Daily Inspiration: Meet Scott Rockvam

Today we’d like to introduce you to Scott Rockvam.

Hi Scott, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I had a job where I did a lot of regional travel. I’d find myself hiking around parks after work and exploring the natural areas and posting them on Facebook for my friends and family to see what I was up to while I was away. In 2012, I got laid off from that job and it was photography along with getting out in nature that gave me a reason to get off the couch between job searches and interviews. It really helped keep my mental health in check during those trying times. It was then that I began to take it a little more seriously and it became my primary hobby where I would travel specifically for photography. I started to discover, befriend and study photographers along with what went into making the photos that I liked.

As I gained confidence, I set up social media pages for my photography and eventually a website to sell work on. I upgraded equipment & started traveling further along with hiking a little deeper to find unique images. In doing this, I fell more in love with just about everywhere I went, I dove into the cultures while talking to locals. I learned about changes to their climates & threats to the public lands. Naturally, because I cared about these places that I went, I wanted to use whatever voice I had to raise awareness & protect them. That brings me to where I am today where I use my photography to tell my stories about mental health, climate change & public lands protection along with just sharing the beauty I see in the world.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road at all. I have a full time job, a family & finding that harmony between being a dad, husband, photographer, employee and a friend has not been easy. I spent so many years burning myself out trying to be great at everything. It doesn’t work. Sadly, I neglected & sacrificed some very important relationships because I couldn’t carry it all. I no longer believe there is a balance to achieve, because balance can be easily disrupted whereas if things are in harmony they all work together to ebb and flow as needed. In some ways, I think the pandemic has helped me achieve a better harmony by forcing me to slow down & to adapt the way I do things to accommodate the most important things in my world at the moment. I’m a better dad, husband, photographer & employee for it. My kids are even starting to come along on some of my photo outings and are getting curious about the camera!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I specialize in nature & landscape photography. I’m known for vivid images in beautiful places. I think that one of the things that sets me apart is my willingness to get out and suffer a little bit for a photo, whether it’s getting up well before light to make it for sunrise, going out when it’s -20 to photograph the “sea smoke” on Lake Superior or inversion fog in the mountains, or staying up late to capture the northern lights. What I think I’m most proud of is when I have a story to tell about mental health, a location, or the environment that matches perfectly with a photo so well that people message me to let me know that it helped them see something in a different way, made them want to visit a place, or made the person feel seen because they relate to the story.

Right now, I’m currently focused on budgeting & planning travel. I may be making my return to doing in-person vendor shows, pop-up shops & maybe even a booth at the local farmers market this summer! I’m also focusing on being open about the importance of mental health issues in the outdoor & creative spaces, getting more people outside, active & involved, and as always I’m continuing to examine my own travel & ways to mitigate my own effects on the climate while advocating for climate action and protecting the places that we all love through the outdoor & environmental organization Protect Our Winters.

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I don’t really know where I see the photography industry going in the future. I don’t think about it too much. I just do what I do & control what I can control. I don’t know a lot about them yet, but it seems as if NFTs are going to change the industry completely. I’m not sure how I feel about it because of the environmental impact of the data storage. It’s definitely worth paying attention to, because if it can be done sustainably, it could be great.

Everyone has a perfectly good camera right in their pocket and phone cameras are always improving. I don’t know if they’ll ever overtake professional Mirrorless or DSLR cameras, but now everyone can be a photographer if they know how to compose a good photo. That opens up some amazing doors to amazing creative minds. I can’t wait to see where that continues to go!

Contact Info:

• Email: flowstatephotog@gmail.com
• Website: www.flowstatephotography.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowstate_photography
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlowstatePhoto 

Image Credits
Flowstate Photography (Scott Rockvam)