A Conversation with Dr. HJ Yang

By Editor HJ Yang
Edited and published by Yvette Depaepe the 29^th of August 2025
 

'Heaven on Earth'

Marc Adamus is one of today's most talented and influential landscape photographers. He has explored many new frontiers in terms of landscape photography tours, and he is still the only photographer leading some of them, such as the helicopter tour in Alaska and the fjord tour in Patagonia. He loves going to places that no other photographer has visited. His experience of wilderness travel and expedition photography sets him apart from all other traditional photography tours. His passion for helping his guests get a good shot and process their images well is legendary. He has travelled across all seven continents and more than 50 countries, where he has both photographed and guided. Marc’s striking imagery has appeared on the covers of numerous books and magazines, and his commercial clients include Fortune 500 companies. He has also mentored dozens of acclaimed professionals. Marc has been celebrated as a visionary and innovator for over twenty years, consistently pushing the boundaries of modern landscape photography. He recently published the limited-edition book: The Way Home.
Please visit his website at www.marcadamus.com to view his images, book and programmes.

Marc is my mentor and a dear friend of mine. His landscape photography, editing techniques, experience of the wilderness and approach to life have helped shape my own experience and photographic philosophy. We share a passion for nature and nature photography, as well as some fundamental life principles. However, it is not my landscape photography that won his great appreciation, but my ability to keep up with his legendary hiking pace over the most rugged and challenging terrain, which is why I have joined his special expedition team several times. I recently met him again in June 2025 on his New Zealand Fiordland Expedition tour, when I had the chance to talk to him about his recently published book and photography.

Hi Marc, my friend,
Congratulations on your new book, The Way Home! The Way Home. I am very pleased to be joining your unique Fiordland Expedition in New Zealand. Your amazing photographs have attracted and touched so many people, especially in our 1x community. You have been a member of our community since 2011, and your photos have been featured in all our international 1X exhibitions. Thank you for your contribution to our photographic art community and for making this conversation possible.
Finally, I received a copy of your new book, The Way Home. The Way Home. What a magnificent book! It is big and beautiful. I was surprised and honoured to find that you included an image of 'Cwm' and mentioned our trip together in the Boundary Range in Alaska in 2018. I will never forget that trip, which is described in HJ Yang's Journey: O' Alaska!.

Marc, please tell us a little more of  this book.

This large-format fine art collector's book is the result of 25 years of work and offers a unique perspective on my life, travels and artistic philosophy, combined with the highest quality printing. It contains more than 160 images and 80 pages of text, offering insights into my career, behind-the-scenes stories, and thoughts on the state of art. There are only 1,000 copies in total, each individually numbered and signed, and they are likely to sell out soon.

Every landscape photographer should definitely own a copy of this book. It would also make a great gift for a loved one, or you could simply enjoy the magical images — only Marc knows how to capture them. What do you hope to achieve by reading this book?

I want to have a physical record and keepsake of all the images that I have cherished most throughout my career.

Why is it so important for you to publish a physical book? Especially in this digital age. There is so much information on digital social media.

Because it exists in physical form.  It can be held, displayed and signed.  

You are very passionate about preserving nature. In your book, you wrote that the only truth you have ever known is nature. I listen to it, and it speaks to me in one language. Now, we must fight with everything we have to avoid losing it. Without nature, we have no life-giving planet.'
Please tell us your story and explain why you feel so passionate about nature and our living planet.

I think we are the last to see things as they are, as they have evolved and existed throughout most of human history.  I see truth, balance and harmony in nature.  The human world has none of these things.

Why do you think that the art of photography is such a unique art form?

Because it is the best way we have to document the visual reality that surrounds us, and that representation, that moment, can be kept and displayed forever in print form.

How did you start your photography?

My interest in photography began with outdoor adventures and later mountaineering trips.  Initially, my work was documentary-based, but it later became more artistic.

Who influenced your photography when you started?

When I started out, the late Galen Rowell had the biggest impact on me, inspiring me with his inexhaustible passion for documenting rarely seen places and offering fresh new perspectives in creative ways.  A climber and photographer, Galen always took the path less travelled, producing uniquely amazing work.  I would also mention Guy Tal's subtle power and the technical and compositional mastery of Georg and Verena Popp as influences.  Art Wolfe's amazing collection of books also influenced me.

You have a unique approach to processing your images. I found that, although your philosophy of image processing hasn't changed, the way you achieve it has evolved over the years — from the clone stamp to the history brush in Photoshop. What is your underlying philosophy of photography, from taking the shot to processing the image?

I want to ensure that my work is straightforward and reflects what could have happened.  I will enhance the light and colour, but I won't move the moon or sun to a place where they couldn't have been.  I enjoy creating seamless transitions of various kinds that flow towards the light throughout my compositions.

Do you usually process your images as soon as possible while your artistic vision for them is still fresh, or do you sometimes wait before processing them?

Yes, I always process my images soon after capturing them and don't revisit the processing to any great extent later on.  I like to combine the ideas I had when taking the images in the field at that specific time with my post-processing work.  If I come back later, it feels more like recreating than creating to me, and some of the exuberance I felt at the time has faded.  I like to live in the moment, and processing is part of that.  I should mention that many artists don't work this way, and that's fine.  To each their own.  The important thing is to enjoy the art.

What makes your programmes so unique and successful?

I take people to places they wouldn't visit alone, showing them uniquely beautiful and spectacular regions of pure wilderness that are difficult to access by conventional means.  I am also fully dedicated to the art of teaching.

What is the most challenging part of your photo experience?

It means being away a lot of the time.  That's the level of dedication required to capture the very best light on the planet, and those moments are so rare.

What do you enjoy most about photography and leading the photo tour?

Every day brings a new challenge, combining many of my skills, from visualizing maps and locations to visualizing composition.  I also love the art of complex logistics, changing plans to chase the best light and weather and putting people in the best spots at the best times.  This comes naturally to me.

Why do you think that your photography is so unique?

My photography focuses on exploration.  The places I've photographed won't be seen anywhere else.

Tell us some more about yourself and family?

I have a few properties, including a small farm where my wife loves to work the land with our two Rottweilers and four cats.  When I come home, I enjoy helping out around the house and working on projects, such as creating large prints.  My 17-year-old son, Galen, also lives with us.

How has your personal experience affected your photography?

Growing up, I studied maps, drew and learnt about the weather, all the while wanting to travel.  Now I do all of those things for a living, so it's a good combination.

AI has made great progress recently and has now entered almost every aspect of our daily lives. How do you think it will affect your own photography, and photography as an art form, in general?

I don't think it will affect my photography, and I really struggle to imagine someone providing prompts to AI to describe their trip and create images for them.  Obviously, that's not how our lives work.  Those aren't the things we saw or experienced.  I don't think AI can replace that experience.  It's entirely separate from documentary photography.  I also reject the idea that AI will ever be more beneficial than harmful.  I believe it exists because huge corporations and investors created it in pursuit of money and power. They have forced it upon us and will use it to control people under the guise of convenience. Eventually, we will lose the little control we have over it.  I worry for humanity and my son.  I believe AI is the single greatest threat to our existence.  I hope that people will wake up to the fact that they are being heavily manipulated by technology they don't understand or control before it leads to their own downfall.

Thank you very much, Marc, my dear friend, for taking the time to talk to me and share your personal experiences. Congratulations again on your new book. I look forward to joining you on future expeditions and seeing many more of your unique, wonderful works. Good luck with all your future endeavours!

'Cloud dancers' - Alaska

'One' – Northern Britisch Columbia

'Heart of the tree' – California

'Winter's Fury' - Oregon

'Desert of the Mountains' - Pakistan

'Embrace' - Oklahoma

'Emergence' - Patagonia Fjords

'Fall frames' - Alaska

 

 

'Far South' - Antarctica

 

 

'Fiordland falls' - New Zealand

 

 

'Guardian' - Patagonia Fjords

 

'Holding on' - Utah

 

 

'Ice Shadows' - Alberta

 

'Mixed-up' - Patagonia Fjords

 

 

'Mordor' - Karakoram 

 

 

'Once in a dream' - British Columbia

 

 

'Paradise' - Patagonia Fjords

 

 

'Sound of Thunder' - British Columbia

 

 

'Leaf' - Alaska

 

 

'Winter tracks' - Alaska

About Editor Huijun (HJ) Yang, Ph.D.
In this series, Dr. HJ Yang, Scientist, Businessman and Nature Photographer, talked to some today’s world well known nature photographers, sharing with us not only their unique artistic magic images and photo programs, but also their personal life stories. 

A Conversation with Dr. HJ Yang Series:
Daniel Kordan: World-renowned photographer and explorer
Willam Patino: World-renowned landscape photographer from Te Anau, New Zealand, coming soon