Everyone has tried travel photography who went for a holiday with a camera. However this activity as a profession involves more than taking some snapshots of relatives in front of famous buildings. When you are abroad you probably there for relaxing, enjoying yourself. Nevertheless at the same time you would like to become acquainted with the given country as much as possible. But you are too busy with lying on the beach, having sightseeing tours, dancing in a discotheque. There is no time for exploring countryside, discovering hidden places, experimenting certain things. There comes the expert and produces colourful brochures, exciting guidebooks, fascinating magazine articles.
You might envy this man who has nothing else to do but to travel all over the world and taking pictures. It looks as if he has been on holiday for ever. What is more, he is paid for it. Meanwhile he has an interesting job, gets to know foreign people and cultures, wanders exotic locations. Once an Amazon rain-forest, another time The Arctic. Beautiful landscapes, breathtaking sceneries, unique experiences, adventures with the locals are all part of his life. Moreover he is well-known through his published pictures. But these are just the bright side of travel photography.
The dark side is less obvious, not so spectacular. To be on the road can be a dangerous and lonely task. To get those photos about earthquakes, floods, wars takes more persistence than an ordinary tourist can have. Our photographer has to face unexpected situations, solve them without help often in hostile circumstances. Most of the time he can not relay on anybody but himself. He is the hero of our age who informs us what is going on in distant places while we are sitting in a comfortable armchair. And when you are away for months you can not lead a normal family life either - if you are lucky enough to have a family at home to wait for you. Marriages, human relations break up, they are sacrificed for a good shot. Is it worth ?
Yes, it is. If you feel vocation to this profession you will not count the days when you are coming back. The only aim is to fulfil the assignment, no matter what price you have to pay for it. Yes, you have to be obsessed. When you are on the field you shut out everything from your mind. Family, friends, home are forgotten, you are only with the “here and now”. It is not an eight to five job what you can forget for the day when you get home. Even when you are not abroad you are busy with organising the finished material and the preparation of the next task. After all it is part of your life.
You can not quid it for a minute, let alone forever.
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