On a mission.

Denesa Chan is an award-winning carbon-neutral nature photographer from California.

She risks her life traveling to the most exquisite, remote locations on the globe to bring the majesty of nature’s essence into the homes of heart-centered art-lovers all over the world. She donates 50% of proceeds to projects doing tangible, meaningful good for the ecosystems and/or species in each print. Each eco-luxuriously hand-crafted, limited-edition wall-sized photograph is made from recycled materials and protects the ecosystem in the picture, helping it to thrive and continue to inspire the deepest parts of our being.

My Story

I’ve spent the past four years developing the photographic body of work at the heart of Denesa Chan Photography, which entails camping in sub-zero temperatures near the Arctic Circle, scaling a 14,000 foot mountain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, sloshing through equatorial rain forests, exploring glacial caves, living on a tiny deserted island in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico while photographing endangered sea turtle hatchlings, photographing the world’s rarest penguins in their natural habitat and dangling out of doorless helicopters 15 feet from active lava.

My attunement to nature started at as a tiny girl with a vibrantly open heart and curious mind, living next to the freeway in smog so thick it was equivalent to smoking three packs of cigarettes a day in urban Los Angeles’ gang territory.

Sometimes the fastest way to connection is through separation.

Being surrounded by screeching horns and domestic violence light a fire in me, an intense burning to be whole and to give to those around me.

A single tree stood in my neighbor’s yard. It was the tallest thing for miles, and it beckoned me. I would climb up to its highest branches, nestle in and be held.

Finally safe. Finally home. Finally whole.

Together we gently swayed looking out over the city where voices faded. Cars shrunk. Houses became smaller than insects, and problems eased.

Time stopped. My senses woke up and blossomed.

The solidity of branches caressing my back. My cheeks gently petting the softness of the bark. The perfume of green life. Leaves singing in the wind. Patterns of abstract shapes repeating in bark, leaves, flowers. Stories pulsated of a bee’s life, the journey of an ant, the poetry of a tiny seed pod.

I was free to play, ponder and wander, free to spark my imagination.

This profound connection gave me the fortitude to reach out to others in need and see if I could help.

That early education informed every aspect of my life.

My joy is to be intensely present to each delicious detail of a moment in a specific place from a specific perspective that has never happened before and will never happen again:

The delicate tinkling of lava breaking through the crystalline crust of our Earth’s surface, the crunch of snow beneath my feet, the crisp sharpness of icy air in my lungs, the wash of humility, awe and gratitude that fills my cells as the Aurora dances overhead.

All of these delicious details add up to an experience of being vividly alive, timelessly present, profoundly connected with every aspect of the cosmos. There’s a gorgeous expansion that happens within the intensity of my creative flow. A porthole into a blissful vibrancy that I’m thrilled to share through my work.

The result of this deep creative focus and wholehearted presence in nature are the images that serve as doorways into the heart of exquisite environments, the essence of a specific moment, the raw intimacy with our natural world that lifts us, soothes us and teaches us in profound ways.

I wanted to make a larger positive impact on the world, so I created Denesa Chan Photography to celebrate the majesty of our Earth while building a sustainable relationship to our planet.

Through flawlessly designed, eco-luxurious, limited edition photographs made from recycled materials, my work inspires wellsprings of joy, vibrancy, beauty, connection, adventure, peace, sustainability and contribution.

When you bring home prints, you directly support targeted projects that help the ecosystem in the photograph in specific, tangible, meaningful ways.

So, each time you see your prints, you do so with the joy that comes from sharing an intimate connection to those places.

A great wealth of joy and inspiration washes over me as I thank you for joining me in standing for the light, celebrating our Earth’s majesty and helping it thrive and continue to inspire the deepest parts of our being for generations to come.

“Not many human beings find it natural to excel at every creative thing they attempt.

Not many artists can transport you to deep, emotional places whether they are on screen, on stage, holding a microphone or standing behind a camera. Not many people care about our world and everyone in it to such a degree that they focus all their insane amount of talent into championing the environment for its own sake and in doing so inspires everyone around them. Not many can do and be all these things and more, but Denesa can… and she does!

– Will J. Watkins, The Write Solution, LLC

My Creed

Art is an essential spark to our inner light.

Adventure enriches the soul.

Live with meaning and purpose.

Value experiences, meaning, connection, contribution, bliss + creativity.

Every sacred, tiny detail of our lives is an expression of art: how we drink our tea, the colors we dress ourselves in, how we make eye contact with strangers on the street, the way we touch our sweetheart’s hand, the joy of breathing in and out.

We, who are drawn here, have awakened to heart-opening, ego-shedding oneness with the cosmos, and we choose to spend as much of our lives as possible in the joyful flow of life.

Our homes are the foundation of our self-care. They’re what we marinate in every day.

Self-care is paramount to thriving and having more to give back to the world.

Find optimism, positive problem-solving, lateral thinking and solutions.

Have a palpable sensitivity to nature’s majesty, an enormous capacity to connect with it, and an overwhelming desire to share it.

Strive to serve the world’s highest good through digging deeply into our gifts and sharing the fruits of our discoveries.

Dare to explore unknown places inside and out.

Home is where we recharge our batteries, take off that bra, kick off our shoes and replenish.

Our spaces are sanctuaries of abundant joy, light, peace, relaxation, inspiration and motivation that support our highest good and the highest good of our planet.

Delight in discovering new artists, eating local organic produce, supporting fair-trade, strolling through art galleries, finding hidden gems in out of the way places, and living in tune with nature.

Live an authentic, vulnerable, creative, perfectly imperfect, wholehearted life.

Live in gratitude and deeply appreciate the people, experiences and works of art that fill our lives with vibrancy.

Enjoy life and laugh often.

Some of us are college-educated. Some of us are graduates of the school of life. All of us who gravitate here belong to a tribe of life-long learners in awe of our world.

Art can serve as conversation starters, wellsprings of joy, vibrancy, beauty, connection to nature, peace + adventure that nourish our spirit and uplift our entire tribe.

Every single one of us has the power to change the world for the better and be part of specific, tangible, meaningful solutions.

Having experienced incredible healing, I believe wholeheartedly in our ability to heal ourselves and our relationship with the planet.

“Denesa is a force of nature both as she captures it and how she stands up for it.

As far back as I can remember I too have been a champion of nature and it is a great gift to behold her work. Her art and her heart will help to inspire generations to come and hopefully the current population as well.

– Alethea Root, Award Winning Director Producer

Bring Nature Inside.

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Denesa is a beautiful light, who can see love and joy in others, and by others I mean people, nature, animals etc. and that is what I see in her art.

-Maya Rina, Maya Rina Art