We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sam Jezak. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sam below.

Hi Sam, thanks for joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To me, success is less about numbers on a profit sheet, or engagement on social media posts, but more about constantly improving and striving to inspire. To spur this success, or at least the pursuit of it, takes a lot of self reflection and self critique. Every year I compile my favorite photos of the year, both as a matter of record keeping, but also as a way to compare and reflect on how much I’ve improved and changed year over year. Sometimes, it’s an uplifting exercise, marveling at great work that really makes me feel like I’ve leveled up. Other times though, it’s a reminder to keep pushing and striving to be better, instead of just as good as I was the year before. These markers and milestones are vital I think, especially as more and more creatives feel like they are caught up in the churn and burn lifestyle of social media. Improving year by year is a great success, but one that takes hours of work, and sometimes painful self reflection.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Sam Jezak, and I am an award winning outdoor photographer, dedicated educator, and life-long explorer. While not teaching history and journalism in high school, I’m devoted to documenting nature, the people who enjoy it, and advocating for its protection.

Growing up going to national parks every summer, I learned to appreciate the artistic beauty of the natural world and began photographing it after being given a disposable camera at Yellowstone National Park by my mom. Eventually that seed evolved into a passion for taking a camera along outside to record hikes, fishing trips, and wildlife. That initial prompting came full circle as my photo of my mom hiking in Redwoods National and State Parks was chosen for the 2021 National Park Service Annual Pass in a nationwide competition. Through my photography, I hope to continue documenting the connection between humans and nature so that people are inspired to care for our natural home.

I combine my training as a historian with a curiosity stoked by growing up on the likes of Anthony Bourdain, to explore the unfamiliar and examine its historical background. I hope to inspire my students and wider community to be unsatisfied with the simple answer and embrace the nuanced, on topics ranging from coffee and cooking to conservation.

I live and work in the Bay Area, but can frequently be found sleeping in his Subaru around the American West, in my hometown of Kansas City, or wherever the good food is.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As a photographer doing nearly all my work in nature, the conservation, protection, and flourishing of the environment is fundamental to my art. I hope my images can inspire someone to go outside, to fall in love with a place, and then advocate for the protection of that place. The idea that nature needs to be separate and foreign is backwards to me – why would anyone care about the environment if they don’t have a relationship to it? Bringing light to all the majesty that surrounds us, and inspiring care for it is what drives my creative process, and pushes me to constantly strive for better.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It’s certainly not the dollar signs! For me, it’s when someone tells me that one of my photos inspired them to go visit a national park, or take up a new outdoor hobby, or even hang a photo in their office because it makes them feel more calm. Most of my clients are people I know, so it’s a very meaningful extension of my relationship with them. There are so many artists of amazing quality out there, and I feel very lucky when anyone devotes wall space and resources to my art – I don’t take it for granted!

Contact Info:

• Website: samjezak.com
• Instagram: @samjezak_photography
• Facebook: Sam Jezak Photography
• Linkedin: Sam Jezak
• Twitter: @samjezak