You cannot discover new oceans unless

you have the courage to lose sight of the shore

Cool Snaps Alaska

Gregory Lancaster
Anchorage, Alaska

Black and white portrait of a smiling man with a beard, wearing a light-colored, ribbed sweater, standing against a plain dark background.

When a picture is worth a thousand words to say, there is not much more to write about my life. My name is Gregory (or Greg), and if one day you told me this small-town Georgia kid would grow up to travel the world, experience new adventures, and live in Alaska, I would think you had the wrong person. It’s funny how you always have a plan until that plan forms a new one. I never thought I would leave Georgia, go to graduate school, travel for work, and settle roots into one of the most exotic beautiful places on this planet.

Growing up and going through school, I never fully understood what I wanted to do as an adult (I mean, do we really ever truly know?). I was always an active individual in sports, but my main love was swimming. I never traveled much more than a few hours away from my home until I started to become more competitive in swimming and triathlons while attending the University of Georgia. I worked hard so I could go to races and meets far away including Nationals. Sure, I loved the competition and the sport, but I was more excited about seeing another place I had never seen. It was a thrilling experience to be able to compete and travel.

But, sadly and realistically, a career in sports professionally was not going to be my entire resume. I studied hard and went to physical therapy school at the University of St. Augustine in Florida. It was my first time living in another state. Though strange at first, I knew I had a purpose here, met amazing people along my way, studied hard, and was able to get my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.

Then the fun part begins - adulting! Not very decisive on where to start, I ended up taking my first job in Tampa, Florida. I learned a lot about myself during those few years there. One of the things I learned about was travel physical therapy. Seemed too good to be true, right? You get paid to move around to new places, work at new facilities for a short duration contract, and then off to somewhere else new? Sign me up! Over the next four to five years, I lived and worked in many states including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Montana, Colorado, Louisiana, Arizona, California, Washington, and then eventually Alaska!

I remember driving through Canada on my way to move to Alaska. At the Canadian border, I told them I was going to Alaska for work, and they asked for how long? I very confidently told the border officer “only three months.” Three months turned to six, then nine months, then a year, then two years, now three years, and so on. I gradually became more acquainted with my life up here. The abundance of activities, between summer sports - hiking, biking, camping, fishing, etc; and the winter sports - downhill skiing, cross country skiing, fat tire biking, ice skating, ice fishing, aurora hunting, etc, provide opportunities to never get bored regardless of the time of year.

All of these experiences led me to capturing the moments wherever I went. As mentioned earlier, I did not travel often or far growing up, but I was always inspired to do that one day from all the photos I would see in books, magazines, TV, brochures, and signs. These photos give you an emotion and a way to experience that moment and that feeling when you are not even there. My photography grew more as I wanted to be able to be that person for my younger self or someone else for inspiration to travel or give them those emotions I used to feel if they cannot travel through my photography.

If you made it this far, I truly thank you for taking the time to get to know me a little more and my passions. You never know what might be coming next, but I hope I can continue to share my life and experiences with everyone!

The Adventures Await

  • Person standing inside a frozen ice cave with blue and white ice formations covering the ceiling and walls.
  • A man on a boat holding a large fish with a fishing pole, smiling at the camera, in a body of water with distant mountains in the background.
  • A man in black outdoor clothing and an orange beanie stands on skis in snowy terrain, holding ski poles and looking towards snow-capped mountains in the distance under a partly cloudy sky.
  • A man kneeling with one knee on the ground and one arm raised on a moss-covered stone platform with carved stone chairs, overlooking a mountainous landscape at sunset.
  • A man standing outdoors on a trail with a volcano and a colorful sunset in the background. He is smiling, wearing a black jacket, light pants, and a green beanie.
  • A man stands outdoors holding a mountain bike above his head with both hands. He is wearing sunglasses, a cap, and outdoor gear. The background features snow-capped mountains, a lake, and a cloudy sky.
  • A man standing on a frozen lake, wearing ice skates, a camouflage patterned jacket, black pants, black gloves, and an orange beanie, with snow-covered mountains in the background.
  • A man standing inside a slot canyon with smooth, wavy sandstone walls, looking up at a beam of sunlight coming through a narrow opening in the canyon ceiling.
  • A smiling man in a black jacket, beige pants, and brown boots holding a camera, standing on a beach with ocean in the background and arms outstretched.
  • Silhouette of a person standing on a mountain slope during sunset, with clouds below and a colorful sky with blue, orange, and yellow hues.
  • Man jumping in the air on a mountain with a clear blue sky and clouds in the background
  • A man wearing an orange beanie and gray jacket taking a selfie near a lake with snow-covered mountains in the background.
  • A man and a guide dog standing on a boat, fishing on a river with trees in the background, in black and white.
  • A man in a green beanie and black jacket standing outdoors in a snowy landscape, holding a camera, with snow-covered trees in the background.
  • Person in black jacket, orange hat, and sunglasses standing next to a mountain summit sign at Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, pointing toward the summit, with clear blue sky and rocky terrain.