Stories By Dalton

Stories By Dalton Photographer, filmmaker, and author specialized in telling untold adventure stories from around the globe

Our goal at The Adventure Travel Network is to help you discover your next adventure destination. So, if you love adventuring outdoors and traveling, you've found your new home:
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By no means do I consider myself a wildlife photographer, but, yesterday, I had the chance to "chase" this owl around fo...
12/14/2025

By no means do I consider myself a wildlife photographer, but, yesterday, I had the chance to "chase" this owl around for about an hour.

Zipping past the bird on a fence post, I said to Kristin, "hey look, an owl."

"Wait, where? I didn't see it." She responded in disappointment.

So, I flipped the van around and checked out the owl.

Then, it dawned on me. I packed my Tarmon 150-500 lens and should put it to use. So, I swapped lenses and attempted to walk towards the owl to take some photos.

It flew away.

Watching the owl hunt, I was a bit disappointed I didn't get a shot, but alas, that happens.

Loading back into the van, I drove off.

Almost back to the highway, "do you want to go back and find the owl?" I asked Kristin.

"If that is you asking for permission to do so, yes, go ahead and turn around." She knows me :-) and with the permission I flipped the van around and drove back to find the owl.

Scaring it away not one, not twice, not thrice, I new I needed to change up the approach.

No more walking up to the bird, I needed to stay in the van.

If somebody else would have saw this, they would be laughing and call me an idiot, but it worked.

Hanging outside of the the driver window, I inched forward in the van. Snapping photos every chance I could get just in case it flew away.

Snap. Snap. Move. Snap. Snap. Move.

Until, finally, I got close enough to capture this image with the 150-500mm lens. Now, the waiting game for the owl to turn its head.

Then, snap, snap, snap.

I got it!

Delayed two hours because I just couldn't put the camera down.The clouds ebbed and flowed over Emerald Bay as I attempte...
12/13/2025

Delayed two hours because I just couldn't put the camera down.

The clouds ebbed and flowed over Emerald Bay as I attempted to start a 2.5 month road trip project.

This happy accident feels like a blessing as this voyage begins and a reminder to embrace the unexpected.

Speaking of the unexpected, this trip is already delivering twists and turns not predicted.

Some good and some... not the best.

Good = views and photos like this
Not the best = heater breaking and attempting to sleep in 23f with only a blanket

Can't win them all, right?!

While I seek some solid internet to catch up on posting from the first three days of this trip, I wanted to drop these images.

What you can't see:
~Chatting with a new connection in the phone the whole time I was shooting, helping him find his way in this industry
~Chestnut, my pup, asking to come outside and play with me
~Getting to see my Mom for her birthday before heading out on this road trip
~That internal feeling that I forgot something (only to realize it was the attachment piece to my tripod)

I'll be crossing into Baja in a couple of days, so if you are around and want to connect, shoot me a DM.

Why are the best past projects and ex-girlfriends so similar?I mean, my last project with Turneffe Island Resort is one ...
12/08/2025

Why are the best past projects and ex-girlfriends so similar?

I mean, my last project with Turneffe Island Resort is one of those "can't get out of my mind kinda" projects:

👉 dreamy sunrises
👉 great snorkeling & under-water photography
👉 a hot tub in my room
👉 so many hammocks strung between palm trees you couldn't sit in them all
👉 food you eat slow to savor the flavors

Everything is amazing, but in the back of your mind, you know, it wont last forever.

I guess they didn't want me to move in 🤷‍♂️

Now, I'm scrolling through my photos, thinking to myself, "Dang that one was fun, I hope they invite me back sometime soon."

🤞 they do, but

I know it would just be for another few nights.

___
Hi, I'm Dalton, I don't usually bring up ex-girlfriends, but when the analogy fits, I guess you gotta right?! Anyways, I'm a photographer and writer who specializes in creating content with distribution. So, if you are looking to reach a new audience and get great creative, let's chat.

Southwest Airlines photo-bombed my supermoon shoot last night and I was pi**ed.So, I scrubbed the CMO's email from an il...
12/05/2025

Southwest Airlines photo-bombed my supermoon shoot last night and I was pi**ed.

So, I scrubbed the CMO's email from an illegal website and sent the CMO an angry message.

Then, they actually responded with:

"Hey Dalton,
Thank you for reaching out and sorry about the photo-bomb. Epic shot though!
In an attempt to reconcile for the inconvenience, here are two complimentary drink tickets.
Best,
CMO"

I responded declining the offer and got this email back:

"Hey Dalton,
Understandable. We like your image and would like to license it for $27K and plaster it on billboards everywhere.
Will that work for you?
Best,
CMO"

Now, we are getting somewhere.

Deal signed and now I'm rich.

Okay, none of this actually happened except I took a photo of the moon last night.

Happy Friday ✌️

Rock climbers have taught me what persistence really means.Especially the boulderers.👉 Blood dripping from their knuckle...
12/04/2025

Rock climbers have taught me what persistence really means.

Especially the boulderers.

👉 Blood dripping from their knuckles, tape.
👉 Tape doesn't hold, put super glue on it.
👉 Still doesn't work, rub chalk into it, retape, and glue.
👉 Still gushing through, one more burn and then to the hospitals, or, better yet, a climbing-buddy who can stitch them up once back to the van.

True story!

I've been photographing bouldering for roughly 7 years now and I still get a kick out of the concept:

Try as hard as possible to reach the top of a random rock they could walk up, without using their hands, if you just walked around it.

How do I know this?

Because I walk to the top, holding my camera, to take images.

Sure, sometimes I climb something close by, but if I am there to photograph, it's unlikely I can even start the boulder problem they are climbing.

Truly inspiring to keep up with what my climber-friends are doing and I hope their persistence shows up in my work behind the camera.

✌️

Me, "Oh, hey clouds, thanks for blocking my view, good thing I have this app."App, "You're welcome."Clouds, "You sure th...
12/04/2025

Me, "Oh, hey clouds, thanks for blocking my view, good thing I have this app."

App, "You're welcome."

Clouds, "You sure that thing is accurate, I wouldn't trust it."

Me, "F-off clouds, I'm just trying to be artsy. But App, do you really work?"

App, "I have lots of 5 star ratings saying I work, so I must."

Clouds, "Go touch grass you nerds."

Well, I didn't see that coming when I headed out to scout tomorrow's supermoon. Hopefully the clouds will p**s off tomorrow night so I can create some cool images. If you want to learn about my scouting process and pre-visualization, read tonight's journal entry:
https://dalton-johnson.com/adventure/super-moon-scouting

Thank you for checking it out, following my journey, and sharing your photos with me (if you want to be pen pals)

✌️

Location first vs activity first vs brand first photographer, which one are you?Going through my archive can be a wild w...
12/03/2025

Location first vs activity first vs brand first photographer, which one are you?

Going through my archive can be a wild walk down memory lane as sort through images. My career has felt like it has had three phases:

1) activity focused phase - my archive bounces from activity to activity as I learn each culture

2) location focused phase - my childhood dream was to see the world, so this phase has a massive uptick in jobs that just took me anywhere that wasn't home

3) brand focused phase - for the last few years, I have focused on landing paid gigs and letting everything else fade away to prove to myself I am a professional (justified by my annual profit as a creative)

As I look toward 2026, I feel I am rounding a corner into a fourth phase of my career, focused on stories as a broader, all encompassing aspect of the three phases above.

Why does this matter?

It doesn't, it's just a pattern I can noticeably see as I scroll through my archive.

I'm curious what the storytelling phase will look like in a few more years?

When you look at your archive, what patterns do you notice?

Let’s blow this popsicle stand and head to the Greek Island of Mykonos.Day three of my personal challenge to create a ph...
12/03/2025

Let’s blow this popsicle stand and head to the Greek Island of Mykonos.

Day three of my personal challenge to create a photo essay everyday came and went.

aka I failed 🤷‍♂️

Turns out, to create a photo essay in a single day, plus write a story about it takes about 2-to-3 hours and somedays I just don’t have that much time.

So, I decided "why not dig into those 1000s of images that are unedited and share something I have not yet shared."

And, what better place to start than a Greek Island hopping assignment from last summer?

Read the full journal entry about failing on day three of my personal goal and attempting to recover with this collection of images from Mykonos:
https://dalton-johnson.com/adventure/a-flashback-to-greece

As if out of a movie, Kristin and I landed a dream job, the summer of 2024, aboard Clipper Cruises Greek Island hopping voyage.

🙋‍♀️ Kristin would be working on some social media marketing projects
🙋‍♂️ I would be creating images and videos about the trip from Athens to Istanbul, with several stops along the way.

While I have delivered the project, there are still a little more than 1,000 selects sitting in my archive unedited from this trip.

In many ways the unedited images drive me bonkers because they are good enough for the world to see, maybe even for somebody to license or add to my portfolio, but there is no obvious incentive to edit them. (maybe it is time to hire an editor?!)

So, they sit on a hard drive and collect dust like a distant memory.

Thankfully, today I was given the reason to off load some of these images. So, thank you to everyone who looks at these images and reads this.

✌️

I broke every "rule" in their brand book for this shoot.No driving on dirt roads ✅No camping outside of camp grounds ✅No...
12/02/2025

I broke every "rule" in their brand book for this shoot.

No driving on dirt roads ✅
No camping outside of camp grounds ✅
No speeding ✅
No fires unless it's in an established fire ring ✅
No images without the van ✅
and so many more I can't remember.

While I wish this post was about how cool I am for breaking rules and not giving a f!@ # about brand books, that just isn't true.

When Escape Campervans sent me their brand book we went over it, often stopping so I could ask, "could we do this, it's against your brand book but fits your ethos as a company"

They said yes to every suggestion and enjoyed how invested I was in the project, their brand, and the road trip culutre.

So, we broke every rule they had self imposed to create a series of roughly 20 images and a few vertical videos about road tripping to Joshua Tree from San Diego.

After this campaign, they were stoked, licensed extra content, and the images went everywhere for them. Website, social media, blogs, used for PR and paid ads.

This shoot was one of the most validating projects I did early in my career!

So, when I heard Escape Campervans were selling off their inventory and closing shop, I was beyond bummed.

Thank you for giving me a chance to break all of your rules!

“Would you go stand on those rocks so I can take a photo?” I asked KristinWithout a second thought Kristin responded, “N...
12/02/2025

“Would you go stand on those rocks so I can take a photo?” I asked Kristin

Without a second thought Kristin responded, “Nope, you’ve taken that before, do something different.”

Damn! Tonight was only going to be landscape photography, I guess.

While I enjoy taking landscape images, this spot, despite views of Lake Tahoe, is boring without snow. The trees are often in the way and, without a drone packed, the foreground is mostly bushes without leaves and dirt.

Not the best recipe for a photograph.

So, I just played around with my camera as the clock ticked. Minute after minute, I snapped frame after frame.

Here are some of the shots I tried to create:
1) A solar flare image - yes, I got one, but it is boring
2) Kristin and Chestnut walking on a log together with Tallac in the background - Chestnut wanted to play and wouldn’t follow Kristin on the log
3) A series of Kristin bundled up, cold - she wasn’t happy about these, but I think they are cute
4) Another moon shot, framed - it worked, but not my favorite

If you enjoyed reading this snippet, you'll enjoy the full journal entry:
https://dalton-johnson.com/adventure/a-walk-in-my-backyard-with-a-camera-and-a-single-lens

PS I have a goal of sharing a daily journal entry, ideally with images I create from a simple photo walk where ever I am in the world. Follow along if you vibe with this form of creativity.

Your boy was a model last week 💁‍♂️ NO BIG DEAL, right?!Wrong, I made a BIG mistake!Guilty as charged, I rushed publishi...
12/01/2025

Your boy was a model last week 💁‍♂️ NO BIG DEAL, right?!

Wrong, I made a BIG mistake!

Guilty as charged, I rushed publishing UnBound and I paid for my mistake.

While I was modeling the days were so full (shooting sunrise to sunset) and starlink was slow because of tree cover at our campsite in Big Sur, I had to delete two sections in UnBound that were scheduled to be published.

Here's what happened:
👉 I had a typo in the subject line (leading to lower open rate)
👉 38 of you unsubscribed
👉 I got mad at myself

As somebody trying to build the #1 adventure travel newsletter, botching a week is huge.

So, how do I not do this again?

Get ahead.

Yup, instead of living week to week, I am aiming to be 2, or 3, weeks ahead so I can be on productions, maybe do some more modeling, and still share UnBound in all of its glory.

Hard to do, but this simple system improvement will ensure this never happens again.

For anyone who got last week's mishap, I am sorry.

If you want to read UnBound, head to my profile. There is a sign up link there :-)

Something came over me as I lingered in the CVS parking lot trying to decide if I should continue with the day’s chores ...
12/01/2025

Something came over me as I lingered in the CVS parking lot trying to decide if I should continue with the day’s chores or take the Sunday evening off and head for a sunset walk at Fallen Leaf Lake.

Looking for some encouragement, I texted Kristin, “Hey! Why don’t you get ready and we go for a sunset hike at fallen leaf?”

Turns out, she wanted to stay in.

Feeling the resistance building, I headed home to grab my camera, notebook, and a jacket for the cold...

Finish reading the full journal entry here:
https://dalton-johnson.com/adventure/a-late-autumn-walk-at-fallen-leaf-lake

This evening's walk was just what I needed as I battled my ego walking around the lake looking for compositions. While I can say none of these images blew my mind, the process felt like a therapy session.

I can't say what will come from this, but I wanted to share a goal I concluded I should try to achieve while walking around the lake:
I hope to publish a story a day everyday I am not production. If I can during production days, cool, but not a priority.

Anyways, if you end up reading this story and making it to the end, let me know.

✌️

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My Story

Getting into photography was kinda a fluke. It was my last quarter at University when I told my best mate to pick a class for us to take together. That bu**er picked an upper division photo class! First, I had to beg the professor to let me in with zero experience; luckily she permitted. Then, I had to find a camera I could borrow for the next three months. Every time I touched this camera I was afraid I was going to break it. As a matter of fact, I did break a minor part and had it fixed with haste! Once that class finished, I didn't touch another camera, besides my phone, for a year. Missing the thrill of capturing the adventure, I saved up and here we are today.

Upon graduation I have wandered. Living in one place no longer than a few months, my world continually expands as I see new places and meet countless people from all walks of life. My finger has not pinpointed why I love the continual change, but one thing has been consistent through it all, the camera.

Luckily, a fluke has turned into a living. My specialty is telling a story through images and a few words. Mostly I shoot surfing, climbing, and yoga because those are my passions and allign with my four core values; vulnerability, growth, freedom, and sustainability. However, I've been known to capture the stories of pets, people, and panoramas. If you have a story you would like captured, please get in touch!