About me | Doran Hannes

F or as long as I can remember I have been drawn to the natural world and its adventures. Growing up as the child of a biologist, I have spent countless hours “in the woods” around my hometown in Germany. My summer holidays were later spent kayaking, hiking and canyoneering in France, or climbing in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Germany. After finishing high school, I went overseas on a 16 month long trip to explore Australia and parts of South East Asia. I returned home with my first serious camera and also big ideas about how to live my life...

Design in my mind, photography in my heart

Back in Germany I graduated as a professional graphic designer. For five years I worked in an advertising agency, creating corporate identities, presentations and websites. One of my greatest skills became the optimization and alteration of images in Photoshop.

In the meantime I got into photography more and more. I soon started earning money by shooting historical 911’s for a renowned sports cars dealer (Right, I'm a big fan of classic cars). While everything seemed to be working out fine for me, I often felt trapped in the restrictions of everyday life in the modern city. It wasn’t long before I had to break free again.

How I became a traveling photographer

I had this crazy idea! Why shouldn't I be able to earn a living with photography while touring around the globe? After quitting my job, giving up my apartment and packing my bags, I bought a one-way ticket to North America and started traveling again. This time indefinitely.

More behind the scenes photos >

Since then my pictures have taken me from freezing Alaska to the golden beaches of California and further south into the jungles of Latin America.

I have climbed many mountains and volcanoes in pursue of "that perfect shot" (Being an outdoor photographer definitely keeps your wheels turning!). I watched the sun rise and set countless times and listened to the sounds of the night while taking long exposures of the Milky Way. Along the way I've met many inspiring people and made lifelong friendships. After crossing the Pacific once more, I came back to Oceania, where it had all started all those years ago. And this was just the beginning ...