Javi Cang Finds Clarity and Purpose in Nature

In the hush of nature, adventurer Javi Cang finds purpose in stillness and a deeper reason to protect the wild.

There’s a silence that Javi Cang appreciates once he steps off the grid. On the ridgelines of New Zealand’s backcountry, where the mountains are jutted out like the spine of an ancient beast and the wind races through silvered beech branches, there is no signal or notification, just the Earth’s own sound. It’s as if time itself feels slower, and for the Filipino adventurer, climber, and photographer, it’s in these still places where he finds clarity. “You’re just present,” he says. “There’s a sense of peace and freedom that’s probably much different from what you get in a more populated place.”

Anyone who has visited New Zealand would readily understand Javi’s sentiment. With its native forests, towering alpine peaks, and crystal-clear lakes, the very roots of the Earth seem to run deep within its veins. This otherworldly terrain, which served as the prime location for the movie version of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, is a paradise for his “granola” lifestyle, a term describing those who embrace an outdoorsy, eco-conscious way of living. 

It’s one of the reasons Javi and his wife Angela relocated there five years ago, drawn by the promise of a life more attuned to the wild. “I think our main motivation for the move really was to pursue something more outdoor-centric,” he reflects. “Even if I work a corporate job, I work in data, we get to cycle to work and easily move through forests and trails, and we also get to go rock climbing after work.”

But before he started to call the Southern Alps his home, Javi’s path toward nature was cultivated in the mountains of his true homeland. Born and raised in the Philippines, he was constantly exposed to the local environment through his mother, who would often take the young adventurer out for hikes on nearby trails. He vividly remembers one summer when he was about seven years old, “we hiked in Mount Makiling and I went off trail. I found this little stream and I sort of fell down into the foliage, and I landed into a sort of mud pool and my mom started screaming,” he recalls. But as his mother grew understandably hysterical at her mud-covered son, he simply looked up at her and shouted, “That was so fun!” It was in that tumble, half accident, half adventure, that he first felt what would become a lifelong affinity for nature.

Decades later, this deep-rooted relationship with the natural world is what brought him traveling across the globe in search of its wonders. And as he moved through its various peaks and valleys, he learned to document these experiences. “Keep in mind I was always an outdoorsman first, I just happen to bring a camera along,” he says, as photography, for him, came later. It was through the guidance of his close friend and the best man at his wedding, photographer Artu Nepomuceno (who helped him pick out his first camera), where he actually began to start taking photos of the places he visited.

“I also think what spurred me to get into photography was a mix of wanting to share what I’m seeing and being able to have sort of a deeper experience while I’m outdoors.” His images on his personal Instagram are reflections of that; glimpses of mountains, forests, and majestic landscapes; crediting photography as the catalyst that changed his perspective on his surroundings. “You sort of develop a photographic perception of things, you see light differently, you see the foliage, vegetation, and wildlife in a way that you wouldn’t have seen before.” 

Yet beyond showcasing the beauty of our world, Cang’s work as a photographer advocates for an even deeper message. “When I post my landscape photos, that’s my way of hopefully inspiring other people to be going outdoors for the right reasons. To just really appreciate the outdoors for what it is.” That sentiment of stewardship runs deep, noting that travelling in itself is an activity reserved for the privileged. And in understanding that privilege, he explains that being able to witness the world’s scenery has allowed him to see the environment in a more protective way. 

For him, preservation begins with perspective. If more people could see what he’s seen, the jagged silhouettes of the Himalayas, the granite faces of New Zealand’s alps, or the forests of the Philippines, then perhaps they would understand what’s at stake. “I want people to realize that maybe we do live on a very fragile planet, and because of that we have to protect it.” 

Part of that responsibility lies in restraint. He usually avoids geotagging remote places online, not out of secrecy but out of care. “Everyone has a responsibility toward being cognizant of the carrying capacity of a landscape,” he says. “If you’re geotagging something, you might bring in a lot more people than the place could handle, then you aren’t being a good steward for that area.” 

Even in remote places, the decisions you make echo beyond the trail, something he is deeply aware of as it continues to shape how he moves through the world. He thinks it keeps him humble, having to be aware of his position in the face of millions of years of creation. “You get the true sense of how small you are in the grand scheme of things,” he explains. “You tell yourself ‘I’m actually so insignificant,’ and everything around me is just so grand and here I am just taking everything in, which is a pretty crazy thing to think about.” And for the outdoorsman, standing in the wilderness isn’t about disconnecting, it’s about connecting with a deeper part of yourself. 

By GABRIEL YAP. Photographs by JAVI CANG.