Journeys Of The Heart And Mind
Paradise Harbour, Antarctica. What journeys of the heart and mind await you?
Combining my two great passions, photography and travel, allows me to embark on journeys of the heart and mind.
Adversity is part of the Human Condition which we all experience, in one form or another, throughout our lives.
Nonetheless, in so many ways, I've lived a blessed life and it keeps getting better with every new travel photography adventure I undertake.
I really enjoy sharing my photos and experiences from these journeys with you here on the Travel Photography Guru website and blog.
Travel Is Where I Found Myself
There's no doubt travel has informed my own world view and helped me better understand my own place in this world.
Travel has helped forge my independent nature and has also contributed, together with my upbringing, to my views on justice and spirituality.
While I've traveled to many amazing places, some of them on numerous occasions, I'm glad to say I've barely scratched the surface of what our wonderful world has to offer.
So, despite journeys to six of our world's seven continents, my travel glass is by no means full.
My Future Journeys - It's Time To Dream
There are so many incredible places that I'd love to visit and photograph.
Festivals
Temples
Landscapes
Ice caves in Iceland
Wildlife migrations
Native peoples
Travel provides the enthusiastic photographer with seemingly endless options for engagement and creative exploration.
Given that I'm often dreaming of future journeys I thought it would be fun to list a few of them here. It's by no means a definitive list, but it's a pretty good one just the same.
Easter Island Odyssey - Mystery And Myth
It's long been a dream of mine to photograph the stone monoliths on the island of Rapa Nui.
The problem is that they’re just so far away from, well, anywhere. In fact it's said to be the most remote inhabited island in the world.
The closest I came to visiting Easter Island was in when I travelled to Argentina as a staging point for a photo tour I co-ran to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula.
Unfortunately I had work commitments either side of the trip and, as Easter Island is reached from Chile, rather than Argentina, it just wasn't going to happen.
I’II get to Easter Island one day and I'm very much looking forward to spending up to a week photographing the magnificent Moai sculptures throughout the island.
Philippines Spectacular Terraced Rice Fields
I've seen some stunning photos over the years of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Terraced Rice Fields at Banaue in the Philippines.
The geometrically designed environment is said to provide a great example of harmonious existance between man and nature and would be an amazing place to photograph.
Way back in the early nineties I traveled to the Dragons Backbone near Longsheng in south east China.
It was a great trip and I was really happy with the results which, back then, where made on a medium format Hasselblad film-based camera.
I was the only westerner on the mountain at that time. There's at least one hotel on the mountain now and I understand these days the joint is flooded with tourists.
Though photography opportunities would exist throughout the year I think, if I do return, it'll probably be in the middle of winter, primarily to avoid the crowds.
Monument Valley - Heroic Landscapes
The USA is a long way from my home in Melbourne, Australia. A not terribly informative observation is that it's a similar distance for those travelling in the reverse direction.
But it's not just Americans that grew up with classic John Ford movies set in epic locations like Monument Valley.
I've wanted to visit these places for so long and, ever since the devastation caused to some of the eastern states of the USA by Hurricane Sandy, I’ve wanted to spend time and money in that country.
Travel is a great way to inject money into an economy and, depending upon the choices we make, to disperse it widely and ethically.
By travelling to the USA I hope to make images that illustrate the variety and importance of that countries landscapes and, by implication, the society that has been built upon them.
Needless to say I’d hope to travel and photograph widely across that great land.
Yosemite National Park - Grand and Beautiful
I'm a huge fan of the great American photographer Ansel Adams. His long term relationship with Yosemite is evidenced through his interpretative photographs of icons such as El Capitan and Half Dome.
I'd expect to spend at least a week within the national park and would hope to visit in Spring, sometime before the Grisswold's arrive.
Yellowstone National Park - Know Your Limits
I know a lot more about Yosemite than I do about Yellowstone.
Perhaps that's because Yellowstone is known more as a location for wildlife photography while Yosemite, thanks to master photographers like Ansel Adams, has become a mecca for landscape photographers.
Yellowstone is an area I'd love to visit and I’m sure it would provide fantastic opportunities for photography in all four seasons.
But winters are extreme in that part of the world and, at that time of year, I'd likely want to travel with another photographer or even as a participant on a small photography tour.
Winter isn't always the best time to explore a wild landscape location on your own. Sometimes it's advisable to follow the lead of a local expert.
Namibia Sand Dunes - Surreal Landscapes
A classic location for landscape photography, these gigantic dunes are transformed at the edges of the day by the warm hues from the low angled sun.
This is a monumental landscape and, as it's so far away for so many of us, should probably form part of a larger trip that might include the following:
Wildlife safari
Flight along the Skeleton Coast
One of South Africa's famed train journeys
The Kimberley - Colorful And Spectacular
I've undertaken 3 trips to Central Australia, including an extended stay of 3 months which included a trip up to the top end (i.e, Darwin, Katherine and Kakadu National Park).
I loved Central Australia so much I even bought a place up there. But things didn't work out and, rather than move up to Alice Springs, I decided to stay in Melbourne.
While I'm very familiar with the landscapes of Central Australia, a photography trip to the more remote Kimberley in north west Australia has been in the back of my mind for years. Here’s why:
Vibrant ochre and orange colors of the gorges
Clear blue color of expansive and unpolluted skies
Still beauty of waterholes
Variations in light from the wet to the dry season
One thing I know about the Kimberly is that, when it comes to travelling during the wet, it’s important to have an exit plan when the rains come.
Alternatively, be prepared to be stuck up there, as the rivers rise many meters in depth, with huge and overly curious saltwater crocodiles ready to welcome you.
This is a truly ancient landscape and one cannot but feel humbled in its presence.
It's also a remote and wild landscape and, while distances are extreme, it's important to find space in your schedule to stop driving and spend a few days at a time in some of that country's more unique and scenic locations.
Just ensure you are properly resourced for this kind of adventure. It’s like that the passing of time, at least as we understand it, will change. As will you.
British Isles - Wondrous And Picturesque
The Isle of Aran and the Shetland Islands would form part of a long dreamed journey that would see me exploring as many of these often cold, windswept and brutally beautiful islands as I could.
Needless to say I'd be anticipating a prolonged visit during the Summer months.
During my formal photography studies I was introduced to the classic 1934 Robert Flaherty documentary film The Man of Aran.
I've wanted to explore the wild, windy isles around Britain, Scotland and Ireland ever since.
But it's not just the landscape that draws me. I'm equally interested in meeting and photographing the local folk whom I anticipate would be salt of the earth types.
Banff, Canada - Blissful And Breathtaking
I first became aware of Banff as a child while watching The Singing Mountie episode on the TV series F-Troop.
The episode in question featured a character whom, as the plot unfolded, was revealed as the Burglar of Banff (in this case pronounced as Banf-f-f).
Banff promises fantastic opportunities for landscape and nature photography. I'd particularly like to visit during winter.
Sardinia - Stunning And Spectacular
Here's an island I know very little about, but have long wanted to visit. It's rugged coastline and mountainous interior have always seemed very exotic to me.
I'm seriously considering including Sardinia as part of my next extended European adventure. And why not, dreams are free and are the beginning of so many great adventures.
What About Your Dreams Of Travel?
What countries and destinations are on your travel bucket list? Whether you're thinking photography or otherwise our world offers so many amazing opportunities for adventure.
As always, please share this post widely and wildly.
