We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrew Moreland a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My journey with photography began by chance when I moved to Saint George Utah in search of a place I could ride a bike and rock climb year round, I had also heard of Zion National Park and Canyoneering and was intrigued. I would take long bike rides and stop every 5 minutes to take a photo on my phone and realized I needed something more powerful.

After getting my first real camera I was hooked, I took it everywhere with me especially in the outdoors. I spent many years learning from just shooting, watching videos, reading articles, and making mistakes.

In 2022 I went to college for Digital Media Design. Although I don’t think this is a necessity, having a mentor who has already done the hard learning and can teach efficient workflow can help speed up the learning process exponentially.

One of the essential skills would be having a deep understanding of the exposure triangle, this allows you to anticipate and change settings quickly so you don’t miss the shots that count. Editing can only do so much so you want to make sure your settings are right from the start.

Another skill is finding a good workflow to cull and edit photos, this will save you a lot of time in the long term. It’s best to make multiple passes to truly determine what will make the cut so you don’t spend time editing photos that will never be seen.

One of the most important things you can do is network, and be open to saying yes to things even if you don’t feel ready. No matter what your profession, people are the number one ingredient and you never know what doors they can open for you.

One of things I would have done different when I started would have been shoot RAW from the start, this gives you a lot more control over the editing, and allows you to come back later and re-edit photos as you learn and grow.



Another thing would be learn color grading early on, this really helps to build your own style and take greater control of what the final image looks like.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Originally from Wyoming, my passion for the outdoors began in Vedauwoo. I started rock climbing in my early 20’s, falling in love with the weird, wide cracks and beautiful formations.

Learning of Zion National Park, and eager to experience new places I decided to move to Southern Utah.

After arriving, inspired by the beauty, I decided to get a camera. Over the 10 years since I have spent countless hours hiking, scrambling, climbing, packrafting, and canyoneering, rarely without one.

Photography for me has always had a way of connecting me deeper to my passion in the outdoors and has evolved naturally along side.

My photographic niche is Canyoneering, a unique activity that requires hiking, technical rope work, rappelling, swimming, down climbing, and up climbing through slot canyons.

This has been interesting journey for me as there are few people in the world really taking cameras into these places due to the harsh conditions on gear and technical knowledge that is necessary.

One of the things that makes my photography unique is my ability to shoot all the way through a canyon creating galleries that give you turn by turn feel of the whole place. Sometimes this requires me to be neck deep in water, or stemming high to get the shot.

Currently I am working on a photo book series of 20 classic Zion Canyons, these are of single trips creating a cohesive flow, but some will also have comparison photos from different seasons showing how much these places can change in-between visits.

In the coming months I will also be offering a photo service in conjunction with Sundial Guides in Southern Utah where you can book me as your photographer. Not only can you experience these unique places and get high quality photos, but I will be offering prints and personal photo books of your trip.

I also offer unique postcards from all over the Southwest.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In March of 2022 I woke up on a normal day, not feeling normal.

I was having tremors, what felt like my entire body was vibrating, I was dizzy, nauseous with heart palpitations, brain fog, digestion issues, and a rapid heart rate.

Over the next 6 months I dealt with these symptoms scared and feeling awful, unsure what it was or if I would ever be able to do the things I loved again.

Eventually I learned I had something called POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome)
This is a syndrome of the nervous system.

Basically I have low blood volume causing chronically low blood pressure. This causes my brain and organs to not get enough blood, which in turn causes my body to dump adrenaline increasing my heart rate to compensate. Passing out becomes a real possibility if symptoms are not managed.

Thankfully with lots of electrolytes and water I am able to increase my blood pressure to manage my symptoms, but It’s a constant battle everyday just to feel okay. This has made everything in my life more difficult, especially hard physical activity. 25% of people with POTS are fully disabled, and few are pushing athletic boundaries in remote areas where there is a real possibility of dangerous complications.

Instead of taking this as a defeat I saw it as a challenge, and a catalyst for change. I became more focused on my diet and consistent exercise, becoming more in tune with my body than ever and since then have been on some of the most challenging trips yet.

I’m a believer that we are always stronger than we think we are, and with the right perspective we can find the good in all situations, which in turn allow us to live happier more fulfilling lives. When we embrace struggle that is where the most personal growth comes from.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, being able to capture unique images in hard to access locations and being able to share them with my friends who were there, as well as others who may never be able to see places like it is incredibly rewarding.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.andrewmorelandphotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrew_moreland_photo
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Andrewmorelandphotography
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-moreland-photo