Chad Kestner Photography

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Robbinsdale, MN
Chad Kestner Photography

Just A Guy Adventuring Around With A Camera. Follow For Original Content Made By

Based in Minnesota

03/19/2026

Coco and I checking out the stars.

Nov. 2025
1hour outside Duluth MN

10/17/2025

November 3, 2024 - western Utah

As I submerged myself into beautiful hot springs in the middle of a blizzard, a herd of cows appeared. I assumed they would be used to seeing people in the springs, but evidently they were still curious of us. A mother left her calf, crossed an opening in the fence and approached me. She looked at me with confusion written all over her face, or maybe it was curiousity. I grabbed my camera and sat at the edge of the hot spring, observing the emotions on display from the mother cow. I couldn’t help but wonder what must be going through her mind. Silly humans, playing in the hot, smelly water. She came to the edge of the spring, sniffed loudly at the water, shook her head and returned to the herd. It was rather unpopular at the time to hang out at the springs due to the area being so remote along with the cold weather and snow, but Garrett and I thought it was perfect.
Looking back on this moment it was an incredible display of intellect from this animal. Testing the waters to understand if I was a threat to the herd, curiosity and confusion beaming from her ears and eyes. Emotional intelligence being portrayed through body language, it almost felt as if she came over to say Hello, and see who we are - then told us to have a nice day, and left. I thought about it for a while…. A lot of times we refer to animals as inferior, dumb, or simply just as food - but God our creator reminded me this day that is incorrect. We SHARE this Earth with all living things, each one is smart in their own ways, all the way down to a single blade of grass. Each living thing is unique in the way our creator made them, and sometimes we forget that. I’m thankful for the reminder to respect all living things.

10/15/2025

Dec. 24, 2020
“A Footprint On The Sands Of Time.”
On the big island of Hawaii we found ourselves on a volcanic sand beach. It was unlike anything I’d ever laid my eyes on at the time, I’d only known sand to be gold at the lake or white on the riverbanks. To the touch it was extremely smooth compared to the normal grittiness of regular sand. Every once in a while a big wave would come through crashing, spinning the water into a chocolate milk color as it slowly crept back into the ocean’s depths. I snapped a photo on the cliff side hoping to set foot onto the beach. Hours later I ran down the sand barefoot after a tough hike down. I’ll never forget that sand, or the way it felt in between my toes.

10/14/2025

February 11, 2021
“Working in the barbershop.”
LJ and Skillz got me out of my comfort zone a lot with my camera, they always had a good idea to put me on with. Skillz hooked me up with his barber during a cut, giving me a green light to get a shot I’d never attempted before. Indoors, multiple subjects, action shots, little details everywhere. The barber was so laser-focused locked in that he makes the photo look kind of dramatic. Funny to say it that way because the guy was just cool calm and collected doing his thing…. Looking back on it, I can’t tell if it was sheer talent, or if I just got lucky on these. After the first few photos, one of the guys grilling out front offered me a brat, and then we played a game of chess while waiting for the session to be finished. Sadly, I came back here to get my haircut only once after. The vibes in here were awesome though, good music playing, good conversation, and a grill going out front. Seemed like nothing else really mattered at the time.

10/13/2025

December 22, 2020
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii - “The Big Island”
At sunset the first day I wandered the beach on my own, eager to adventure the island. I came across a crew of some local surfers, and as I snuck a few shots of someone’s surfboard, a few of the local surfers approached me. At first I thought, oh crap these guys are gonna kick me out of here for photographing them… 😂… but they actually walked up to me and asked me if I wanted to enjoy tacos with them on the beach.
I was tempted to ask them to teach me the basics on surfing, but I noticed from the beach the waves were a lot more intimidating than I thought. Some of them mentioned in conversation being sucked under for over two minutes before resurfacing is not uncommon. That scared me off enough, and I started to grow respect for the people out on the waves.
That was my first time ever having pineapple on a taco, and it was shockingly delicious.
One of the guys there eventually let me film him going out into sea with his board in hand for a video I was making at the time.
This photo holds a special place in my heart… it was a moment where I was surrounded by new friends, experiencing a new place, in awe at the world and the way people simply enjoyed the waves. I loved the atmosphere and the people who contributed to making this place so special, like offering a stranger a taco and having a conversation on the beach at sunset… then going completely different ways at the end of the day. No second thoughts, no worries, just good people and good vibes. It felt like I was so welcomed, I felt like I never left my home in Minnesota - yet I was the furthest I’d ever been from home in my life.

Hit me up for a hand signed copy of this photo to frame in your home. 😎

10/10/2025

Just a couple dudes and a canoe, headed into the wilderness.

02/25/2025

Foggy night at The Whiskey Jar.
Delano, MN.

11/26/2024

This tiny pink mushroom was around the size of a paperclip. 🍄🔥Somehow it stood out to me as I wandered through the peatland, in some places knee deep in beautiful green and blue mosses. The further I went in, the more this place felt like a dream. Huge pillow-like mounds of moss felt like I was walking on clouds. Tamarack and black spruce trees so thick in all directions, I could hear the wind gust but never felt it blow. The silence was daring at times, and it rang my ears constantly and I loved the crunch with each step.

11/14/2024

Arches!
Sedimentary rock formations going through years of erosion and weathering create these beautiful natural formations. Of course I had to climb and go on top of a few! 😎

11/12/2024

Exploring the canyonlands of Colorado.
Some of the highest cliffs in the entire state, I’ll check that one off the list.

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Robbinsdale, MN
55422

Website

http://Instagram.com/chadkestner

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