I bought my first serious camera in 1965, a Nikon, and used it and a 400mm lens
with a 2x converter to take photos of my friends and myself surfing
the less than tropical beaches of the Washington Coast.
My first foreign destination was India in 1974, where I spent a couple
of months traveling the Western Ghats. Many years went by where
my photos were mostly of growing children (Now 48 and 44) and family
vacations.. In 1987 we started taking trips to the Yucatan, at least once
a year. For several years Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras were the
primary destinations because of one of my other interests, studying
archaeology (specifically Mayan). After a dozen trips to the ancient
Maya sites, we set our sights on other, long dreamed of destinations.
The main focus of these travels has been to visit ancient cities and
sacred sites. I love the monuments and ruins and can sense the
vast amount of history and cultural identity that they contain.
For years, to my regret, I was focused on the structures and was not
photographing the people, many of whom are direct descendants of the
original builders. I've often found that the local people, as we travel
independently, were a very significant part of our experience.
If you approach a person and interact (common language not required)
You will very rarely find a person that will decline your request to photograph them.
Our upcoming travels will take us to many places where the ancient
cultures are mirrored in the modern.
-Gerry
List of Destinations:
Canada
Mexico
Guatemala
Honduras
Puerto Rico
Bahamas
Cuba
Ecuador
Ireland
Scotland
England
France
Switzerland
Spain
Portugal
Italy
Greece
Croatia
Bosnia
Montenegro
Hungary
Czech Republic
Austria
Slovinia
Turkey
Egypt
Morocco
India
Pakistan
Nepal
Burma
Thailand
Laos
Cambodia
Vietnam
China
Tibet