Moving Mountains with Photography - A Chat with Landscape Photographer Luke Praschak

“The beauty of my journey was that I wasn’t chasing a job; I was chasing happiness and an adventurous life.”

— Luke Praschak

The San Juan Islands are chock full of inspirational, creative, and artistic folk. The people here play a big role in magnifying the aura of magic that seeps into your bloodstream once you step off the Washington State Ferry (love you, MV Yakima, Samish, and Chelan). I always rave about the wildlife, the natural beauty, the opportunities for recreation and leisure available for everyone on these islands…but without a doubt, the people that dwell on these glacially-carved pieces of sedimentary and igneous rock are the purveyors of the magic. They make me feel at home, they are my adventure buddies, they inspire me and teach me and open me up to new challenges, and they are full of the most vibrant creativity. Seriously, it must be something in the water. This place attracts incredible people.

Luke is one such creative and visionary friend. We met thanks to our mutual use of Facebook marketplace and Sony camera systems, and immediately clicked with our passions for content creation and nature. I fondly remember our first meeting at the Salty Fox coffee shop across from the Friday Harbor ferry terminal, oat milk lattes and bright summer sun lighting up the conversation and the streets. I don’t want to give away too much of Luke’s story (he’s going to share it down below), but what I will do is warn you to prepare yourselves to be blown away by the beauty of his photographs. He specializes in landscape photography, mainly of the North Cascades. San Juan Island residents are blessed to have this national park essentially in their park yard, and in my opinion its one of the hidden gems of our national park system in the U.S. A bit removed and not as easily accessed as the others, I think it provides every bit of the magic and breathtaking alpine views of the more popular Glacier, Ranier, and Olympic National Parks without the gawking crowds.

And Luke is on a mission to capture that beauty and share it with his tribe of passionate followers. I clearly remember him stating the importance of having a loyal following, regardless of the size. He isn’t interested in racking up huge numbers of fans or likes on his photos. He’s purely focused on his product, his words, and his authenticity. I remember that often when I’m here on my computer, creating content and trying to remember that it’s my own voice I want to use. He truly is a model of intentional social media use.

Plus, I’ve written before about the importance of imagery for promoting conservation activism. Luke’s breathtaking captures of pure, wild moments in the mountains are a reminder to us all about the beautiful places we must fight to protect from climate change and irresponsible use.

And after all the inspiration I’ve received from Luke’s work, I just had to share his story and photos. He’s too pure of a soul not to! I was very lucky to go out on a few photo shoots with him as well as some camping adventures, and I hope that we will intersect for more nature romps in the future.

So without further ado, let’s meet Luke.

You have a very interesting story regarding what first brought you out to Washington state. Where are you originally from, and what prompted your move?

I was born and raised in a small town just east of the Twin Cities in the great Cheese State, Wisconsin. I was fortunate to have been raised with two brothers and sister. My incredible parents worked as schoolteachers and taught us the value of hard work and dreaming big, which can explain my big move to the west at the age of 22. 

Before making the move to the west I was studying geography at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. My last year of college was extremely challenging for me with the loss of my roommate, Ryan Klim, my fall out from track and field, a whooping 78 cents in my bank account and questioning my degree as well as life purpose. My future outlook after college was scary because I was not confident in my ability to find a career or passion. I didn’t know who and where I wanted to be fresh out of college.

In the past I had a memorable summer at Lake Wenatchee and I felt a strong pull from the mountains, knowing it could be a place for healing. Even though I had other states on my mind, Washington in particular had all I ever wanted: a vast range of mountains, sea, forest, desert and, most importantly, the opportunity to seek endless adventures. The Evergreen State was a place where I knew I could take a leap of faith and reinvent myself.

The beauty of my journey was that I wasn’t chasing a job; I was chasing happiness and an adventurous life.

What moment made you realize that you wanted to invest in photography as a true hobby and passion? 

I will never forget the first moments had in Washington. I should note that in my youth Washington was never on the radar. Upon my first arrival on the west coast I recall finding a rest area late in the night located on a ridge. I was on the tail end of my road trip, completing a 26-hour trek that started in Somerset, Wisconsin. I slept in my car that night and maybe got 3 hours of sleep. I woke up to the sunrise and I noticed a huge cone shaped mountain glistening in the distance. I stared, shocked by its presence. 

“Is that Mount Rainier?” I say.

I immediately run to my car to take a picture with my phone because I had to show my parents. I soon found out my phone would not be able to capture the moment because Rainier was too far away. 

“I need a camera,” I remember saying out loud.

I really couldn’t believe a place like this existed in the US. I was dumbfounded I never a saw a picture of Rainier before arriving. Shortly after my Mount Rainier moment I found out that Washington was filled with epic landscapes. I wanted to capture all of my surroundings. Everything felt so brand new, similar to that feeling of being a kid where everything around you is unknown, the little things play a part in life and are somehow connected, but you don’t quite understand until you keep growing in nature.

After my first summer in Washington my parents gifted my first camera as a college graduation present, a Canon Powershot. 

I spent a solid two years capturing moments and started building local content on Instagram. Friends and family were starting to take notice of my content and wanted to see more into my life. I soon gained enough confidence in my photography to see it as more than just a hobby, but rather a leap into a burning passion. 

What do you like most about shooting mountain landscapes? 

What I like most about shooting mountain landscapes is the images that I capture are unpredictable. All the content I produced in the wild was never planned. When I find myself on a mountaintop my mind begins to wander and connect with my surrounding. I enter this mindset where I am constantly analyzing the terrain and trying to determine where, “the shot” is. That is the beauty in my work. It’s original.

What are the biggest challenges of hiking with camera gear?

 Weight, portability and keeping your gadget protected from the elements. Even though I have one of the lightest full frame cameras on the market, the added weight when hiking and camping can take a toll, especially on extended adventures. I still have my young legs, so fortunately I can take on the rough terrain with no limits. 

 When hiking in the backcountry, my camera takes up a lot of room and I sometimes forget how much space is occupied. For the most part when hiking my camera stays in my backpack until we have established a base camp. It gets to be quite the hassle to constantly unload and load my camera in and out of my backpack. 

 Lastly, the elements of nature. This is probably my biggest concern out in the field. For those who know photography well, they also know that camera equipment is not cheap, so maintaining clean items is absolutely crucial to my work. I’ve learned to be on the look out for rain and sand, they are your two worst enemies. 

 Any scary stories from working out in the field?

Yes, many of my scary stories have been private or shared with close friends and family. I like to keep it that way, until I feel the time is right to share an experience publicly. I will say with all the good, bad and ugly stories they have all taught me invaluable life lessons.

Without diving into too much detail my encounter with a cougar while alone in the backcountry is my most gut-wrenching experience to date. 

What's your home, San Juan Island, like? What do you enjoy about the islands as a home base?

My home on San Juan, Luke’s Lair, is a small cottage located just outside of Friday Harbor, WA. It’s the perfect base. I am close to town and my commute to work is a beautiful scenic, traffic free 20-minute drive. The best part of my place is my landlord, friend, John Madden. John is a recently retired National Park Service Park Ranger and a one of kind man. He has made my stay on San Juan magical, as he is always open to stories and meaningful advice. I couldn’t ask for a better person and company on the island. If you want a taste of John’s character, I recommend the book, “The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier.” John is featured toward the end.

What future photography adventures are you looking forward to most? 

British Columbia and Alberta have been on my radar for quite some time. Plans have been on hold, but once normal activity resumes I will find myself soon exploring the great landscapes of Western Canada.

In the meantime, I have enjoyed exploring more of the local landscape in Washington. I have gained more appreciation for my home and feeling extremely fortunate to be surrounded by world-class landscape, especially since our travel has been restricted. I anticipate I will be spending more time in the state for 2021

Any advice to the aspiring photographers out there? (Me me me!!!)

 Be original and consistent with your subject matter. Stick to what you are most passionate about and your content will continue to evolve over the years. People on the outside will be fascinated by your love and devotion to creating moments.

Want to share the story of one of your favorite photographs?

You can scroll through my instagram to see most of my images and short stories.

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Luke - always one for inspirational words. You know those people that just have a zest for life and a passion for their craft, with an energy that is contagious and addicting to be around? That’s him. If you have the pleasure of meeting him in person and hearing his mountain photography stories, you’re a lucky one. You’ll have to visit San Juan Island though ;)

If you want to place one of these magical images on your wall or send one to a nature lover in your life, Luke has prints available on his storefront here. I highly recommend supporting this wonderful human and am grateful for all the tips and tricks I learned about (Sony) photography from him.

Plus, follow him on Instagram to get to know him better. Like you might have noticed in our conversation above, he is very articulate and conscientious about when and where he drops tidbits of information. And he’s a fabulous storyteller.

And just for kicks and gigs, here are some photos from our photoshoot that we did near Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island. We had some amazing backdrops (and unusually large waves) to work with - thanks Pacific Northwest!

Stay kind (especially to yourself) and enjoy the remaining bit of January. I have more posts on Maui coral reef ecology oming up soon!

All the best,

Loz

All photos courtesy of Luke Praschak. Except these, which I took of Luke on one of our photo adventures.

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