Check Out Zachary Mason’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary Mason.

Hi Zachary, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I perceive life as an meandering river, that continually ebbs and flows throughout space and place but ultimately, it leads us exactly to our destiny when it meets with the sea.

I started my journey as a photographer as a teenager in Central Ohio when my friends and I would wander out and explore abandoned houses, basement parties, and strip malls. With nearly nothing to do, we always found a way to entertain us. With a small digital camera or Polaroid, pre-iPhone days, we catalogued our shenanigans and stupidities.

Then, while studying at Miami University, I took up photography classes. In my junior year, I studied abroad in Barcelona and then took a summer job in Boulder, Colorado. When I returned back to the preppy, collegiate scene of Oxford, I had been transformed. My friends and I began experimenting with psychedelics, and I became fascinated with color, light, and surrealism and even more in tune with a sense of spirituality and connection that my Catholic upbringing hadn’t yet shown me.

Fast forward years later, and my camera has led me on international photography assignments with National Geographic, Patagonia, and numerous conservation organizations from Mozambique to Indonesia to Argentina. I became obsessed with exploring the world and engaging with diverse cultures. From my humble Ohio upbringing, a thirst for knowledge and insight became the greatest motivator to quench my curiosity.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Throughout the many downpours and droughts in the journey of life, I have learned to navigate the changing tides. But one thing I have realized is that often we are the source of both our happiness and our defeat.

Practicing mindfulness is something that has encouraged me to greater understand how to adapt to conflict, externally but more importantly internally. We must be conscious of the narrative we are telling ourself. Then we can begin to remedy solutions that are based on positive self-perception, objective awareness, and unwavering trust in our journey.

One of the greatest strategies that has helped me live more harmoniously is doing a meditation before I leave my bed. Once I wake, I yell to my phone across the room “Hey Siri, play morning meditation” and for the next 5-10 minutes I just lie there and slowly greet the day through mindful breathing and affirmation. It is a much healthier practice compared to doomscrolling or being immediately attacked with the news, as it focuses on things within my locus of control. When I go to sleep I also take a moment of gratitude and reflection. These simple strategies give thoughtful moments of gentle awareness to begin and end my day.

As the story is never-ending, I am excited to see where the ripples of movement take me next.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a visual artist that creates photographic collages through layering and rendering to create a mystical landscape. One day as I sat down to edit photographs, I began compiling various mountain photographs together to create a single panorama made from different places. And then I became transfixed into this world of recreating scenes in a never-before-seen way.

My process begins by choosing a place I have already photographed. Then I began to assemble those images to recreate the scene using a combination of memory and emotion to create something entirely new, yet inspired by the actual place.

My vision is to encourage others to see things with a new perspective. To challenge the way they observe the world. To create a deeper and more curious connection to our everyday existence.

Since evolving from photography into holistic wellness, I now work with individuals to uplift and enable individuals to realize their greatest strengths. I host private sessions combining mindfulness, bodywork, breathwork and yoga as well as group classes to encourage people to feel more connected and embodied within their lived experience.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I believe what is most important to my success is living authentically and creating from the heart. If you live your life in order to fit into expectations, or appease others, you are constantly conflicted by the idea of who you should be. But on the opposite end of the spectrum, if you become curious about who you really are, what you want to share with the world, without fitting into society’s expectations, that’s where the magic begins. The further you lean into your unique self, your own ideas, your endless stream of creativity and consciousness, that’s where you begin to really do something exceptional. Just be you.

Conversely, observing other cultures has shown me that our similarities far outweigh our differences. Our unity is another incredible strength. I believe that leaning in to our individual gifts yet collective unity offers a wealth of wisdom. So on one-side you are a completely unique being, and on the other side you are encouraged to be as much yourself as you are a part of everyone else. Kinda trippy, no? We equally need individual expression and a sense of community to thrive.

My photographs attempt to render that idea. A sense of unity between all life, inspiring us to feel connected to places, people, and passion, yet exceptional singularity, a one-of-a-kind never before seen marvel of the world.

What the world needs now is you. Your gifts, your ideas, your individual perspective. And what we also need is each other.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ocrazyshaman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ocrazyshaman