Category Archives: Thoughts

My Love-Hate Relationship with Ethiopa: A Report

April 24, 2012

The fascinating cultures, the breathtaking landscapes, the ever present feeling that you are in a different time, a different dimension—this is what I absolutely love about Ethiopia. The constant feeling of being a human piggy-bank, the challenges in doing the simplest of things, the often occurring feeling that your new “friends” are measuring you up to see what they can extract from you—this is what I’ve come to hate beyond words about the country.

I’ve been in Ethiopia for a bit over four months now. I know that many of the readers of this blog are photographers and travelers, some of whom have aspirations to come here. For this reason, I feel that I should write an account of sorts. One that is fairly uncensored and touches on the good, the not so good and the plain ugly sides of this incredible and incredibly challenging country.

Categories Ethiopia, Thoughts, Travel, advice, culture, documentary, ideas, personal, travel photography | Tagged , , , , , , , ,
45 Comments

Donsol and Whale Sharks – Sometimes it’s good to just travel.

April 30, 2011

As travelers we often have certain things we want to do when we visit places. Sometimes it’s just to make a tick on the “to-do” list. Other times, it’s because we really, really want to do those things. Swimming with the whale sharks at Donsol belongs to the latter category. I really, really wanted to do it. I was curious about what it would be like, ever since a friend back in Australia told me that there’s a place in the Philippines where you are almost guaranteed the chance.

Categories Philippines, Thoughts, Travel, Underwater | Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
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Breathtaking Philippines

April 18, 2011

The Philippines are officially going into my books as one of the most beautiful countries I’ve visited, at least as far as breathtaking scenes per square kilometer go, they’re plentiful. The spectacular combination of mountains and water is everywhere and as I might have mentioned a few times, I am truly a sucker for this kind of scenery.

Categories Motorcycle Riding, Thoughts, Travel, documentary | Tagged , , , , , , ,
17 Comments

To Leave the Place you Fell in Love with

March 28, 2011

Every traveler knows how it feels. When you fall in love with a place, you come to appreciate it on so many levels. The natural beauty, the smells, the sounds, the smiles. You’ve connected with the locals, you’ve made friends that will remain close to your heart. It’s sad saying “Good bye”. You don’t know if it’s a “Good bye forever” or a “See you again some time”. You hope it’s the latter. But you never know. If you’ve had your share of travels and good byes, you understand that places and people change. Nothing in life is set, there are no guarantees.

Categories Thoughts, Travel, personal | Tagged , , , , ,
25 Comments

Dear aspiring travel photographer

March 26, 2011

Over the past couple of years I’ve had an increasing number of emails from aspiring travel/documentary photographers from all over the world. The three most common questions I am usually asked go along the lines of …

Categories Thoughts, Travel, advice, travel photography | Tagged , , , ,
36 Comments