FREDERICK, Md. (DC News Now) — John Canan, the owner of Mountains and River Media, has a calling for photography.

Canan owns a conservation-focused photography company based in Brunswick, but is now prevailing through adversity. He founded the company in 2015 and said he fell in love with photography at an early age.

“I realized how powerful photography was. It also connected me to my roots,” he said. “I decided at that moment that photography was important and that telling stories was still important.”

Along his path to entrepreneurship, Canan said he had to overcome adversity.

“I’m autistic and in June of 2021, I had a spinal cord injury from a spinal cord surgery that resulted in me being paralyzed from the chest down,” he said.

Canan said he also has a permanent brain injury, respiratory failure and postoperative cognitive dysfunction, dementia, and a host of other ailments.

However, he prevails. Regaining the ability to walk, Canan continues to shoot conservation-focused photography, not letting anything stand in his way.