Hiya!

I'm Jessie.

I am an expedition guide, photography educator, filmmaker, and marine naturalist. I spend the majority of my time traveling on boats to far flung corners of the world in search of new curiosities, friendship, knowledge, and a paycheck. While most people in my profession start as marine biologists, mariners, historians, or the natural sciences, I began as a hospice social worker. The two lives might seem unconnected on the surface but as a social worker my mission was to keep my heart open to all the faces of humanity. My office views are different now, my mission remains unchanged.

I am passionate about utilizing the powerful combination of outdoor adventure and storytelling as tools for healing, education, conservation, recovery, self-discovery, and joy. I yearn to understand the human connection to the natural world, and to walk alongside our guests and clients as they experience the range of emotions that these connections bring.

I find that to know a person, you must understand what they resist. If we sat down in camp chairs overlooking a beautiful valley and shared our hearts, you would find that I am in constant resistance of the pull to go full mountain hermit and become a lady Sasquatch. Life is long, maybe I’ll stop resisting someday. Until then, I feel best covered in saltwater, with a camera in hand, earbuds turned up high, and big-hearted friends nearby.

I’m glad you are here, please stay awhile.

xoxo,

Jessie

Catch me around the world wide web:

• In Layers: Conversations

  • An ongoing series hosted in collaboration with Nature Photographers Network in which I sit down for intimate conversations with leading photographers.

• She Explores: Women on the Road: Jessie Johnson

• She Explores Podcast: Episode 74: SOLO (but not quite alone)

• Interview with Capture Landscapes: How Photography and Full-Time Travel Healed a Broken Heart