Travel is my passion. This was the epiphany I had 6 years ago when we set out to start our website theplanetd.com. I realized after spending the past 15 years in the film industry as a Rigging Gaffer that life was too short to spend it not doing what you love. And so we set out on this journey to inspire people to step out of their comfort zones and enrich their lives through travel.
You see travel has had a huge impact on our lives. It saved our marriage back in 2000. It has opened our eyes to new cultures and allowed us to explore the far reaches of this planet. But I believe that a person can have more than one passion. Out of my love for travel was born a love for photography.
I remember our first long trip to South East Asia in 2003. That was when I started to really get into travel photography. Before that trip, I spent a couple of years shooting portraits and street photography with my Hasselblad 503CW. I honed my skills learning the basics of photography and composition and I knew I wanted to take it to the next level, but I didn’t want to bring that camera with me to Asia.
So I dug out my old Canon Rebel G, bought a bunch of slide film, and hopped a flight to South East Asia.
That trip hooked me on travel photography. I bought my first DSLR in Singapore, a Canon 10D, midway through that trip, and never looked back.
There was something remarkable about photographing far off places that stuck with me. It was like my camera was a connection to another world. I felt a sense of comfort when I put that viewfinder up to my eye, like I belonged there. With camera in my hand, I connected to the people and culture of my destination. I understood my purpose.
Fast-forward to 2008 where I knew photography was going to be a huge part of ThePlanetD. When we made the decision to start ThePlanetD it was because we were living unfulfilled lives. We were working 16 hrs a day on film sets and losing ourselves in the middle class rat race. We knew there was more to life than working at jobs that didn’t fulfill our passion, but we didn’t know what to do about it.
It wasn’t until one rainy New Years Eve in 2007 that we finally came to this realization. As the raindrops hit the window like a constant reminder of how low we had sunk, we sat in front of the TV watching a documentary on Ray Zahab. Ray was an overweight heavy smoker that decided to turn his life around and become an ultra marathon runner. He quit smoking got in shape and won the first race he ever entered. I remember sitting there and Deb turned to me and said, “We are going to do something like that. We have to change our path.”
Two weeks later we signed up for the world’s longest cycling race: a four-month bicycle race from Cairo, Egypt to Cape Town, South Africa. This was going to be our opportunity for change. We trained for the next several months, and exactly one year later, we were on a flight to Cairo where our lives would change forever. We cycled through the continent as I captured every moment on camera. The race was incredible, but it was the opportunity to photograph the people of Sudan, the landscape of Ethiopia and the wonder of Victoria Falls that excited me.
After we completed that race we were invigorated. We were full of new ideas and ready to take on the world. Travel had changed our lives once before back in 2000 and it once again was the catalyst for our next monumental life change. We knew that if travel could do that for us twice in our lives then it could do it for others.
That is why we started ThePlanetD. We wanted to inspire people to step out of their comfort zone and live a more fulfilled life. If we could do it, anyone could do it. And we show them that every day through the photography and stories on our blog.
Over the past 6 years photography has become a huge part of our website. I have honed my skills in more than 100 countries and won awards like Best Illustration of Travel and Best Wildlife Photography by the Society of American Travel Writers. But most of all I have learned that capturing the essence of a destination, whether it is the people, landmarks or landscapes can serve as an educational tool. Teaching people what life is like in other countries and inspiring them at the same time to get out and explore all that his beautiful world has to offer.
You can tell someone to try something new again and again, but it isn’t until they see it for themselves that they will truly be inspired and that is why photography is so important to me.
Travel and photography go hand and hand for me. Being able to combine both of my passions has been a dream come true. It took a decade of searching for me to find my passion, but the wait was worth it. My advice to everyone is to never settle and keep searching until you reach your dreams.
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As the sun set over one of the many fjords on the east coast of Greenland I couldn’t help but be enamored by its beauty. We have visited both Greenland and Antarctica and I have to say that the ice formations in Greenland are far more impressive. These particular icebergs have broken off the the glacier at the end of the fjord. They make their journey south and offer you a glimpse of what this world might have looked like millions of years ago.
As the sun rose on Badlands National Park in South Dakota I crossed my fingers hoping that the sun would peek through the small sliver of sky and light up the rock. That morning there was only a small band of clear sky where the sun could shine through and I knew if it happened I would have to be fast. I had heard that this place “Windows and Doors” was the best location for sunrise so my hopes were high. Then, just as the sun peeked over the horizon, the rocks caught the light and glowed a fiery red. Combine that with the blue in the sky and it created this scene full of complementary colors.
If there was one thing I wanted to see in Maui this time it was the bamboo forest on the The Pipiwai Trail in Haleakala National Park. We had been to Maui before but never got around to driving the Hana Highway. That alone is worth it but if you drive past the town of Hana to Haleakala National Park you will be rewarded with plenty of waterfalls and this magical walk through a bamboo forest. The bamboo towers above you and the wind blows causing the trees creak. It feels as if you have been transported to back to ancient China where bamboo trees originated. I went for this perspective to show the density and have the view feel how small they would be when dwarfed by these majestic trees.
This was our second time in Hong Kong and I really wanted a great shot from Victoria Peak. The last time we were here the weather was awful. At a height of 1811ft it is the highest point of land on Hong Kong Island and offers the best view of Victoria Harbour. Most of the time the city is covered in smog that blows into the valley from China but if you catch it on a clear night you get a real sense of the electric environment that this city has to offer. Well luck was on our side and the weather cooperated this time. The view from here is one of the best in the city and you know it because of the masses of people up here at any time of the day. So get up there early or you will be looking at the backs of peoples heads instead of the sprawling cityscape of Hong Kong.
It is the most photographed location in Northern Ireland. Even the wildly popular Game of Thrones has popped over to the Dark Hedges in County Antrim to film a scene at this eerily beautiful road. It’s surprising to hear that it is so popular. It’s just a short road surrounded by farmer’s fields. When driving up to the Dark Hedges, we weren’t sure if it was even the right place. At first glance, it doesn’t look like much. But once you step out of your car and take a look around, you can see why it has attracted photographers, painters, and curious tourists for decades. The only challenge here is to avoid the tour busses and other traffic. We went early in the morning for the best light and least amount of people.
The blanket of morning mist still lay on the lake as we paddled silently through the still waters of Algonquin Park, Ontario. We had left camp at dawn on our photography safari in search of one of Canada’s largest mammals – the Algonquin moose. As the sun began to peek out from behind the trees I snapped this shot of our trip mates enjoying the morning paddle.
We didn’t have the best weather for our 10 days in Iceland but it sure made for some dramatic light on the surrounding landscape. We were in the small town of Vik, Iceland and just as I had finished filling up our car I turned and saw this church in the distance. I didn’t have tie to drive up and find the perfect location so I put on my 70-200mm lens, stood on a picnic table and grabbed this shot just as a small ray of light hit the church. Like they say timing is everything.
The temperature gage on our thermometer had bottomed out at -35 and it was colder than that at night. We were on a 10 day expedition near the Arctic Watershed in northern Ontario in February and suffering a little more each day. Dave, the videographer, and I had been looking for a great shot of the 7 man traditional tent we had brought with and got an opportunity on this particular night. It was clear and cold and the long exposure captured the tent, stars and smoke from our wood burning stove perfectly. We couldn’t have asked for a better night.
Discovering new places is what I love most about travel. So when we got the chance to explore an unnamed fjord in Greenland I ran out to the deck with my camera. The bow of the boat crashed through the ice and the captain navigated through massive icebergs until we reached the end of the fjord where water met land. Just as we stopped the clouds parted and the calm water in front of us made for a perfect reflection. Our reward for being explorers.
It was an early morning departure for our safari that day at the Kariega Game Reserve in South Africa and the first thing we came across was a mother elephant and her baby. We sat silently in our jeep just observing these two walk around us. They ate in peace and it seemed like we weren’t even there. After about 15 minutes, just as they were turning to leave, the mother raised her trunk as if to wave goodbye. A moment I will treasure forever.
After a morning of Kayaking we went on land to explore more of the Gentoo penguin population in Antarctica. I was standing just observing these always entertaining animals when this scene of a mother feeding here chicks unfolded right in front of me. I watched for a few minutes then knelt down to get a better angle. As I snapped a few frames it was all I could do not to throw up as the stench of penguin feces is overwhelmed me. Sometimes getting a great shot is not very glamourous.
There is nothing quite like dipping your paddle in the icy waters of Antarctica as you paddle past icebergs. As we arrived at Paradise Bay I immediately knew where it got its name. Large icebergs floated past us and we relished the opportunity to kayak close to leopard seals and have Minke whales surface right beside us. The formations are unique and we took some time to jump in a zodiac to photograph the other kayakers. I thought framing them by this iceberg would give a sense of just how small you feel in this environment.
Trekking in the Himalaya of Nepal is not something you will soon forget. We made the trek to Everest Base Camp and were treated to views like this on a daily basis. I have been in a lot of mountain ranges in my time but it is these sacred peaks that impressed me more than all others combined. The way they are worshipped by the locals and respected among climbers gives you a sense of pride when you climb them. This shot was taken on our way down from Base Camp. I remember turning around after hearing the clangs of the yak bells behind me, and my breath being taken away by this scene. It captured everything that life in the Himalayas is about.
We spent 3 months in India and ended up in Agra on 3 separate occasions. But it is the first time where we saw the Taj Mahal that is the most memorable.I will never forget getting to the entrance at 6 am so we could be the first people in to try and get a photo with no people.It was a mad rush and I did manage to get a few shots of the Taj with no one in it. But as we continued to walk around the beautiful grounds I stumbled across these 4 people just standing in silence admiring the beauty of this building. It was such a perfect scene.
Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada is full of natural beauty. Mountains soar all around you and the smell of pine is in the air. We stayed at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge at the foot of the Bow Glacier. It was the perfect place to photograph the Bow Glacier at sunrise. Mist slowly rose off of the small lake at the foot of the glacier as the warm tones of sunrise lit up the sky behind the mountains. It was like watching a postcard being created right in front of you.
I was extremely depressed when we arrived at Machu Picchu and the whole place was shrouded in mist. I thought of all the time and effort I had spent to get here and now I wasn’t going to see anything. But as the morning wore on we got lucky and the clouds parted. As I went up higher to get a better overall view I spotted this llama on the side of the mountain and thought he would make a great subject. Just as I crouched down to take his photo he raised his head and let out a piercing belt! I almost fell backwards but before I got this shot.