The Outdoors: Finding My Passion and a Career
The Outdoors: Finding My Passion and a Career
Corey McMullen is a freelance photographer, trail runner and hiker based in New Hampshire. He has been working with our team here at Kahtoola for a couple of seasons now and shares with us his not-so-straightforward journey to becoming a photographer and a few of the challenges and rewards that come with creating compelling images outdoors.
As an outdoor photographer, I call myself fortunate to be able to spend most of my time “working” outside doing what I love. What I do ranges from taking product and lifestyle pictures for outdoor brands to helping the local tourism organizations showcase the amazing mountain valley I live in through imagery, capturing mountain engagements for couples, and more. Getting to call my passion my work wasn’t always the case though. Rediscovering my love for the outdoors and figuring out what I wanted to do for a career was a long road for me, but I’ve come to embrace the many challenges and rewards that come with combining the two.
Without Direction
Ten years ago, I would have described myself as someone with multifaceted hobbies, interests and experiences. They included everything from playing and writing music, running, cooking from scratch and enjoying downtime with friends and family. But, if you asked me back then what I was passionate about, I would have had a difficult time answering. I had, at that time in my life, only just begun to feel and experience what it meant to be deeply moved by something. What it meant to be passionate.
“If you asked me back then what I was passionate about, I would have had a difficult time answering.”
It’s probably true that we all, at different points in our lives, find our “thing,” our calling. It’s like when someone asks you what you want to be when you grow up—some will immediately answer: surgeon, athlete, teacher, artist. For others, it might take their whole life to discover it. In college, I had no idea what my calling was or what I was passionate about. It wasn’t until several years later that I began to realize what certain things meant to me.
Early Years Spent Outside
I grew up in a family that encouraged me to go outside. And it was about more than just balancing screen time with outside time. When we were young, my dad took my sisters and me winter camping every year, starting when I was around 10 years old. As a family, we also used to go to Vermont and New Hampshire every year to hike around some smaller mountains there.
In high school, I would watch my dad always going for runs, and soon I started trying it for myself, recreationally and for health purposes. I never joined clubs or school running teams but was content doing it for myself a few times a week. During this time, I also arbitrarily took a black-and-white darkroom film photography course. It was fun and interesting, but once the course was over, I didn’t give it much further thought, which I suspect is the case with most high schoolers.
During and after college, these habits didn’t change but something else did. It took me a long time to face it, but my mental health deteriorated for about a year. As ironic as it sounds, it took me nearly losing all of myself to learn and gain everything back.
Going Back to My Roots
Not long after that difficult year, my friends took me on a spontaneous trip from Massachusetts to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. With little experience, we hiked the tallest peak in the Northeast, Mount Washington, in rain and 70 mph winds.
After that adventure, which was probably my first experience in the mountains as an adult, everything changed. I found myself feeling renewed and transformed, and it challenged everything I thought I knew about myself. I wanted more, was feeling more, and began researching everything there was to do with hiking and recreating in the outdoors. It didn’t take long before an old familiarity started to flourish, taking me back to the hikes and camping trips I did as a kid.
Having rediscovered an interest in the outdoors, I wanted to document my adventures. I had always taken photos with my phone, but the more adventures I went on, the less it seemed to do them justice. Looking for more, I dug through some storage boxes and found my dad’s old film camera, which I began to take with me on my trips. At the same time, even though I had never really been much of a social media person, my friends recommended I build an Instagram profile to share these adventures and photos.
Passion and a New Career
It’s hard for me to recall all of what happened next. One minute, I was hiking and taking film photos for fun, the next, I was investing a good chunk of money in a digital camera and spending every single weekend traveling back up north to keep adding more to this experience cup I couldn’t seem to fill.
I spent my time on countless night and sunrise hikes, backpacking trips and 20- and 30-mile running loops in the mountains, among other adventures. Fast forward a couple of years, and I began taking outdoor gear brand ambassadorships and little photography gigs that would soon be the foundation of my business.
As I started to grow my photography business, it became apparent to me that some of the most critical parts of being a successful photographer are standing out as unique in the industry and proving to potential clients that, through your portfolio, you are already doing what they are looking for. Developing my style and discovering what made my work unique was, for the most part, already in front of me.
Through pushing myself in the outdoors personally, while learning photography, I saw what it meant to share experiences in the outdoors as well as what it meant to be challenged physically and mentally. Highlighting ordinary people doing extraordinary things outside became my style. I’ve focused on capturing these same people broadening their horizons through the outdoor lifestyle, the magic of these spaces and the community within it.
Along my personal and professional journey in the outdoor industry, I made several connections. One of my most valued is with a fellow outdoor photographer named Ken Hamilton. Ken was kind enough to share his photography journey and countless tips with me. He was also selfless enough to introduce me to Kahtoola, a contact he had made early on in his career.
“I saw what it meant to share experiences in the outdoors as well as what it meant to be challenged physically and mentally.“
Because of that introduction, I have had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Kahtoola over the last couple of years. There are many rewarding aspects to working with a repeat client, including building a close relationship and the opportunity to see the growth and improvement in your craft over time. Last year, my second year with Kahtoola, was both challenging and rewarding: there has been a sequence of new and familiar shoot locations, time pressure due to weather, and we’ve expanded on our collaboration.
Challenges, Rewards and Collaboration
Challenges are everywhere in the planning and execution of a photoshoot. It is, however, often those challenges that make the photos themselves special.
CHASING WINTER
Winter 2022/2023 was an odd one on the east coast. Over the years, our winters have evolved to include less and less snow and unseasonably warm temperatures, but this one was even more lackluster. By the time winter was half over, opportunities to shoot winter-specific products had been fleeting, especially with the added complication of coordinating with models’ schedules. I was starting to wonder how much, if any, winter shooting conditions would be left that season. So, I started to look elsewhere.
It didn’t take long before I noticed Flagstaff, AZ—where Kahtoola is based—was forecast to get a big winter storm. That same day, I pitched the idea to Kahtoola that I travel there for a photoshoot. I also booked my travel. The next day I flew to Flagstaff, arriving at 3 a.m. just as the snow was starting to fall, and I spent the next three days working with three models who were complete strangers.
As a photographer, new places can be your worst enemy and your best friend. On one hand, something new to look at through the lens can be inspiring and provoke fresh perspectives. On the other, a new place can incite uncertainty in your planned shots and story. Typically, I fall under the category of being an over-planner and perfectionist, almost to a fault. Throwing myself suddenly into a new location to catch the right snow and ice conditions for a shoot was a test for me. Already familiar with Kahtoola products, the activity itself, and meeting inspiring new runners ended up fueling my comfort and creativity. The short trip flew by, but working with talented individuals and shooting runners—one of my favorite activities—made it a unique and memorable experience.
SLOW AND STEADY GETS THE SHOT
Perhaps the best part of being a photographer in the outdoor industry is, well, working outside a lot of the time. As comfortable as I am in the mountains, and as much as I love being there, they always find a way to surprise me and keep me on my toes.
This was the case on a memorable hiking photoshoot on Franconia Ridge in New Hampshire this past winter. Having recently dealt with an ankle injury, my time among the peaks had, sadly, been limited so far that season. Those who spend time out in the mountains will know all it takes is a few weeks away from them to start feeling out of shape.
With my pace being a little slower than usual, our shoot on Franconia Ridge fell slightly behind schedule as the day wore on. We were just wrapping up as sunset neared, and everything felt rushed. It’s no secret the best photos often come from shooting when the good light—early in the morning or late in the day—hits. We were attempting to get to our last summit of the trip before that good light hit, while also leaving enough time to get all of the remaining shots we needed. We managed to scrape by, wrapping up what we needed to accomplish for the photos just in time.
The delay that resulted from my slower pace, however, meant we had to descend the summit cone of Mt. Lafayette, the tallest point on the ridge, in the dark. Descending Lafayette in winter can be tricky, never mind doing it in the dark.
Immediately below the summit is a steep, rocky section that thematically gets windblown and builds up with plenty of ice. Despite our familiarity with the trail, we quickly realized we had deviated off-trail in the snow and ice field. The sun was fully down, the wind had picked up, and temperatures were near zero. Fortunately, the three of us (myself and the two models) had hit it off immediately after stepping on the trail together that day by chatting and making the images. Developing that close rapport and comfort made it easy to stop, assess the situation and find our way down safely.
The mountains can be challenging on their own. And sometimes the process of creating brand photos in the mountains intimidates me even more. As the sole person in my business responsible for the execution, trying to keep everything running according to plan is often humbling. On top of that, I’m watching out for my own well-being and making sure I’m staying warm/cool enough, properly hydrated and fueled. It’s a fine balance to keep all of these things in check, never mind feeling temporarily a little out of my element from my injury.
Luckily, that day on Franconia Ridge, I was able to fall back on being a long-time hiker and the experience I gained from having been on the mountain several times before. It goes the same with photography. Having that familiarity, skills and knowledge of the subject matter is on equal ground to having experience with the camera equipment. They’re synonymous. It’s a large part of why I love the photography work that I do—it’s the passion I have for the places and the outdoor activities that makes it worthwhile.
Doing What I Love
Today, if someone were to ask me who I am or how I would describe myself, I’d still say I have multifaceted hobbies and interests. However, I can now say with confidence my passion is the outdoors and my career as a photographer. As cliché as it sounds, there’s just nothing else that can compare. Getting to create art outside feels effortless. It feels like, for once in my life, work isn’t work. I know so well the stories, memories, and experiences that come out of spending time outside that creating digital mementos for brands feels less like a job and more like good fortune. It’s where I belong.
At the end of the day, there’s nothing more rewarding than getting to look back at what you created for each project and the experiences that come with each and every one. Just like any job, there are hurdles and reasons to not like what you do, but combining my passion for these outdoor spaces and my love of photography is more fulfilling than any career and life I’ve ever had and could have. It has been, and always will be, a gift.
You can see more of Corey’s work at his website coreydavidphotography.com.