By Emily Stonehouse
We repeatedly hear about the importance of disconnecting from the online world, but in reality, it’s nearly impossible to do.
The world is fast-paced these days; a swirling buzz of colour and motion that never seems to let us off the spinning ride.
Exploring the natural world around us – particularly in a place like Haliburton County – takes effort, dedication, and a certain spark of passion.
And that’s what Dana McMullen has set out to do.
The world-class photographer currently resides in Eagle Lake, with his photos circulating around the globe. From 2016 until 2019, he was a National Geographic contributing photographer, with multiple images published 12 different times. He’s been featured in the Smithsonian, the Laguna Gallery of Contemporary Art, and the Forest and Ocean Gallery, which is an Ansel Adams licensed gallery.
He’s currently featured at the Wolf-Subzero Designer Gallery in Downtown Toronto, and the Algonquin Arts Centre.
He’s travelled the world; taken in the beauty of the natural cracks and crevices scattering the surfaces. “But I wasn’t really connecting to nature,” he reflected.
As we sat in his cozy Eagle Lake home, his life’s word adorning the walls, we took a step back through his journey, of how he got to where he is today.
“12 years ago, I was going through a massive change in my life,” he said. “So I got on a plane, I flew to Denver. And the idea was that I needed to connect with people, and I needed to connect with nature.”
While McMullen navigated the National Parks, he realized that he’s been so busy, so caught up in the moment of capturing that shot, of snapping that second, that he just didn’t enjoy it.
“I think I have a better opportunity to capture the magic, when I’m not on the dime of a client,” he shared.
Originally hailing from the Waterloo region, McMullen studied graphic design with a minor in photography at Sheridan College. His original passion was design work, with photography often placed on the backburner. Yet when he started work with a global firm, who presented a project to shoot National Parks across the United States, McMullen jumped at the opportunity. “It’s a passion,” he said, in reference to grabbing those shots, “it’s the thrill of the chase.”
In 2015, McMullen and his wife, Rose, left their careers with the global firm in the States, and started their own design and communications firm, EvergreenCSD. The couple works with clients across North America to bring images and stories to life, and while McMullen enjoys the people and the work, he recognized his need to reconnect with nature.
After taking years off from submitting work to photography contests, McMullen dove back in this past year. And his efforts paid off.
He won one gold, one silver, and four bronze awards from the International Pano Awards in 2024, the largest international competition dedicated to panoramic photography around the globe.
Most recently, he won the top prize for the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Reflections of Nature photo contest. “The winning, runner-up, and honourable mentions of this year’s photo contest highlight the best of Canada’s landscapes, wildlife, and flora. They also capture how Canadians connect with nature, and how wildlife weaves itself into our urban environments,” shared the website.
The best part? McMullen took all of his award-winning photos during his time off. As he says, that’s when the magic happens. When he’s feeling connected. When he’s one with his natural surroundings.
For his winning shot with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, he had tried for days to capture that moment. The textures, the layers, the depth. It was never quite lining up.
Until it did. “It was such a brief ten minutes of light,” he reflected. “That was all I had. And it was that one moment that may never happen again.”
McMullen looks forward to what’s next for him; both professionally and personally, as he explores his world with a new outlook, a new drive. “I want to say yes to everything,” he said. “I am not sure I’ll ever totally shut off, but I am going to try. To have those moments where I feel so connected to what’s happening right in front of me.”
