Jack Church is an adventure and nature photographer based in Vancouver, BC. In 2018, Jack moved to Vancouver from London, England, looking for a change and to spend more time outdoors. His photography has won awards in the Travel Photographer of the Year and in multiple publications internationally.Hi, I'm Jack. I'm a nature photographer based in Vancouver. I moved to BC three years ago and I try to spend as much time as I can exploring the backcountry of this amazing province. I’ve always loved spending time outdoors and developed a passion for photography in my teenage years. I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world with my camera but there’s no place I'd rather be than in the backcountry of BC.
Photo: Jack Church
On spending time outdoors
Hiking is one of the best ways to take interesting landscape photos. I always find that you see things that aren’t easy to see and get perspectives that other photographers may miss. I also like to make the most of the winters in BC and I'll be on my skis most weekends throughout the darker months.
We are spoiled for choice when heading outside in BC. I’ve been lucky enough to get out and explore much of the province, but one of my favorites has to be in the north. I drove up through Northern BC to the Yukon and Alaska a few years ago and Northern BC was incredible.
The endless untouched landscape, mountains and lakes captivated me and I go back at every opportunity that I have. In particular the Salmon Glacier near Stewart stands out as a highlight; the road to the glacier is fairly sketchy, but once you get to the top the glacier stretches out for miles in front of you. We drove in and out of Alaska to get to it which made the experience even more memorable.
I’ve been back up in Northern BC a few times since and had some wonderful experiences seeing the Northern Lights and wildlife everywhere.
Photo: Jack Church
On photographing nature
I was introduced to photography in my early teens by my Mum who was a passionate wildlife photographer. Her photography took her all over the world from the Arctic to Africa, which is where she spent most of her time with her camera.
I was lucky enough to accompany her on a number of expeditions and learnt from her and her peers in an informal apprentice-like situation. The photographers on these trips were highly published and had won multiple awards, and whilst there was a steep learning curve, I learnt so many things from watching and listening to them on the trips.
My Mum passed away a number of years ago but I feel her passion whenever I'm out with my camera. I’m so grateful to have spent so much time outdoors in the wild with her, in remote places without wifi or reception. The strongest memories that I have are those when we were sat; waiting in the back of a Land Cruiser. Whether it be watching to see whether a cheetah would hunt or if the herd of wildebeest would cross the river, those moments sat in nature, sharing our experience are the ones that I treasure the most.
I think that is the true passion of most nature photographers. It’s not about the time that you spend looking through the viewfinder, but the long swathes of time in between when you’re waiting for a break in the clouds or hiking up to get to a viewpoint.
Photo: Jack Church
A FAVOURITE photograph AND the story behind it
I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over BC in the three years that I've lived here, and fortunately I've taken a few nice photos on the way. My most recent favorite is Mount Robson, taken last September whilst hiking the Berg Lake Trail.
I hiked into the park in inclement weather; visibility was poor and it was raining sideways. I set up camp just below Mount Robson at the base of the Mist Glacier and wondered whether I would even see the peak of the mountain on my trip.
Fortunately enough when I woke early the next morning, the weather had completely cleared up and the peak was bathed by one long ray of light. I walked out into the glacier bed and looked up at the mountain.
Photo: Jack Church
Composing the shot, I wanted to outline the amazing detail that I could see in person. I’d seen lots of photos of the iconic mountain at a wider angle, but I wanted to document this experience on a more personal level, and focusing on the detail of the mountain brings more meaning to this photo to me.
I like the photo because the contrast from dark to light speaks to the illusivity of the peak. One moment you might not know that there’s a mountain there, the next it reveals itself and this uncertainty is one of the things I love most about getting into the backcountry.
Jack’s advice for getting outside and unplugged
I think it can be quite overwhelming when you’re scrolling through Instagram and seeing amazing adventures filling your feed and it’s hard to know where to start if you’re looking for a good hike or a day in the wilderness. It’s also hard to know what to bring and how to prepare.
A little bit of research will really help when looking for a good hike or spot to take some pictures. I like using All Trails to find hikes - the descriptions and ratings are great, they’ll give you an idea of how hard the trail is and the comments section usually lets you know what condition that trail is currently in. You can search All Trails by a specific area, or you can explore nearby trails and look around on the interactive map.
I also like to have a look on Instagram by searching the location and looking for recent photos, this will give an idea of the trail conditions but also some ideas for photo spots along the way.
It’s important to be prepared when you head into the backcountry, so a good packing list (for a day or overnight hike) can really help when wondering what to bring, and with 20-30 minutes of research and packing, all you need to do is jump in a car, head out and enjoy it. Outdoor Vancouver has a great packing list on their website.
Thank you so much, Jack!
