6 minute read

Sharing the Wonder of the Wild

At the height of the COVID pandemic, Jeff Zausch set out with his FUJIFILM X-T4 to bring home the staggering beauty of US national parks to all

In 2020, despite the country reeling amid COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions, many people stood up to help each other. They did it in lots of ways, from feeding neighbors to sewing medical scrubs, but Jeff Zausch had something different in mind. Inspired by the outdoors from a young age, and knowing its benefits for mental health and wellbeing, he decided to bring the wild into the homes of lockdown America.

Man standing on mountain overlooking glacier lake

Photo 2020 © Jeff Zausch | FUJIFILM X-T4 camera and XF16-80mmF4 R OIS WR, 1/200 sec at F5, ISO 160

“I realized that all the time people were stuck at home staring at the walls, our national parks were sitting untouched,” Jeff remembers. “All the joy they bring was going unnoticed. So, I set out to explore some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country – and to share my experience, letting people know the world was still out there, waiting for normality to return.” And with that, Jeff’s series A Man & His Camera was born.

Jeff’s love of the outdoors was cultivated from an early age. Growing up in rural Idaho, he spent every possible moment outside. In his words: “While most children my age were interested in video games, hanging out with friends or other social activities, I almost always preferred being in the mountains. Every year, my parents would ask me what I wanted for my birthday, and my answer was always the same, ‘I want to go camping!’”

Red tent on snowy mountain top at night with stars above

Photo 2020 © Jeff Zausch | FUJIFILM X-T4 camera and XF16-80mmF4 R OIS WR, 25 secs at F4, ISO 1600

Through his teenage years and beyond, that connection only grew. “By my late teens I had climbed many of the highest peaks in the northwestern US, and I was always putting money aside for my next solo adventure,” he explains. “It became my passion to head into the wilderness with nothing more than a knife and a few small survival items.” Living off the land for days or weeks at a time, he built his woodsman skills, and started making photographs of the wild. “At 17, I was using a point-and-shoot camera, and entering my photos into competitions at the annual state fair. Although the outdoors was my main interest, rather than photography, I was winning first place for nearly every one I entered.”

Mountain goat standing on rocky hillside

Photo 2020 © Jeff Zausch | FUJIFILM X-T4 camera and XF50-140mmF2.8 R LM OIS WR + FUJINON TELECONVERTER XF2X TC WR, 1/400 sec at F5.6, ISO 800

Despite this, his first real brush with fame was in front of the camera, not behind it. “In 2013, I was contacted by Discovery Channel, and asked if I’d participate in a new TV show called Naked and Afraid,” he explains, “I’d gained a reputation online for my mountain climbing and outdoor adventures, so it seemed like a good fit. I agreed, and two weeks later I was shipped out to Madagascar, to survive for 21 days naked in the desert.” His performance on that challenge propelled his career in reality TV to even greater heights. “I’ve now survived a grand total of 195 days on the Naked and Afraid series, the most of anyone who’s taken part.” From there, he also took over as host of another Discovery Channel series, Dual Survival.

“It was the experience of working in television that made me see how effective photography and filmmaking could be,” he continues, “It brought these amazing places into the homes of people who couldn’t be there themselves. I had been around cameras all my life, but this inspired me to take it more seriously. Now, what I needed was the right kit to help me do it.”

That kit arrived in the shape of the original FUJIFILM X100. “That was my first ‘true love’ camera,” he beams, “but not for the same reason as many other photographers. For me, it had to fit into my unique lifestyle, adventuring and surviving in the harshest conditions on the planet. I needed a camera that wouldn’t fail in the elements. That’s exactly what I got with the X100 – and my goodness it put up with some punishment!” Indeed, if there was a prize for camera brutality, Jeff’s description of his X100’s misadventures would win. “That little camera fell off multiple cliffs, bucked off a few horses, and had countless other near-death experiences,” he laughs, “but it kept on working flawlessly!”

Clouds at sunrise beyond edge of mountaintop

Photo 2020 © Jeff Zausch | FUJIFILM X-T4 camera and XF16-80mmF4 R OIS WR, 1/180 sec at F5.6, ISO 160

With his career evolving in front of and behind the lens, Jeff needed another upgrade – this time, in the form of FUJIFILM X-T4. “It has everything I could ever want in a camera body,” he exclaims, “and lets me document the outdoors in ways I’ve never been able to before. Throughout my image making life, I often found myself witnessing things so beautiful, that the photos just didn’t live up to real life. Whether a glittering alpine glacier, or the sun lighting up a cloud inversion at dawn, I couldn’t replicate it in a photograph. With X-T4, I no longer have that problem. For the first time, I’ve found a camera that helps me show the truth of the outdoors: not only its beauty, fragility, and brutality, but how the wilderness makes me feel.”

Steaming hot springs at Yellowstone National Park

Photo 2020 © Jeff Zausch | FUJIFILM X-T4 camera and XF16-80mmF4 R OIS WR, 1/4000 sec at F4, ISO 800

“What I’ve also discovered is that FUJIFILM cameras are the greatest for extreme outdoors enthusiasts. And I don’t say that lightly,” Jeff continues. “I’ve seen firsthand how they make good on their claims of durability, even in the most extreme elements. Many photographers laud other qualities, like color, speed and great handling. While that’s all true, the most underrated quality is how tough they are.”

As an example, he recalls a mid-winter ascent of Mount Rainier: Washington state’s 14,411-foot snow-capped skyscraper. “My climbing team and I were the first people to summit the mountain in 2020, and on the peak it was -35°F. But I was out there photographing with the X-T4, just the same as I would be in Central Park in June. Maybe that’s why I love and respect this camera so much, because just as I push myself to the absolute limit of what is mentally and physically possible, I’m also pushing my camera to do the same – and have yet to find the edge.”

Two hikers on the side of a snowy mountain

Photo 2020 © Jeff Zausch | FUJIFILM X-T4 camera and XF16-80mmF4 R OIS WR, 1/900 sec at F8, ISO 160

Throughout Jeff’s travels for A Man & His Camera, he brought those sights back to homes across the continent, and X-T4 was at his side to do it, bringing beauty to the world in a year when it was difficult to find. “I summited incredible mountain peaks like Rainier and Borah Peak in Idaho,” he explains, “and backpacked across untouched landscapes through Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. Temperatures on my trip plunged to -35°F – and soared over 105°F – and all the time I was able to document the most beautiful places in the United States.”

With a national park tour now under his belt, what’s next for Jeff and his X-T4? And how does he see his future in photography? “For my entire life,” he says, “I’ve been entering the wilderness with next to nothing, and emerging weeks later with only memories. But while I have those to cherish, they can’t easily be shared. Photography has allowed me to visit amazing places, and return with stories I can pass on to millions of people around the world. That realization has become the purpose, the mission, and the message behind my photography – to share the wonders of the world with everyone!”

To find out more about Jeff and his adventures, follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Learn more about X Series here or contact your nearest FUJIFILM Authorized Dealer for more information.


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