Woodchuck 30th Anniversary Artist Spotlight – Joe Klementovich

October 15, 2021

BIO
-Name: Joe Klementovich
-Age: 50
-Location: North Conway, NH
-Profession or specified field: Photographer/film maker
-How long have you been participating in your specified field: 15 years

W- Hey Joe. We appreciate you taking the time to chat today. As a veteran of your craft, how did you get your start in your field?

J- I guess, really through rock climbing and travel. I always enjoyed adventures and along the way making some photos to bring back and show friends and family. I eventually went from selling and image here and there to really applying myself to get assignments, clients and projects that centered around outdoors, adventures and the environment.

W-  Pairing photography with your passions and interests is something that seems to be unique to photogrpahers in the sense that they are able to combine their professional endeavors with their own personal interests. For you it seems that rock climbing allowed you to discover your true passion for photography. With that being said,  what tends to influence your creativity and the work you put out? Is it more-so derived intrinsically, or are you more heavily influenced by external factors and the people viewing your work?

J- Definitely the story. I love seeking out the details and images that tell the story of what’s going on from the little details to the grand expansive views of a location. Every good story has a character and an interesting person adds so many levels to a story, I think working with people in the environment really gets my creativity flowing and inspires me.

W- Photos offer so much more than just being something cool to look at, and using photos as a means of telling a story is certainly a creative take on photography and what it can be used for. What does creativity mean to you?

J- Creativity to me is making the effort to create images and films that are not cliché, something that pushes me to get outside my comfortable space. It would also get the viewer to think a bit about the subject, maybe open up a conversation and not just look at something and move on. In this current social media landscape it’s important not to be someone that’s just adding to the noise with repetitive themes and compositions.

W- There certainly is a lot of “the same thing” being put out into the world through the use of social media outlets and such, so it certainly is important to counter the norm if you want to stand out from a content perspective. Similar to photo and video, we are able to differentiate ourselves through innovative cider making by creating new styles that we think people will enjoy, relative to something more traditional.

Prior to your involvement in our 30th Anniversary Celebration, what was your connection to Woodchuck Cider, if any at all? Through your involvement with Woodchuck, was there anything you learned about us that resonated with you or that you can connect with personally?

I always saw Woodchuck Cider as the original cider, whether that’s true or not I don’t know. As a creative leaning towards photojournalism I appreciate the fact that you have a set of ingredients to work with and you have to get creative with that “structure” and that takes a lot of effort and imagination to make recipes that are not trivial or cliché. That can’t be easy. I realized after digging into your inventory that you do a lot with other fruits to build out these new flavors and I love that willingness to try new things especially being the original Cider.

Thanks, Joe! We pride ourselves on being both originators and an innovators of hard cider here in the U.S. It’s something we have a passion for and is something that we want to see grow to its full potential. Thanks for joining us in our celebration!

Through his background and expertise in photojournalism, Joe decided to head to a local orchard and have himself a quintessential New England Fall experience by going apple picking and enjoying some foliage. Through his photography, Joe tells a story of the relationship and connectivity of all the natural elements that go into the growth of apples, the cornerstone of cider making.

Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to check out Joe’s story!

In case you haven’t noticed, we have also launched our online cider store and online merch store. If you have a hankering for some cider or you want to get kitted out with some new swag, head on over to either of our online stores to load up on all things Woodchuck!

Cheers, and happy cider sippin’!

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