I've been thinking quite a bit about travel and photography lately. Every year, my family makes a point to travel somewhere outside of our usual comfort zone. I suppose it is in my blood. Growing up, I lived in South America and Europe, traveled extensively with my parents, and was brought up to believe this was the way things were. Only later did I find this was not the norm for many, if not most, Americans. This is understandable, as the continental U.S. is large, so traveling outside its borders is not really necessary or always feasible. But I have known many who not only never visited our neighbors to the south and north, but have never left the state they were born in. This is astounding to me. To not even travel this amazing country of ours -- with its history, its diverse cultures, its landscapes of deserts, forests, mountains, and sprawling cities -- seems to be such a shameful loss of opportunity. Each region I visit holds so many hidden gems that make this world of ours so much more awe inspiring, so much more that what we see in our day to day lives. The experience of travel is essential to understanding not only our immediate culture, but the cultures of humankind. In the United States alone we can see this diversity of thought from region to region, from state to state. The people of New Orleans experience a world where storms and flooding are a normal part of life, where the rule of law is based on French principles, not English, where the history and culture were predominantly from French settlers; the West Coast is younger than the East Coast, with Spanish and then Mexican influences; the Midwest had settlers from all over Europe, bringing British, Italian, Greek, and Scandinavian cultures with them. And this is only a slice of the regional distinctions that make up the North American continent. Canada and Mexico have their own cultures far different from the US, First Peoples have cultures older than all of the European settlers, the slave trade and the import of Asian workers brought whole new layers of cultural history into the mix. As a photographer, amateur or professional, we have an opportunity to interpret the differences and similarities in the cultures that make up this land. How can we not? Lately, I've read a few online articles implying to photograph while traveling takes away from the experience, makes one focus on the taking of an image rather than the experience of travel. I have seen, from my own experiences, this can be true. But is this always the case? I'll expand on this next time. For now, I encourage everyone to take the time to travel outside their comfort zone. This may be as easy as driving a few hours to see a metropolis, a beach town, a farm valley. Whatever you are not used to... take the time to experience it. You will be all the greater for it.
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