Why do we travel to distant lands? Sometimes travel is purposeful, or even obligatory. Business, pleasure, family, some combination of all three. We should strive to make a connection to the places and people we visit. When I visit Japan, I see my family. I meet new people. I seek to understand the Japanese culture, and eagerly try, but ultimately fail to speak the language.

On my last trip, in September 2016, I used my camera to connect to Tokyo. It makes me happy to look back at these photographs, but it also raises a concern. Gideon Lewis-Kraus wrote about the travel photographer's dilemma in his NY Times Magazine article:

His job is to create the ideal image against which the multitudes will inevitably find their own experiences wanting. The travel photographer is thereby caught in a bind. Either he is no better than the desultory tourist, or he is responsible for the fact that our experiences rarely resemble the advertisements or postcards.

The dilemma I faced is a balance between wanting to photograph the streets and needing to document the trip, ultimately changing the nature and purpose of our travel. The need comes from an obligation (real or perceived) to be the scribe; so that my friends and travel companions have a visual record that can be shared, liked, and commented on. As my skills using the camera improved, documenting the travel has become a different experience. Initially, I was just the guy with the camera. "Say Chee-zu". Boom, group photo. Selfies. Pictures of food. Pictures of a statue. More selfies. The self-satisfying "Look what they serve in business class!" photos. Most of the photos probably make no sense to anyone who wasn't there. I look back at the photos from my first trip in 2015, and man they are shitty. Like pre-photography 101 shitty. I didn't know how to use the camera. I didn't know how to frame a shot, and I didn't know what kind of satisfaction comes from making photographs. A few from my first trip in March 2015:

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November 20th, 2019

July 23rd, 2019

October 24th, 2017

Dreamers in New York

Some photos taken in New York, NY. Summer 2017.

November 20^th, 2019

July 23^rd, 2019

October 24^th, 2017