Evan Koenig
Aloha! I’m Evan.
I split my childhood growing up in a remote village deep in the heart of the West African rainforest of Cameroon to the urban jungle in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. How can I forget about my quick three year stint in rural farm-town U.S.A. Hopkinsville, Kentucky. I was used to moving around a lot from a very young age. My brother found his way out of the house and back overseas where my parents found their way back to Cameroon as well; making my difficult decision to leave my family and friends in Colorado to pursue another adventure, just a tad easier.
After graduating college in Northern Colorado I took a manager position nearby with a firm completely unrelated to my financial studies. I knew early on I was willing to pursue a life outside my narrow field of study— the best opportunities for me have struck when they didn’t line up with what I was best at. I applied for a transfer, 2 months later I moved to Hawai’i with the hopes of following a dream that included a corporate career and upward promotion on the island of O’ahu. Little did I know at the time that a life of overworking at the expense of corporate America wasn’t in my cards for long.
Fast forward four years and here I am. I escaped that lifestyle that was tearing my creative and outdoor-driven desires apart; although, it wasn’t as simple as that. I left Hawai’i once, chased what I thought to be a better career, and spent every day wishing I hadn’t. I had committed to one year; instead of moping about my poor decision I chose to make the most of it, traveling around the country and then the world in all my time off. I saved and paid off my student loans, I thrived at work, and I made some life-long friendships. After my commitment was up it was time to focus on my passion— exploring Hawai’i and the beauty of the wonderful world we are blessed to call home.
I spent the next 2 years back in Hawai’i working Monday through Friday as a commercial delivery truck driver, but my life wasn’t defined by my time on the clock. I took a lot of pride in my job and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I was living for the weekends. I enjoyed hiking, diving, running, and any type of adventure I could get my hands on became my pursuit—that’s where it all started. I loved saving inspiring photos on Instagram of other people capturing the raw beauty of the islands that I came to love so much. Unfortunately at the time all I had was an iPhone 6s, beaten and battered, but I could snap photos from the viewpoint of every hike, the golden hour of every sunrise and sunset I could sneak in, and all the incredible moments of beauty in between.
2020— the year many of us know all-too-well. For me during this time it was more than just a pandemic that involved multiple subsequent quarantines. My life was turned upside-down rather quickly when I tore the cartilage in both of my knees at work. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, everything athletic that I had enjoyed about living in a tropical paradise was stripped from me. I could hardly leave my house, let alone return to work. It really created a hardship when multiple doctors told me that I may or may not run again. Shortly after I had to experience an intense surgery that was unrelated to my knees— then an irregular heart condition. Although I felt defeated I refused to be defined by any of it. Instead, I leaned into what would help me the most. Digging deep into my faith, family, friends, and you guessed it — drone photography. Everything happens for a reason; the passion you see today in my artwork and adventures were forged through fire, embracing the hardest challenge of my life and finding insurmountable joy in my craft. My goal now is to share the beauty of God’s creation in a way that you’ve never seen before and experience it with you! I aim for this adventure to be as incredible for you as living here has been for me. I want to thank you for taking the time to get to know me and I look forward to sharing this trip with you!
