JOHAN LOLOS
World Explorer
Johan Lolos is a Belgian-born self-taught travel/adventure photographer and he likes to call himself a world explorer with a passion for the outdoors and the wilderness. After he graduated in PR in 2013 he left Europe and spent a whole year exploring Australia and showcasing the beauty of the country to his audience, mainly on Instagram. Things got serious when National Geographic, BuzzFeed and DailyMail published his photos of Australia and that's when he decided to go full-time as an outdoor photographer.
Stay up-to-date with Johan and his work via his Website, Instagram or Facebook
10 Questions with Johan
1. WHAT GOT YOU STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY?
Before traveling I’ve always been into photography. Started with a pocket camera that I carried everywhere and took snaps of my nights out with my friends in Brussels. Then I bought my first DSLR at uni when I was 22. For 4 years I shot only events (music festivals, concerts, weddings…) and I loved it. Then after I graduated I decided to move to Australia for a year, and obviously the amazing scenery I found there got me into the world of travel photography.
2. PLACE YOU WANT TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE?
Antarctica is high on the list and one day I’ll go there. Definitely need to make it to Africa too. Actually I’m one of these guys who want to visit the whole world, so that’s the hardest question you’ve asked me. Asia, America, Greenland, Iceland, India… So many places haha! But if I knew I was going to die next month, I’d probably go back to Greece, where my roots are, just because it’s been 7 years now I haven’t been there and I’m truly happy when I’m there.
3. FEAR OF?
Snakes! Until I got to Australia and found myself face to face with a few giant olive pythons. Not afraid of snakes anymore since then, now my only fear is heights. Which is definitely an issue for an outdoor photographer!
4. WHAT IS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST?
Not one thing but heaps of things. So if there’s one thing I need to accomplish before I die, I definitely need to explore every continent, and spend at least one year on each of them.
5. DOGS OR CATS?
Cats cause I like to make fun of them.
6. IF YOU COULD LEARN ANYTHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I really want to learn Spanish first, so I can explore South America. Then I’d love to learn how to pilot a helicopter too. That would be so rad. But in the end, what I’d love to learn the most is how women think haha.
7. EARLY BIRD OR NIGHT OWL?
Definitely a night owl. I hate waking up early but my job pushes me to when I’m on a mission and have to get up early to shoot sunrise and the morning soft light.
8. WHAT IS THE SCARIEST AND/OR HARDEST THING YOU'VE DONE?
Climbing Mt Ngauruhoe aka Mt Doom (LOTR) in Tongariro National Park, in October 2014. I was with a friend, we decided to hike the world famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing but also hike up to the top of Mt Ngauruhoe to enjoy the view. The only problem was the mountain was completely covered in ice. We didn’t have any good gear with us, just standard hiking boots and that’s all. The more we got up the more dangerous it was, so 100m before the top we eventually decided to turn over. What we didn’t know is the way down was actually even trickier than the way up. I truly thought I was going to die there. Luckily I didn’t haha.
9. SOMEONE YOU'D LIKE TO MEET?
There's actually no one I'd like to meet. Weird isn't it. But I figured that when I really wanted to meet someone and ended up meeting him, I was most of the time disappointed by the man. So I like to meet up with strangers and create new friendships.
10. FAVOURITE QUOTE?
Don’t try – Bukowski
COLLABORATIONS WITH FEW AND FAR CO.
