27-SEP-2006
Photographer, Firehole River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2006
My friend and fellow pbase photographer Tim May (
http://www.pbase.com/mityam ) were shooting together in Yellowstone. I found him here astride a boardwalk, leaning into his shot over the steaming springs along the Firehole. Although his world may seem ablaze, he is too focused on his image to care. For many visitors to Yellowstone, such as Tim, our photo tour leader Dave Wyman (
http://www.pbase.com/davewyman), the five other photographers who joined us there, and myself, the camera was at the very center of our experience. It was our purpose in coming. Photo-tourists see Yellowstone as a magical mixture of mist, moose, and megapixels. And it has always been that way. In fact, Yellowstone actually began drawing tourists because of the amazing pictures William H. Jackson brought back with him from the Hayden expedition of 1872.
20-SEP-2006
Tourist Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, 2006
Bryce, like most National Parks, is designed for tourists. I incorporate nine of them into this image as they walk the trails and photograph the ancient hoodoos from close vantage points. This image tells the story of both Bryce and those who come to marvel at its geological splendors. The colors are unlike anything, anywhere. The figures are tiny, incongruously dwarfed by their surroundings. They do the things tourists do at Bryce, hike, talk, shoot, and shoot some more. There is an image everywhere you go at Bryce. And there are tourists everywhere you go, as well.
21-OCT-2006
Reflecting the past, Bodie State Historic Park, California, CA
The old hotel that stands on the main street of this ghost town draws visiting photographers to its windows in search of a vision of the past. Looking into these windows, one can make out an old pool table, a telephone switchboard, and hotel signage. From my own vantage point, these same windows reflect the main street of the town, its old houses almost buried in fields of golden sage. I photographed this tourist as he works on his own photograph. I see what he does not see – the surreal reflections of his surroundings have placed him squarely in the past.
12-JUL-2006
Tourist, Cruiser’s Café, Williams, Arizona, 2006
When I make a portrait of a tourist, I like to place them in the context of what they may be experiencing. I saw this woman waiting alone at a table in this café, which stands alongside of what once was historic Route 66. . Behind her is an enormous mural paying homage to the legendary automobiles that once passed this spot on their way from Chicago to California. I found a vantage point that incongruously made the huge red car seem about to crash into the subject. She looks dispassionately at me in the lower left corner of the frame, while the huge figures of two romantic Route 66 travelers embrace in the upper right corner of the frame. The oversized Chevy links both parties. The tourist does not seem to acknowledge where she is – something I find very common in my travels. She is relaxing, and now is not the time for her to even be conscious of Route 66 and its colorful history.
12-JUL-2006
Stampede on the “Mother Road,” Seligman, Arizona, 2006
Seligman, an hour or so west of Flagstaff, is another one of those old Route 66 towns that would have long died if not for the legend left by the Mother Road. Its handful of buildings has been converted to serve the tourist trade with a barrage of automotive nostalgia. Bus after bus of tourists from all over the world fill the town's main street and keep the memories of the past alive. This image may not be art, but it still communicates the nature of tourism as a business. Every inch of Seligman, which was by-passed fifty years ago by the Interstate, is now geared to provide trinkets and services to visitors. In order to survive, the town had to reinvent itself, and in the process it removed almost all traces of what people have come to see – an authentic forgotten town. The tourists apparently don’t mind. In a matter of moments they were buying souvenirs and t-shirts celebrating the long dead highway. This group is about to invade the famous Snow-Cap drive in.
24-MAR-2006
Understanding the past, Sanjusangen-do Temple, Kyoto, Japan, 2006
This huge 700 year-old temple, containing 1,001 life sized wooden statues of Buddha, is one of Japan’s greatest treasures. I photographed this young tourist as she was gathering information about this place. The light reflecting off the surface of the sign she is studying illuminates her face, symbolizing the knowledge she is absorbing. Knowledge is a human value, and I feel this image expresses it well. I also like the way the wind blows a strand of hair across her face – but she seems too absorbed to even notice it. We can express much about what we encounter in our travels simply by photographing the expressions and reactions of other tourists to what they may be seeing at the moment.
13-MAR-2006
Tour group, Temple of Heaven, Beijing, China, 2006
Wherever we travel, we find people traveling together in groups. Many of them are part of organized tours. They usually wear the same hats, or perhaps name badges or stickers.
They often are seen bunched around or following a tour leader who waves a brightly colored flag so stragglers can stay with the correct group. In this image we can see contrasts in response – some take in the sights they see with cool detachment, another finds great pleasure in the moment, while two others record the view with their cameras. Overhead the ubiquitous flag, its color matching the mandatory red hats. We can usually find various human values expressed, and often touches of incongruity as well, within any group of tourists.
05-SEP-2004
The Hiker, St. George Castle, Lisbon, Portugal, 2004
I was high on the ramparts of a medieval castle overlooking Lisbon. But instead of shooting out over city, I trained my lens on this park area within the castle, where a young man sat on the end of an ancient block of stone watching a trickle of tourists pass him by. The texture of the street itself was fascinating in itself, and I created a diagonal swath from corner to corner with the edge of the road echoing the flow of the big stone blocks along its side. I then framed the top of the picture in overhanging trees. I took a shot of the young man sitting by himself, but it failed say enough to me. And then I saw another young man, about the same age, and also wearing a blue shirt and carrying a large blue backpack, walking down the road. I shot just as the fellow on the bench turned his to watch him pass by. And at that moment the hiker seemed to slightly turn his head, as if to signal farewell. The story I am telling with this photograph rests as much with you as with me. Once again, I let my picture act as a catalyst for thought. Is the kid on the bench envious of the hiker? Or glad as hell that he’s not schlepping that huge thing on his back?
05-APR-2006
Boat 11, Li River Cruise, Guilin, China, 2006
Still another tour group, yet this one is far different from the group in the previous image. There is less regimentation, more people, more excitement, and far greater diversity in dress and attitude. This group is crowded together on the top deck of a riverboat, viewing some of the most spectacular scenery on earth – the towering jagged domes of limestone that line China’s Li River. You can sense its energy from this image. We make pictures such as this not as works of photographic art – there is no real sense of composition to this image. Its value as expression rests in its chaotic, random form. The jumbled image works to reinforce the act of 25 or 30 people all viewing the same thing, each in their own way. We may not see what they are seeing, but we can certainly feel what they must be feeling. People point, look, photograph, wonder, and even chat. By turning our cameras on groups behaving as groups, we can increase the variety of human values and incongruous relationships present in an image.
04-APR-2006
Hotel lobby, Guilin, China, 2006
The lobby is elegant, classically arranged in the Chinese style. The sleeper is incongruous in such a setting, which makes her all the more interesting. Who or what is she waiting for? Has she had a long, tiring flight, and is waiting for her room to be come available? Or is she tired from touring, and is meeting somebody at this hotel? A picture that asks questions of the viewer is doing its work as expression. Most travelers stay at hotels, and hotel lobbies are wonderful places to find expressive images involving tourism.
28-JUN-2004
Tour Guide, Chongqing, China, 2004
I made this portrait of the tour guide who accompanied us on the long journey from Chengdu to Chongqing while she waited patiently for stragglers to re-board our tour bus. I framed her within the bus door, capturing her dignity and poise in this image. Making this portrait was easier than most because she spoke fluent English and I had talked with her earlier about photography. She had some idea why I was making so many photographs of her. She knows that I am photographing her from inside the bus, yet she shows no signs of self-consciousness or embarrassment whatsoever. She has a job to do – she must make sure everyone last one of us gets back on this tour bus – and she is intent on doing that job well. Her concentration and patience, along with the context given the picture by the bus and the surrounding parking lot, validate her skill as a professional tour guide.
01-APR-2006
Bridge, Old Town, Lijiang, China, 2006
Lijiang's lively Old Town goes back to the Ming Dynasty. Ancient bridges span its network of swiftly running canals. The Old Town has been gentrified, and is now filled with restaurants and shops catering to droves of visiting Chinese tourists. I made this image while having dinner alongside of the canal. The heavy bridge traffic speaks of the Old Town’s popularity with tourists. The monument behind the bridge adds context – it says China. The hint of a water wheel at left adds a touch of incongruity, and echoes the arches of the bridge. Finally, the evening light creates both mood and atmosphere. All of which helps define why all those tourists are on this bridge.
(I owe a debt of thanks to pbase nature photographers Allister and Allie Benn in Lijiang. Allister and Allie drove me all over that city and its surrounding villages, and Allie was kind enough to coordinate all of my private travel arrangements in China. You can view Allister's dazzling images, and some of Allie's as well at their pbase website at
http://www.pbase.com/alibenn )