At the start of 1993, in the
most independent action I've ever taken, I moved to Prague, the
Czech Republic, leaving behind a job, a swimming pool membership,
a tennis racquet, a car, newspaper subscriptions, a half-read hard
cover book, close friends and relatives, and many of the other things
which made my free time enjoyable. What I found more than compensated.
Teaching English classes and serving as the Advertising Manager
for Prognosis, an English language newspaper, I met some of the
most compassionate individuals I have ever known. With much of my
free time I took travel photos of the Czech Republic as the country
emerged out of 40 years of totalitarianism. The mystery of the Baroque
buildings that where neither destroyed nor kept up since World War
II shaped my photography style until this day. In this first year
of my serious amateur photography, my eye was draw to the mystery
an image can convey. My favorite shots made the viewer see beauty
in the unknown. Bright light and dark shadows with people in them
and decaying buildings for which one could only image a regal past--
these were two favorite subjects that made the viewer feel foreign
to the subjects.
After eight months living in Prague, I traveled for a month in
Turkey and Greece and a month in Western Europe. In 1994, I returned
to Turkey for three weeks of travel. My feet covered nearly 1000
miles during my time abroad. Much of the time, a Canon AE1 slung
across my shoulder.
In 1995, I traveled to Southeast Asia for a month. I was pleased
with the shots I brought home, although seven rolls did not make
the return trip - thanks to a film thief in an Indonesian airport.
My health did not fully survive the trip either (when independent
travel is NOT the way to go).
Fast forward to the late 90's and 00s. My travel landscape is now
and has been, the many inviting countries of SE Asia. I now own
an Interactive Agency which is based mostly in the Philippines with
an office I would die to have at home. In the US I am the sole employee.
The many travel photos taken on this site in Asia where taken from
independent trips to the area over the past 7 years. As I write
this, the first photos were taken in Philippines with a digital
camera. This was the first time I have ever tried to do serious
photography without a film camera. What a surprise, it was some
of the most productive hours of photography I've ever spent! The
downside was that I made no effort to take the photos in huge file
sizes for possible printing. I still don't believe digital cameras
can capture images for prints that are to be framed. Maybe the 8
megapixel cameras can, but that time hasn't come for me yet.
