People Who Inspire Us: Dakota Randall
Dakota Randall is a senior finance major at York College. He lives in Manhattan Beach, California and plans on moving back to Cali for at least a year after graduation. Dakota’s photo, “Ocean Rise,” was published in the latest issue of The York Review.
At this time in April, we are crawling towards the semester’s end. We need coffee just to keep our foreheads off the desk. Though, in this interview, Dakota reminds us why we need to keep looking up, why, sometimes, papers can wait on an impromptu adventure or a hammock in the trees. Read about his post-grad plans to drive a 5,000-mile dirt trail and his brand, “Freedom from Routine,” that melds his main passions: motor, adventure, and photography.
How did you become interested in photography?
I have been interested in photography since I was a kid but never could fully pursue it until I stopped playing sports and had the free time to explore.
What was your first camera?
My first real camera was a Canon 7D that I got this past August, two weeks before I flew back to York. I still have the camera but soon will be upgrading since this one keeps giving me an error code.
What are some of the coolest places you have photographed?
By far the coolest place I ever shot was the Haiku Staircase AKA, the Stairway To Heaven on Oahu. I didn’t have my camera at that time but my little sister let me take her Canon Rebel up with me and I was able to get some cool pictures. I actually blogged about that hike and uploaded most of the pictures I took on my website. The whole experience was unreal and something many people will never get to do.
Where do you hope to shoot someday?
Shooting specific places really doesn’t interest me as much as shooting my friends having a great time. Capturing candid moments is what I enjoy the most.
What/who inspires your creative work?
My friends and girlfriend inspire me the most. Their thirst for adventure and willingness to just go rubs off on me. We can talk at 1 a.m. Saturday morning about how rad it would be to ride 400 miles out to camp in the middle of the desert, wake up 6 hours later and capitalize on it. And the best thing about it — I get to be there to take pictures of my friends getting their 600-pound Harleys stuck in the sand.
How will you continue your creative work after graduation?
When I graduate, I have a two-month drive planned across the Trans American Trail. The trail is 80% dirt roads and the plan is to camp out every night until I get back home to Southern California. Beyond that, I plan on staying active outdoors and continuing to capture unforgettable moments with like-minded people.
Describe your project, Freedom from Routine.
The idea of Freedom From Routine came while I was on a weekend motorcycle camping trip down to San Diego. My buddy, Mike, told me about this guy who rode his bicycle all the way from Oregon to South America. He made a video, and in the video he talked about how “routine is the enemy of time”. In other words, people spend their lives in this routine; and one day they wake up and realize they are 85 years old and wonder where the hell all the time went. When you’re a kid, everything is astonishing, everything is new, and your mind is active. But once your brain establishes a routine, it stops; and the fascination with the world ends.
I refuse to let that happen. I want to be aware of every day I’m alive and I want to make it to 85 and be exhausted because I have been alive and awake every single day. After hearing Mike talk about this guy, it just stuck with me.
During my internship later that summer, while I was mindlessly staring at an Excel document, I decided to make a website and called it Freedom From Routine. The original idea behind it was to keep all my adventures and thoughts in one location. A few weeks later I made an Instagram page, @Freedom_From_Routine, and things just started snow balling from there. We are now close to 3,000 followers and have people wearing our t-shirts in three different continents. It’s extremely humbling how many people have and continue to support me on this journey. The one person who’s kept me on track more than anyone is my girlfriend, Jena. She has by far had the greatest impact on this wild ride and I am very thankful for that.
Where do you like to shoot in and around York?
My favorite place to shoot around York is either Lake Redman or a place called Gut Road. I really like isolated places and taking pictures of my lifestyle. Whether that is hammocking, off-roading, or riding motorcycles.
