Meet Justin Abeles | Photographer, Snowboard Instructor, Fisheries Biologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Abeles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, how do you think about risk?
Risk taking has always been a part of my life, but as I’ve become older it has been more calculated. I think risk is necessary to get anywhere in life and weighing the pros and cons is something that should always be considered. When I was younger I never really thought about cons to a situation, I just took risks for the sake of the thrill; especially as an adrenaline junkie. I still take risks, but definitely try and mitigate most of the cons as possible. All of my hobbies/career are about taking calculated risks. I’m a US Navy veteran, divemaster, snowboard instructor, fisheries biologist, and photographer on the professional side and my hobbies include rock climbing, fishing, backpacking, skateboarding, surfing, running, whitewater rafting, and pretty much anything outside. I believe that if you don’t take risks in your life/career you’re not going to have many experiences outside of your comfort zone, which will most likely limit your world perspective. The reason I have been able to obtain my professional goals in diving, snowboarding, biology, and photography is because of taking risks, the biggest being failure. The biggest thing I’ve taught myself is it’s ok to fail; failure allows us to grow and become better at what we do. Failure, is a good thing and sometimes it’s the biggest risk.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a photographer. I love to take landscape, cityscape, portrait, action sports, and wildlife photos. I have been a photographer since high school. My first photography class was my freshman year of high school working with film in a dark room. Throughout the years it has remained a big part of my life and one of my favorite hobbies. About 3-4 years ago I decided to try and make it a business; at least as a side hustle, but hopefully it will eventually turn into a full time career. I’m most excited about things like this interview. Hoping to get recognized for my work and being able to share that with a wider audience. I’m proud of how far I’ve come with my photography, especially since after high school I have not taken any schooling for photography and have been mainly self taught through experience and watching videos online. I’d say that I’ve gotten to where I am today through perseverance and continuing to perfect my craft by learning as much as possible. It has not been easy, especially with everyone having a camera in their pocket now a days and social media. The biggest challenge that I am still working to overcome has been from a marketing standpoint. I don’t have a marketing degree or know much about marketing. This is something that I continue to try and do on a local level as well as a global level. My brand and story is all about photography. Trying to tell a story with a photo. To me when a photo speaks to you without having any caption or story written that is a perfect photo. My photography is about life, travel, connecting people and the things they love to do. Bringing some beauty and realism to the world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Gunnison, CO and my favorite spots here are at Hartman’s Rock for rock climbing, the Lake Fork and Gunnison River for fishing, Crested Butte for snowboarding or awesome hikes, and Cottonwood Pass for sunrise/sunset photos. We have the Dive which is a great restaurant/bar with amazing food and drinks. Another place I love to eat at here is Sherpa Cafe which has some incredible Nepalese/Indian food. If my friend was coming to Denver I’d take them to the Natural History museum and the aquarium, both of which are my favorite because of the amount of knowledge and information that you can learn there. I’d also take them to Meow Wolf because it’s an amazing collective of art and artists that is interactive and visually stimulating. I’d also wind up taking them to some breweries as well as a comedy club, which is one of my favorite things to do in the city because who doesn’t like to laugh?

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family and friends have been my biggest support. My mom (Diane Abeles), dad (Dan Abeles), brother (Adam Abeles), uncle (Bill Abeles), best friends (Nick Fuentes and Phil Pereira), girlfriend (Michaela Norris). There are many others that have helped me along the way in obtaining my snowboard instructor certs and divemaster.

Website: https://jabelesphotography.zenfolio.com

Instagram: @jabeles.photography

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jabeles.photography