I feel most grateful throughout my life because of traveling -Ivan Diaz

Ivan Diaz has lived a life as colorful as the images he captures. I always love seeing creatives be able to personify themselves through their work and from learning more about Ivan I can’t help but feel that he has turned his intensity for life into such an eye catching unique style of capturing the life he lives.

Why do you adventure? I adventure because I love to explore life’s many unforgettable moments and all the wonderful cultures that surround us. It’s truly amazing being able to see things differently in someone else’s perspective.

Why do you explore? I explore to discover something new, something beyond my own adventure. Life has so many great adventures to discover, so I feel exploring isn’t just about traveling but finding yourself during that moment.

Why take risks in life? If you don’t take risks in life your missing out on what could be an incredible journey. There’s a saying “ You miss half the shots you don’t take in life” so my view is if you don’t take risks you’ll never know the outcome. Good or bad life’s about growth and we definitely learn from every aspect of that.

Where are you from? I’m from Miami, Florida but my ethnicity is Dominican and French.

What is your 9-5? Currently, my daily schedule includes working with clients on banking issues and financial planning, but when I’m not doing that I’m learning and working with brands on photography projects and my own growth as a photographer.

When you were growing up what or who did you want to be? Like any kid growing up I wanted to be a firefighter or a storm chaser because I love the aspect of that feeling of rush, it’s exciting. As a photographer, I feel that same rush when shooting.

Favorite place you've visited? My favorite place I’ve visited so far during my adventures would definitely be Portland, Oregon. It was my first trip and my first time flying on a plane without ( snakes lol ). It was the trip I’d be asking my girlfriend to marry me, so I asked her at silver falls and it was beyond magical during December.

Place you most desperately want to visit? Without a doubt, it’ll have to be Tokyo, Japan!!!! Please, anyone, sponsor my trip hehe.

What is the single greatest moment of human humanity you’ve experienced while traveling? The greatest experience I’ve ever witnessed or encountered of humanity would have to be a moment I saw someone literally take their shirt off to give to someone who needed it more. That person then proceeded to buy that person food this great moment is something that made my traveling experience even greater. This showed me that humanity can truly come together and show so much compassion.

What has changed about you because of your travels? I feel I’ve always been incredibly true to myself as a person and husband, but I feel most grateful throughout my life because of traveling. It’s helped me understand more cultures and the way people in different places communicate better and show gratitude.

Who is the most dynamic and thought provoking person you've ever met? I would say my wife has to be the person that truly provokes my heart and pushes me to continue reaching my limits in life. She’s always telling me to think and process everything I want to accomplish and that alone is a great gift in life. Having someone provoke your ambitions and starve yourself to climb higher.

If you could travel with one person in history or present who would it be and why? I would without a doubt travel with Post Malone because I seriously love his work and just his overall incredible sense of being alive and insane lol. If we would travel together we would smash a lot of beer, food, and great laughs along the way. While capturing great photos and listening to great music.

Must haves for travel? Must have for traveling without even getting crazy is beyond important to carry water, snacks for energy, extra clothes just in case of weather changes during hiking. For camera essentials, it would be great for extra batteries, straps, covers, lenses, the camera of course and any other important equipment needed like drones, and lastly yourself haha.

Travel tips? Traveling can get crazy, but I always make sure to get to the airport about three hours or even four hours earlier. Traveling is hectic and even stressful if your flight gets delayed. Always be ready for a quick change and have food ready to eat while waiting.

Give us a story from one of your trips that will be impactful to the readers? In the smoky mountains in Tennessee, my wife and I took one last hike our last day there. The forecast was to snow but we still wanted to go out and adventure. Halfway through our hike, it started to snow. It was my first time seeing snow falling, which was breathtaking to experience. As we kept hiking up the mountain the harder it became because the snow was getting heavier and more slippery. I almost fell to my death but thankfully I did not and was able to continue the hike. When we finally started to hike down it seemed to last for hours. The second we got to the car we realized we left it on the entire time. It was a rental and I never had a car where there was a button to turn on and off. Good thing there was still gas left because the rangers were closing down the national park. It may not be the craziest story but it was definitely one to remember.

Based on your travels what is the single most needed improvement for humanity to be stronger? To me, during my travels, I’ve seen a lot and I’ve discovered myself more exploring and finding these wonderful moments. The most improvement I believe humanity can have is to continue growing together. I see it all the time people helping others and we need more love spreading around and impacting our hearts and lives.

What would you say to someone who has never traveled before? Traveling is an experience that let alone is beyond unforgettable. I remember when I got on a plane for the first time it was traveling to Portland, Oregon. I was scared flying for the first time, but my wife told me everything would be great I think it was that fear of the unknown. Discovering new places, creating unforgettable memories with loved ones. It’s the greatest feeling you’ll never regret especially chasing those early morning sunrises. If you don’t believe and take the unexpected jump you’ll never ever know what’s waiting for you out there.

What is the single greatest lesson you’ve learned from someone that is different than you? I personally feel we learn some valuable lessons every single day in life and even more important lessons from those we’d least expect. Someone I work with that I highly look up too once told me that “ our greatest fear in life is not being able to jump and take that great risk. I know that may seem odd, but to me, this made complete sense. We wait sometimes so long to do what we love most and then without truly realizing it tome passes us by quicker and faster, so take that unpredictable leap and discover your great adventure.

What would you say to your former self? I feel I’ve always been able to adapt to even being under pressure. I think our greatest help comes from believing in yourself and in that single second you’ll feel those discomforts fade away. I’m not saying I’ve never been comfortable because there have been a few moments in my life that I’ve been out of my comfort zone, but I learned to be more confident.

What gives you hope? I’d say make those mistakes and learn what you're worth. Continue taking risks, because you’ll fail sometimes, but you’ll also grow stronger. Push the limits that you don’t think you’ll overcome. It’s alright to not have everything in life, but everything will fall into place at the perfect moment in life.

When did you feel you were most out of your comfort zone. What did you learn from that lesson? Honestly believing gives me hope... Why? Because if we didn’t believe in something we wouldn’t have that fire in our hearts to succeed. I believe in our ability to impact, the impact we can all achieve in life. We can seriously come together if we truly focused on changes. This universe has so many great gifts the beauty of life is powerful and I believe that we can make more impacts just believing and overcoming obstacles together.

Where to next? Heading to Tennessee for thanksgiving just upgraded to the Sony A7iii been working hard on making this possible. I’m beyond excited to chase the journey and create more unforgettable moments with my wife because this life is full of beautiful moments and they’re waiting to be discovered.

Is flannel always in season? Haha honestly I live in Miami, so if anyone’s wearing flannel I’d think they work inside a cooler lol. I personally like flannel, but for somewhere colder

Learn more about Ivan’s travels and a glimpse at their life on their website and Instagram account!

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