Meet Frank Novotny | Landscape Photographer

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

Hi Frank, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I never really had a thought process going into my photography as I treat it as an everyday hobby for the most part. It started back when I got my first camera when I was 21 years old. I had no idea what I was doing but thankfully through YouTube and the internet I was able to learn how to operate all the settings and get pretty used pro it. I first started to shoot just urban and lifestyle photos to get the hang of things in college. After that, I would go on little hikes by myself and bring my camera to take photos of landscapes and nature. I fell in love with it very quickly and enjoyed being outside all the time. It wasn’t until I moved out to Colorado when I was 23 years old when things started to blast off. Having the ability to explore vast, gorgeous, almost surreal landscapes changed everything for me. I still no thought process as to where I’m at now, it’s mostly to inspire people to get outside and seek these amazing landscapes we are grateful to have. I want to show people that these areas really do exist whether it’s a popular destination or somewhere of the unknown you just have to go out and put the work in and never stop, ever.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
To me it’s about trying to be as different as possible when it comes to taking photos and post processing them. A lot of people enjoy taking pictures or documenting the areas that everyone knows about. I enjoy the opposite of that, I enjoy getting lost in areas that not so many people, if any, know about and also ways I can capture these “unknown” areas. If I were to say what makes that a form of separation from others is the determination and the workload that goes into capturing these different/unheard of areas. I am nowhere near a professional as it’s more of a hobby of mine, but a lot of long hikes, early mornings, late nights, and just pure determination to never give up and keep pushing. None of this is easy work, off-grid location require a lot of skill and dedication to achieve what you went out searching for, but the outcome outweighs the challenge to me.

I’ve learned so many lessons along this road by pushing myself further and further and to not care about what anyone says or thinks. Doing a lot of this stuff alone has taught me to master my mind, it’s me vs my head/thoughts. I truly believe if you can do that, you essentially master yourself as a whole.
My life has been nothing short of amazing along this journey and for people to take the time to comment, like, share, my work means the world to me. To have anyone find inspiration in what I do is purely amazing to me because you don’t go into a hobby expecting people to notice you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my friends were visiting the area, I’d show them the best of everything I’ve done already or would like to do. I would first plan out a crazy hike/camp that I personally love or something that I’ve never done but would like to do and know they would enjoy it, I know my friends pretty well so it’s almost always a good time being able to adapt to their likings. Bringing anyone to Fort Collins, where I reside is a great time. Filled with the most amazing atmosphere, food, and beer this state has to offer. Hiking/camping in the Poudre Valley Wilderness area is a short simple drive away to get out of the city and is a true hidden gem in Colorado. Coopersmiths in old town Fort Collins is a great and historical restaurant that offers amazing service, food, and they brew there own beer so that’s a no brained to bring them there. Aside from driving down the canyon or enjoying the ever growing city, another amazing activity would be paddle boarding or swimming at Horsetooth reservoir which is located just west of town in the foothills, it truly is a magical body of water that offers a great day for anyone and any age.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My shoutout would be to my entire family back in Minnesota for getting me outside as much as possible as a kid and throughout growing up with them. I can’t thank them enough for being who they are and showing me all that there is to enjoy in the outdoors. I love you guys!

Instagram: @franknovotny