Valhalla, NY—Professional outdoor photographer Jonathan Irish and the Greatest American Road Trip is being sponsored by Fujifilm North America Corporation. The goal of the epic, yearlong photographic adventure is to capture the breathtaking scenery of all 59 U.S. National Parks and celebrate the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service.
On January 1, 2016, Irish, who has photographed for many notable publications and media outlets—including National Geographic, the New York Times, CNN and BBC—and Stefanie Payne, a former creative product development lead for NASA, began their trek to visit all 59 parks in just 52 weeks.
“Stefanie and I both grew up loving the great outdoors, and especially the beautiful nature in our U.S. National Parks,” said Jonathan Irish. “The special celebration of the centennial of the National Park Service, along with our love of nature and creating incredible content, inspired us to commit to spending the entire year adventuring and photographing in every one of the 59 parks. We can’t think of a better way to spend a year.”
Irish is shooting with Fujifilm X-series digital cameras and equipment, including the weather-resistant Fujifilm X-T1 and lenses, and a supply of Fujifilm Instax instant film cameras.
“I’ve been a longtime Fujifilm photographer, having made the switch from the much bigger DSLRs years ago,” said Irish. “I believe the Fujifilm X-T1 has the perfect balance between size/weight and unsurpassed image quality. It is small enough to carry around easily and yet I am always struck by the beautiful images it produces. The Fujinon lenses are as sharp, and often sharper, than any of the bulkier DSLR lenses. And the fact that the cameras, and some of the lenses, are weather resistant is essential for my adventure photography. I am proud to shoot with Fujifilm’s beautiful equipment.”
The Greatest American Road Trip was planned around the best seasonality in each park. As a result, Irish will be able to capture photos of the parks at their peak time of beauty. The photographers started in warmer climates found in the Dry Tortugas and Biscayne parks during the winter, will make their way to Alaska for the salmon run in summer, capture the colors of the Rockies and Tetons during the fall, and end their trip in the Hawaiian Islands late in December. After each park visit is concluded, photos from that park will be posted to their website and social media.
“Jonathan and Stefanie’s mission to visit as well as put a spotlight on the unique qualities of the U.S. National Parks on the centennial of the U.S. National Park Service is both ambitious and admirable,” said Manny Almeida, division president, Imaging Division, Fujifilm North America Corporation.
“And for Jonathan to be shooting these once-in-a-lifetime images with Fujifilm’s X-series digital and Instax camera equipment, it gives us great satisfaction to know that we are helping them capture and document this incredible, life-changing experience, as seen through our camera lenses.”
“This trip makes me excited beyond belief, and a tad bit nervous,” added Irish. “To spend a year creating incredible images in some of the most beautiful places on earth is a gift. At the same time, I am nervous about the logistics and making sure we pull off this ambitious project. If, at the end of the year, we’ve visited and created beautiful images and stories in every park, and along the way we’ve inspired our friends and followers to get out and explore our nation’s greatest treasures as well, then the project will have been a great success.”
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