If you’ve ever seen a photo that made you want to quit your job, buy a Sprinter, and chase cold waves until your eyelashes freeze, chances are Chris Burkard took it. The world-famous photographer and filmmaker from Pismo Beach has turned remote landscapes into a global calling card. But behind the wild adventures is a dad with two boys who is still figuring out the playbook like the rest of us.
And that is exactly why this Q&A hits.
Who Is Chris Burkard (Beyond the Screensavers)
Burkard is the guy brands call when they need a shot of someone doing something incredible in a place most of us only see on postcards. His images show the edges of the world, but his life at home is surprisingly grounded. He is a surfer, a husband, and a dad trying to raise two boys with wonder instead of worry.
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The Q&A
When you ask Chris Burkard about the hardest part of parenting, he barely pauses. This is a man who has stood on icebergs and photographed storms, yet fatherhood still brought him to his knees in a way the Arctic never could. He told us the real challenge was accepting that he had no idea what he was doing and learning, slowly, that the early years he once feared were unappreciated were actually the moments that mattered most.
Chris grew up without a father, so he had no blueprint to follow. Every chapter he is writing now, he is writing for the first time. And the thing he learned early is this: showing up is the job.
Ask him about the rewards and his shoulders drop a little, the way people soften when they talk about the good stuff. For Chris, the payoff is watching his boys find joy. Not achievements or polished milestones.
Pure, unfiltered joy. Laughing together. Losing themselves in awe, even when the house feels chaotic. Coming from a guy who has chased awe across continents, it says something that the best version of it still happens in his living room.
If he could go back and tell his younger self something, it would be this: your kids might become your best friends.
It is a truth no one tells you when you’re knee deep in diapers, but it hits like a warm wave once you’re there.
One piece of advice stuck with him through the years. Someone once told him that being a dad is not an old man’s job. He carries that line like a compass. You don’t wait for the perfect moment, the perfect bank account, or the perfect career arc. You learn to parent in the mess. And sometimes the mess ends up being beautiful.
A typical day in the Burkard house reads exactly how you hope it might. He drops off his oldest son at school, then sneaks in an hour-long surf before the emails and projects take over. His wife handles the younger one’s school run. Midday is work. Afternoon folds into pickup, food, sports, more food, and the nightly wind-down.
For all the airports and expeditions, the rhythm at home is familiar to every dad. It is proof that even the world’s most adventurous photographer still spends half his life in the same cycle the rest of us do.
Balancing work, life, and family for Chris starts with a simple practice: knowing what he needs each day to show up well. Some days that means sleeping in. Other days it is a three-hour bike ride. The point, he says, is to advocate for your needs and communicate clearly with your partner. Burnout is real, and the best way to fight it is honesty.
His reset button is easy to imagine. The ocean. Even a few minutes in the water recalibrates him. It reminds him what matters.
The one non-negotiable in his dad life is time with his kids doing something that costs nothing. Teaching them how to have fun in nature. Passing down the kind of joy you cannot buy.
And when he is solo on the road, he laughs at himself a little. He admits he spends way too much on boujee snacks and great coffee. Every dad has a weakness. His just happens to taste better.
THE TAKEAWAY
Chris Burkard travels farther than most of us ever will, but his parenting philosophy is simple. Show up. Keep wonder alive. Invest in the moments that cost nothing and matter most. The world will always pull, but the real adventure is at home. Follow Chris here.
