Why write a Blog? I write mainly because I enjoy it; the fact that I might be writing for an audience is, well, the cream on the cake. I’ve published 14 books to date and I wrote for travel magazines around the world in another life but, nowadays, most of my time is happily spent wandering the planet as a travel photographer. That said, I miss writing. It’s a discipline I use to develop my thoughts and crystalise my opinions about subjects I may otherwise have considered only superficially. In part, I’m sure that’s why I am writing this Blog, however, there are two main reasons. Firstly, as a travel photographer specialising in the Asia Pacific region, many people I meet are interested in the pictures I’ve captured and the places I’ve visited. They want to learn how I produced a particular photograph or they are seeking advice about travelling to certain locations. For those people, I’d like to think the contributions I’ll make to this Blog – and, hopefully, the contributions it will attract – will be helpful. Certainly, the internet will make what’s written far more accessible. The second reason is that, as I get older (I recently turned 50), I’m becoming more motivated to “give something back” and try and make a difference to the issues in the region I feel strongly about. I’m not looking to change the world overnight but I am looking to play my part and effect positive change with the gifts I’ve been given. I believe that by sharing your consciousness of matters of principle – even if its with just a single person – you begin to effect change. The more people you connect with, the more likely the outcome. One of the benefits of having a high public profile in the countries I travel and having a web site which has been visited by more than a million people is that, hopefully, it will attract the opinions of like-minded people. In doing so, I’d like to think it will add momentum to important issues in the region – issues such as the rapid disappearance of indigenous cultures, the destruction of the environment, the promotion of indigenous values, the need to nurture and develop small-scale tourism enterprises to bring higher standards of living to remote communities.
And on matters of photography – for example, the Australian government’s ridiculous efforts to restrict where and when professional photographers can capture photographs – you can expect a particularly colourful commentary.
In closing, if you’ve made it this far and you’re interested in sharing your passion for travel photography, travelling the Asia Pacific region or becoming aware of indigenous cultural issues, I invite you to join my blog and share the journey. My entries will be short and you’ll see the region as I see it – in photographs, with helpful notes on how the images were captured and the circumstances which produced them. Your feedback will be welcomed and I will try and reply promptly to any questions posted (taking into consideration I’m overseas up to eight months of the year, he says).
So, go ahead, add a few words ….. add to the momentum.
