09-MAY-2011
Family photo ritual, Scottsdale Civic Center, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2011
Tourism and photography are inseparable. Visitors who seldom get to Scottsdale’s Civic Center will often act out the ritual of having their pictures taken while smiling in front of, on top of, and within the giant letters of the parks famous “Love”sculpture by Robert Indiana. These three tourists are apparently deciding how they want to look within the letters. I photographed them with a long lens from off to one side while a family member was making her own shot of them. I like the way the soft evening light plays on the brilliant red and blue letters, and the way each subject reacts to the camera in facial expression and body language from their respective nesting places.
27-DEC-2010
Pleasure at sea, aboard Seven Seas Mariner, off coast of Brazil, 2010
Cruises can be great for photography – the variety of subject matter is infinite. However when the schedule calls for a day at sea, photography is restricted to whatever we might find of visual interest onboard. Often parties and events featuring passengers themselves can work well as expression. In this case, I found three passengers enjoying the antics of other passengers participating in a seaborne “country fair.” While one of the passenger records the fun, the others explode in laughter, particularly the woman clasping her hands. While all three wear sunglasses, denying us a glimpse of eye expression, the faces and hands still manage to tell the story well.
28-DEC-2010
Interlude, Devil’s Island, French Guyana, 2010
I found these tourists enjoying the waters off the former French prison colony. It is a study in incongruity – the gathering appears quite serene, oblivious to the horrific past of this place. I layer this image, starting with the bright orange towel on the bench in the foreground. The horizontal thrust of the towel is repeated in the subsequent layers – a reclining man and his family arrayed horizontally along the shoreline in middleground, and a horizontal line of boats including yachts, a ferry, and a cruise ship in the background.
01-JAN-2011
Taking a rest, St. Barts, French West Indies, 2011
St. Bart’s harbor was crowded with yachts from all over the world on New Year’s Day, and this pair of tourists are taking them all in from a sedentary vantage point. I layer this image by photographing the tourists from behind, abstracting them in the process, and using them as my foreground anchor. The viewer sees the harbor from their vantage point – and what a harbor it is! The tourists seem to be an oasis of serenity amidst the clutter of luxurious yachts and sailboats that fill the middleground and background.
08-JUN-2010
Tourist train, Durango, Colorado, 2010
I framed these tourists within a window of an early morning steam train. Seen in profile, they stare straight ahead, their expressions passive. What should be a moment of anticipation, just minutes away from a steamy ride into the mountains of central Colorado, seems instead a chance to perhaps catch a quick nap before the three-hour journey begins. The stolid expressions are contrasted to vivid primary colors – the bright yellow railroad car and the man’s red hat.
23-MAY-2010
On history’s trail, Bannack, Montana, 2010
Guidebooks in hand, four tourists explore a bit of Montana’s past at the Bannack Ghost Town. A light snowfall has cloaked the old buildings in white, which adds considerable atmosphere to this image.
26-MAY-2010
At the portal, Old Faithful Inn, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2010
Using a 14mm wideangle lens, I photographed dozens of guests and tourists entering and leaving this historic inn. I tried to relate the people passing through the doorway with those reflected in the windows of the hotel. This was my favorite of the series – the child in the stroller is eating from a cup of ice cream, and reflected people appear in two of the three windows.
26-MAY-2010
Patience, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2010
This young tourist, strapped to his father’s back, is patiently waiting for his turn at the mint ice cream in the lobby of the Old Faithful Inn. He places a hand on his dad’s shoulder, as if to remind him that he was still there, and still hungry. His expression tells the story.
26-MAY-2010
Waiting for Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2010
Old Faithful, Yellowstone’s most famous geyser, erupts every 40 minutes or so. Permanent benches surround its perimeter, and are usually filled with tourists in the minutes prior to eruption. On this evening, however, a drizzle was falling, and a solitary child in a bright pink jacket gave us an incongruous audience of one. Old Faithful slowly gains its head of steam in the background and erupted a few moments after I made this image.
Getting the shot, Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009
I had just finished making a photograph out of one of Hagia Sofia’s thousand year-old windows. A young tourist had been watching me and immediately tried her own hand it with a point and shoot camera. The window was high and she was short, yet she managed to reach the sill. I made this image of her straining to frame her subject, probably one of Hagia Sofia’s minarets. The passion she brings to her photography is palpable. She really cares about making this picture and it shows. For her sake, I hope she got it. Photography has always been interwoven into the fabric of tourism. Some shoot to record what they see, while others shoot to reflect their feelings about what they are seeing. I am guessing she falls in the later category.
01-OCT-2009
The Lobby, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
The logistics of tourism can be daunting. This image offers metaphorical proof of that statement. I don’t know whether these people are coming or going – and that is why the image hits home. There is a sense of disorientation here. Bags are everywhere. Who belongs to them? A man stands over it all and bows his head as if in meditation. A woman holds a door open – is she waiting for him to make up his mind, or is she waiting for someone else? I wanted this image to ask such questions of the viewer. Travel can be fun. It can also be very stressful.
30-SEP-2009
Photo-op, Stanley Park, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
I found these tourists in Stanley Park making pictures of Vancouver’s Canada Place, just across the bay. I wanted them to symbolize all who come to photograph and remember this very special city, so I abstracted them as silhouettes and converted the image to a black and white photograph as a tribute to the early days of the medium itself. They are photographing memories, while I am photographing tourists doing what tourists usually come to do.
20-SEP-2009
Tour group, Montreal, Canada, 2009
Old Montreal, the city’s historic district, continually echoes to the tread of tour groups. I saw this group coming from some distance away, and quickly found an appropriate background – an old building now housing a photographic company. I liked the incongruity offered by the large incongruous photo posters on the building’s façade. As the people approached, I noticed that their guide was lecturing them as they walked. I made this image from just across the street, using a 135mm telephoto lens. I put my camera on burst shooting, and kept firing as they passed me. In this shot, the guide leads the way with two outstretched fingers. Meanwhile a large hand on the building wall incongruously points its own finger at the tour guide’s head. The people follow like sheep, leaving us to wonder if and how they will hear the story the guide is telling here.
26-JUL-2009
Charting a course, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 2009
Tourists spend a lot of time trying to figure out where they are, and where they might want to go. I found this woman seated in a hallway of a shopping plaza, with her purchase in her lap and her map in her hands. I waited until she raised the map towards her face, which abstracted her and asks the viewer to wonder how she may be reacting to what she is learning. I frame her with abstracted people on either side. The woman at left wriggles a toe upwards in her sandal – she may be anxious to get going. The man at right, however, seems completely relaxed.
24-JUN-2009
Checking out, Port Angeles, Washington, 2009
We’ve all been there – overwhelmed by our stuff. I caught photographer and friend Tim May deftly nudging his Baggalini (an amazing carry-on bag) into action while maneuvering at least six other bags, parcels, cases and a camera into position at check out time. Such is the lot of all those who dare to shop as they travel.
25-JUN-2009
Mime hug, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 2009
This mime entertains departing and arriving ferry passengers, hugging them as they pose for pictures. I photographed this ritual of tourism from a distance and off to one side, capturing the pleasure of a child and the artistry of the mime. The photo also makes us wonder how he knows when a picture is being taken of him? His glasses appear to be utterly opaque.
24-JUN-2009
Passing time, Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry, 2009
Tourists spend a lot of time in transit from one place to another. Such is the case here, on the hour and a half ferry ride between the US and Canada. I found a woman listening to her iPod with great concentration, shutting everything else in the world out except her music. Meanwhile, the folks just behind her have even shut themselves out – they appear to be sound asleep. I put them in soft focus, to intensify their dreamy state.
24-JUN-2009
Photographer at sea, Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry, 2009
Several hours after I had made my previous image of Tim May’s hectic checkout (
http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/114573965 ), I photographed him on the fantail of a ferryboat bound for Canada. He seems to be master of all he surveys here. The wake of the ship streams past him, pointing to the stormy State of Washington in the background. The flag provides a layer of primary color as it whips over his head. It is a touristic image that we can feel – the cold, wet wind cuts through us as well -- as the wideangle frame adds a touch of frigid grandeur to the scene. (And he doesn’t even use the hood on his jacket!)
18-MAR-2009
Corner of Wall and Broad Streets, New York City, New York, 2009
Standing on the steps of Federal Hall, I was able to use my high vantage point to stress the separation between a tourist who seems to bent on figuring out where he wants to go next, and the other bemused tourists who seem to be studying him from a safe distance. By separating themselves from him, the group at right might be implying that they might know something that he doesn’t.
20-MAR-2009
Shipboard, New York Harbor, New York City, New York, 2009
This group of tourists is randomly connected by where they happen to be standing as they sail to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The man at right watches me make this picture, the woman next to him tries to finish a snack, the man behind her stares stonily off into the distance, the fellow wearing glasses seems to be checking out his digital photographs, and the man at far left has apparently forgotten that he has a drink to finish. They are bonded by the space and journey they share, yet each of them passes the time in their own way.
05-NOV-2008
Jupiter, Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia, 2008
The Bardo is the most important museum in Tunis, offering one of the finest collections of Roman art in the world. One of its most impessive exhibits is a giant head of Jupiter, which once stood in the main temple at Dougga. I waited for a tour group to throng below its niche, and photographed it from across the room just as one of its members raised her camera in homage to Jupiter. They stand in awe of its size and its age – it dates from 161 AD, the year Marcus Aurelius became emperor of Rome. By filing this image with abstracted tourists, I contrast the ancient and modern worlds. Jupiter was one of Rome’s most important gods, and he still causes conversations to cease and cameras to rise.
13-NOV-2008
Italian “Berbers” on camelback, Douze, Tunisia, 2008
Throngs of tourists spend a half-hour of their lives in the Sahara Desert at Douze, riding camels. Some exercise the option of wearing Berber costumes as they plod over the sand dunes. This group happens to be from Italy. I photographed them coming over a rise, looking very much like a scene from a 1930s movie. For the moment anyway, these tourists are living a fantasy, and much of tourism is designed to do just that.
13-NOV-2008
Sunset on the Sahara, Douze, Tunisia, 2008
I abstract these camel-riding tourists as they head off into a Sahara sunset by backlighting them. In doing so, the scene becomes timeless, something out of a dream. A routine camel ride for tourists becomes, for the moment anyway, an scene of ancient beauty.
07-NOV-2008
Backache, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008
I traveled in Tunisia with my friend Tim May, a fellow pbase photographer. I found Tim resting his sore back outside of a tourist mall in Sousse. His discomfort is evident – for once his camera is at rest. I used a 24mm wideangle lens and aimed the camera at Tim, yet the security guard at right prominently remains within the wide frame as well. I don’t think he realizes that my picture is as much about him and it is about Tim, although he seems cautiously aware of my camera. He is upright, while Tim is not. He looks at me, while Tim does not. The resulting tensions enhance the emotional content of the image. Aches and pains are often part of the touristic experience. Such is the case here.
20-MAR-2008
View from the gallery, Amber Palace, Jaipur, India, 2008
Centuries ago, the women of the royal court would peer through this window to see who was coming and going at the palace. It was forbidden for them to be seen by men. Today, tourists look at other tourists from that same window. I found the body language of these tourists to be very typical -- some hang on every word their guide speaks. Others tend to look elsewhere. And some like myself prefer to spend their time making photographs.
26-MAR-2008
On tour, Fatehpur Sikri, India, 2008
The Emperor Akbar’s famous abandoned palace draws almost as many tourists as the Taj Mahal. I caught one tour getting both an eye and ear full from their guide while standing in the shade of one of its many doorways. I only show the hand of the guide, who seems to be answering a question from one of his tour members. I abstract them as silhouettes, and make them seem very small in comparison to the vast palace complex.
26-MAR-2008
Sunrise at the Taj, Agra, India, 2008
The Taj Mahal is India's premier tourist attraction. Thousands of camera bearing tourists converge on it at dawn to see its marble dome turn pink with the rising sun. For me, the tourists were as much the story as the building itself. Everyone wants to make the famous post card view, and then have a picture made of themselves standing in front of that view. This ritual is part of the lure of travel. Almost every traveler would want to see the Taj Mahal before they die, and commemorate that moment by making a picture of it. And this image commemorates that ritual.
26-MAR-2008
Chimping, Agra Fort, India, 2008
“Chimping” is a new term, describing the sound that digital photographers make when reviewing their images for the first time on their LCD screens. An “ooo, ooo, ooo” sound can be heard, a sound very much like that of a happy chimpanzee. This tourist is chimping silently in the chambers of Agra’s magnificent fort. She is using her precious time to look at photographs of the fort, instead of the real thing. But I can excuse her. I do it all the time myself. We all do. Comparing our pictures to our intentions on the spot is one of digital imaging’s greatest gifts. Even if we do miss a few moments of sightseeing.
21-DEC-2007
Exhaustion, The Citadel, Hue, Vietnam, 2007
There’s nothing like a cool wall and set of stairs when the temperature is pushing 90 degrees Fahrenheit with 80 per cent humidity. I made this image of a fellow tourist while visiting the vast Hue Citadel, Imperial City and Forbidden City. The photograph speaks for itself – any veteran tourist has been there.
10-JAN-2008
What elephant? Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2008
I thought I had taken my last picture of the trip. The camera was capped, and we about to take a cab to the airport, when suddenly an elephant appeared, like magic, on Phnom Penh’s riverside avenue. By the time I was ready to shoot, the elephant was well past me, but that’s where the picture was. I thought it would be incongruous just to show an elephant from behind walking down a city street. I made a picture and hoped for the best. When I looked at the image I was delighted to see that it was even more incongruous than I had hoped. There is a tourist grimly walking towards the elephant and apparently takes no notice of it. Does he see elephants on city streets every day? Or is so determined to get where he is going that he does not even see it? Whatever the answer may be, it is a doubly incongruous image. The image itself may not be a work of photographic art – there are many irrelevant details in it. But the incongruity is so strong that the image survives its aesthetic flaws and is worth including in this gallery about the tourist in all of us. Why was the elephant walking down the street in the first place? I asked our guide, and he said that some tourists enjoy having their picture taken on its back (for a price, of course) and that it is often paraded down this street in search of business! I am certain that this fellow is not a likely customer.
26-DEC-2007
Piglet hunt, Suoida, Vietnam, 2007
While visiting a village housing descendants of the Cham people, a member of our tour spotted a pair of baby pigs and was determined to get a picture of them. After a vigorous chase, the piglets finally gave in and allowed him his pleasure. I photographed him from behind as he bagged his quarry. I thought the scene was incongruous -- the scale difference was enormous, and while the man seems quite intent on his mission (he even bends at the knees to get a bit closer), the piglets seem to have lost interest in everything but searching for stray snacks.
08-SEP-2007
Confused, Shanghai, China, 2007
For those of us who do not speak or read any of the Chinese languages, independent travel in China can be difficult at best. In this image I contrast the conversational differences between locals and tourists on a Shanghai street corner. I photographed these people from the other side of the street, shooting intermittently as traffic permitted. The two Chinese women are at ease as they take chat over a fence. The seem as if they are in their own backyards, and pay no attention to the pair of confused tourists standing next to them, who seem to wondering where they are going next and trying to figure out how to get there. Their body language and costume clearly separate them from the Chinese women, even though they may stand inches apart. It came as no surprise that their gestures echoed each other. People will often subconsciously echo the body language of others.
13-SEP-2007
Painful pose, Pingyao, China, 2007
Pingyao draws many tourists to its ancient sites, most of them Chinese. Commercial photographers offer to take pictures of them wearing traditional headdresses or sitting in old rickshaws. I watched this tourist as she posed in a headdress – at first she was smiling, but as the session wore on, her expression changed. I don’t think she is having fun.
10-SEP-2007
In the Fuzi Miao, Nanjing, China, 2007
The enormous dragon is pure 21st century theatre, at the center of Nanjing’s busiest tourist area, the Fuzi Miao. A carnival atmosphere prevails over a labyrinth of squares filled with souvenir and antique shops and stalls selling food. This woman is taking a breather, incongruously ignoring the fury of the dragon just behind her.
29-DEC-2006
Lost, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
It is very easy to lose yourself in Marrakesh. The streets are usually not marked, and if they are, the signs are in Arabic. Maps are useless. Most of the smaller streets in its vast medina are not shown on them. These tourists may never find what they are looking for. But chances are they will find something else that is just as fascinating. I saw this scene as a stage set – the background is very characteristic of Marrakesh: old, in disrepair, and rich in color and texture. The tourists are playing their parts perfectly – I could not ask for more expressive body language. Although I was standing directly across the street from them, they never noticed me. They were totally engrossed in their own issues.
27-SEP-2006
Old Faithful, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2006
The most famous geyser at Yellowstone is Old Faithful. It adjoins its namesake, Old Faithful Inn, where hundreds of tourists gather every 90 minutes to watch a five-minute display of erupting steam and water. I made this picture from the second story observation terrace of the Inn, using a 320mm telephoto lens. I wanted to express the idea that tourists react differently to a geyser, even the most famous of them. I shot this picture when the geyser had been erupting for several minutes. It had a couple more minutes to run. Yet a fellow on the left end of the bench finds his reading more important that watching the geyser. And four people have actually turned away and are leaving the scene now that the geyser is showing signs of receding. Tourists are hard to please. And even a world famous attraction such as Old Faithful can’t hold the attention of everyone any longer.
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 )
07-APR-2006
Shoppers, Guilin, China, 2006
Shopping is another major tourist activity that provides fertile ground for photographic expression. While resting in the lobby of my hotel, I watched tourists returning home with their booty, and photographed this trio as they emerged from their van and entered the lobby. The back lighting abstracts their identity, and stresses their activity instead. The four red bags are stuffed with the pleasures of travel and magically become eight when viewed in reflection. I also like the incongruity in the body language of the woman, who helps the multi-tasking man manage the largest bag, while he holds a cell phone to his ear. The doorman turns away from the scene. He has seen all of this before and will see it again.
13-MAR-2006
Walking with shadows, Beijing, China, 2006
The morning sun casts long shadows in Old Beijing. This camera-toting tourist is getting a head start on a long day. I noticed how the low angle of the sun painted the wall with the shape of the surrounding trees and waited for a person to cast his or her shadow between them. This tourist entered my frame, and just as his shadow hit the sweet spot on the wall, he adjusted the cameras position on his shoulder. It is an incongruous image – he does not seem to be aware of the evocative power of his own shadow on the wall behind him. His body blocks our view of his camera, yet we clearly see it hanging in the air as a shadow. It is another example how a picture of a fellow tourist can offer us an expressive travel impression.
20-SEP-2005
Group Five arrives at the Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 2005
Thousands of cruise ship passengers are bussed every day from Athens’ port of Piraeus directly to the Acropolis, where they can view the ruins that have come to represent the political and cultural accomplishments of Greece. Here, Group Five from the Grand Voyager is about to begin its long climb to the top of the historic rocky butte that has towered over the city for 2,500 years. The tour guide is waiting for the word to move out while this cross-section of tourists reflects emotions ranging from indifference to patience to passivity – all human values.
14-MAR-2006
Exploring the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, 2006
An awestruck tourist wanders through the warren of courtyards that link the 800 buildings of Beijing's magnificent Forbidden City. I initially was attracted to the dynamic interplay of light, shadow and color on the walls and the details seen through the door of this courtyard. I had no idea that a tourist would intrude upon my preconception, nor that she would stop and look through the door with such intensity. I try to remain open to such accidents, however, and instinctively made this photograph. There is an important lesson in this experience. We should not allow our preconceptions keep us from making expressive images. I have spent a lifetime trying to find ways to get stray tourists out of my frame – and if I had blindly followed my plan to make a lovely image of this empty courtyard, I might have waited until she vanished. Instead, I took full advantage of what has been given to me here.
27-MAR-2006
Tourist cart, Taketomi Island, Japan, 2006
Taketomi is a short ferry ride from Ishigaki, the southernmost city in Japan. Cars are not allowed, so it remains fairly unspoiled. Visitors get around on these buffalo-drawn carts, rental bikes, or on foot. Some might argue that such carts as these are a commercial contrivance and not worth including in an evocative travel image. But to western eyes, at least, these carts are incongruous. To get hauled around by a buffalo is an event, just as it probably is for these Japanese tourists. I like the body language of the passenger in the first row at left. His hand tells us that he is relaxed. The detail is instructive as well – the small lion on the front of the roof is to ward off evil spirits. I can’t read Japanese, so I don’t know what the sign says, but I am sure it adds useful context for those who can. If not for tourism, such a cart would not exist. It accurately represents Taketomi Island to the world.
05-APR-2006
Riverboat, Li River, Guilin, China, 2006
Tour groups pack the upper decks of this riverboat as it threads its way down the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo, a breathtaking scenic journey. What makes this image expressive to me is the incongruous relationship of population density from deck to deck. The top deck is jammed with tourists – that’s where the best view is. The back deck holds just four people at this moment in time. The view may be less exciting for them, but some people prefer to look at what is behind them, rather than what lies ahead. On the bottom deck, which serves as the ship’s kitchen, a lone cook prepares lunch. Nobody on this ship can see all three decks at once. But we can. And therein lies the story here. I made this image from the front of the top deck another tourist riverboat – the situation was exactly the same.
05-APR-2006
Vendor at work, Li River, Guilin, China, 2006
These Li riverboat passengers are eating lunch and drinking beer while a young souvenir vendor, rising on the other side of their window, tries to entice interest in a trinket. But they pay no heed -- the Buddha on their lunch table suggests that they may have already exhausted their souvenir budget. There are several fascinating aspects to this image. How did this incongruous vendor magically appear outside the window of a moving riverboat? These daring young men glide into the river on narrow rafts, attach them to the sides of the moving boat just below a window, and proceed to hawk their wares silently. If tourists want to buy, they need just open the window. This image links two favorite tourist pastimes – eating and shopping. These tourists can, if they so choose, do both at the same time. But they aren’t buying anything, at least at this moment. We view a moment in suspended time that postpones such decisions. Lunch, after all, is at hand.
01-APR-2006
Reflected tourists, Old Town, Lijiang, China, 2006
By shooting this reflection of a crowd of tourists walking alongside of a canal, I was able to abstract them, suggesting their presence without actually describing their appearance. It is an image that asks the imaginations of those who see it to make of it whatever they wish. To me, this image represents the Old Town that existed long before tourism was established here. The waters are the same – only the visitors have changed. But the visitors can’t be seen – they are only implied. We see the canal as in a dream or fantasy. The reflections of the golden buildings shimmering in the water suggest permanence, while the reflections of the tourists, clad in monochromatic clothing, are transitory. By morning they will be gone, and Old Town will once again reclaim its identity