John Kelsey
John was born and raised on beautiful Vancouver Island, In the unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka'wakw first nations on the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Growing up on the Pacific Ocean, in the temperate rainforests of the Pacific Northwest, and under the snowcapped coastal mountain range, natural beauty has always played a big part of his life. Wherever he is in the world, he tries to reflect this appreciation of natural beauty in his photography.
After completing a degree in political science and economics at McGill University in Montreal, John moved to California and obtained a degree in professional photography from the renowned Brooks Institute of Photography. This program led him to New York City, where he refurbished and lived on a small 28' sailboat, working for Annie Leibovitz and Mark Seliger, in succession. As first assistant for Mark, John had the amazing opportunity to travel the world with him for four years, managing his photography world.
After calling his name for many years, the Pacific Northwest finally pulled John back in 2018, and he has been based on the west coast of British Columbia since then. He has upgraded vessels to a 1977 DownEast 38' sailboat, which he has been refurbishing while exploring the BC coast with his partner Meesh. He has had the incredible opportunity to further pursue his passion for coastal environmental conservation, working first with Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier at Sealegacy, and now with Raincoast Conservation Foundation, where he works on their 68' research sailboat, Achiever. He has recently obtained his 60 ton commercial captains ticket, and is excited to be working more and more in the marine environment.
