the perfect excuse to go on adventures. The more I walked around D.C., the more I wanted to photograph it and my iPhone wasn’t doing the job.
"However, I didn’t purchase a camera until summer 2015, just before I was set to graduate, take the BAR Exam, and go on a big family trip to Alaska."
This trip was the perfect excuse to upgrade from a phone to a legit camera; I picked up an entry level Nikon. My passion for photography really began in D.C., photographing the monuments and seasons – something I had never experienced growing up in tropical south Florida – and was then cemented in Alaska. I found myself blown away again and again by the size and majesty of the scenery. My pictures were not impressive, but it was a true learning experience.
"Now, I challenge myself to be better every time I leave the house with the camera."
I had taken one initial introductory course in photography just before I went to Alaska. I have been teaching myself since then, but especially in the beginning I still found myself coming home with terrible images that I couldn’t salvage. Improving in something requires dedication and exercise, and thus time. This has been my biggest obstacle. Daily life’s responsibilities at work and when raising a family seem only to grow over time. Finding time to get away together gets harder every year. There is no clear cut way to overcome such an obstacle but to manage it with tempered expectations and to take opportunities as they come without regret.
Not sure where it comes from, but I can get lost in them for hours and forget about time. I’m on Google maps or Google Earth every day for a few hours, just zooming in and out all over the planet even though I know it’s a long shot I will ever see half the places I find there and daydream about. Getting lost in my old photos, spending hours on Google maps, or carefully planning future trips can all help subside my longing for adventure and fuel it at the same time.
"Life is long, and hopefully many of the places I wish to visit will be waiting for me when the time is right."
"When looking back at all the places I have been before I had a camera, I really feel the urge to retrace my steps and go back with my wife to relive the experiences and capture them properly."
However, I do see taking photos as a bonus. Going on adventures is my first passion; from planning a trip to the very last detail to having the amazing experience and learning about the place. And taking photos of these adventures is what drives me to wake up in the middle of the night for a sunrise hike, climb up a cliff for a different perspective, or brave the elements of winter to find solitude and peace in nature. Since photography came in, I started to plan my trips differently. Now I seek to combine the most optimal travel itinerary with the best photography spots, where place and time come perfectly together.
"So adventure and photography go hand in hand now; together they push me to go farther."
In my travels I learned that no matter what you plan, there’s a huge chance that it’s not working out. No matter how much you prepare for something, you have to expect the unexpected. There is no single trip or outing where a valuable lesson isn’t learned, even if you don’t realize it until later on. Sure, I would’ve liked a cloudy sky that day, but instead it was sunny. Sure, I would’ve liked to catch the stars that night, but it was overcast, or the full moon was out. Sure, I would’ve liked my shutter speed to have been higher for those wildlife photos, but I didn’t have enough time to react in the moment. These are thoughts going through your mind afterwards, sometimes staying there for longer than they should.
"The most valuable lesson I learned is not to get too hung up on mistakes you cannot anticipate and plan for."
Generally I live by the rule of being over prepared for anything, but control is a fleeting glimpse of the reality of the situation as it is presented. So make the most of it while you are there! If possible you can try again another day, but don’t let any mistake discourage you.
I think this is reflected in my way of shooting as I do not hold back on the shutter. First, because if my eye catches something I think is beautiful or unique, I make sure that I am capturing a scene the way my mind tells me I see it. It may be that I come home with photos only I subjectively like, but I am okay with that. And second, I like to try and shoot places in a different perspective. What I mean is that, I will surely take the same photo of a place as many others before me, but after I have that classic shot I move on and keep hunting for different perspectives on that place. I am not a stationary shooter, planning a single shot and waiting for the exact moment for hours and hours.
"I am constantly moving around. This means I may sometimes miss that perfect light, but I may come across something unexpected instead."
"When it comes to editing, I believe I can truly say that I have no definitive style. Every edit may be different from the last, even in the same set of photos."
It depends on my mood when I start to edit – how I am feeling when I am reviewing these memories. I want my edit to achieve the shot I envisioned when I was at the actual location and engender the emotions I felt when I captured the scene in my image. My photos are mine – they’re my work – they’re my perspective – they’re for me to bring back and share as I saw them and felt them in real life. I want the scene to look as real as it was when I was standing there with the hope that whoever sees it can feel what I felt at that exact moment and be transported on that journey. Every photo may not always be everyone’s cup of tea – sometimes I post photos I think are stunning beyond belief but they do not get the reception I anticipated – but you can’t let that stop you from sharing your work the way you want to share it. In my gallery, there’s something for everyone.
"Every photo has its own vibe."
"What I love about nature is feeling small - getting a sense of how timeless this world really is and how we all are just momentary visitors to what has been and what will continue to persist long after we are gone."
This is also what I like to capture in my photos. When I am out, I love to encounter big, wide open scenes. I start by shooting the immensity of a place, and then zoom in to capture the details. If it’s during sunrise, even better. An early start of the day and having the quiet morning all to yourself as an unveiling for the rest of an adventure-filled day is just exhilarating. I am a landscape and travel photographer at heart and nature is my calling, whether it is a mountain, a forest, a lake, or a desert. I would not be able to choose one type of landscape over the other because at one point or another, I’d like to experience them all and preferably as often as possible, of course. Being out in nature – lost in the sounds of solitude and immersed in a landscape that has been tested by time – is like electricity running through me.
"And I know I will keep pursuing this feeling. It’s like connecting with the essence of life."
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