What A 23-Year-Old In Alaska Captures Is Simply Amazing

For the past six years, this photographer has set out to capture the stunning Alaskan landscape, and boy has he done a great job of it. I am pleased to share with you the work of Jovell Rennie, a 23-year-old photographer born in Trinidad & Tobago and raised in Alaska. His work has become increasingly popular over the past few years and his passion is greatly fueled by the captivating landscape we all call home.

We wanted to find out what made this Alaskan photographer so special so we sat him down for an interview to learn more. His remarkable photography captures the many faces of the Last Frontier but his personality reflects the deep inspiration behind his craft and the pride he has for his home.

I first picked up the camera my senior year in high school, when I was 17 and wanted to help my homie Young out with the football videos. I had always sort of messed around with cameras before, but I never really went too deep into it. I realized pretty quickly that making videos wasn’t going to be my thing just yet and that I had a lot more fun taking photos of my friends in different places.

The moment that stands out in my head as the first time I really wanted to take photos seriously, as silly as it sounds, was when one of my idols followed me on Instagram. The platform wasn’t really big at the time, but this guy was the reason I downloaded the app in the first place, so I could follow along with his design work and photography, to get a behind the scenes look at his brand. Knowing that I had an opportunity to hold his attention for just a few seconds made me work harder.

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Oh man, this list could go on forever, but lately I’ve been crazy into the works of Elliot Erwitt.

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Alaska is my subject because it’s my home, plain and simple. I didn’t always have as much love for AK as I do now. I used to be a big baby about it and mope about how there wasn’t anything to do and that mountains were dumb, haha. But one day something just clicked and I realized that time spent complaining is a complete waste, and that your situation is what you make of it. So I started getting outside as often as possible.

I don’t really have a favorite type of photography, I’m just happy with a camera in my hand. I want to get better each and every day. Sometimes I’ll switch gears and spend a few weeks trying or doing one thing instead of the other, but I can’t nail down a favorite. If anything, I like the act of getting outside, and the connection with my subjects more than the actual photos.

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My overall goal is to be able to provide for myself and those that I love while doing what I love. I want to see more of Alaska, and the world. If I can afford to do that while taking care of my pops and my loved ones, I’ll be happy. Even if it means eating ramen noodles for the rest of my life.

I feel like most of my challenges are just with myself. Being a "creative" can be a roller coaster of feelings, truth be told. Some days I’m completely confident in what I’m doing, other days I’m filled with doubt and insecurity, wondering if I’m making the right decisions. Once you move past that though, the rest is easy. Nothing can ever really get in your way if you’re determined to succeed.

I haven’t really won much for my photography, but so far everything’s felt equal. I’m thankful for the recognition that I’ve received, but I know it’s much more than I deserve and that I need to keep working harder. There’s that old quote about not having time to stop and smell the roses, that’s how I feel a lot of the time. I see improvement in my work, but I know there’s a lot more work to be done to get to where I want to be, so until then I don’t want to slow down very much.

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I think what I’m most proud of about living in Alaska is the air here, it’s so clean. And the sunlight in the summer. I’m a summer solstice baby so it’s really special to me. There’s nothing like it, it makes the darkness of the winter bearable, knowing that when summer comes I can spend almost all of my time outside.

If you want to see more of his pictures just follow his Instagram @Jovell or stop in at his website, https://www.jovellyism.com.