Chris Christensen has loved both traveling and photography
since he was a child. He recalls
road trips with his parents, pulling a fourteen-foot trailer behind the family
car, and exploring the national parks in the West. Those early adventures have paved a path that has kept
travel--and photography--an integral part of his life.
Chris started his popular podcast, The Amateur Traveler, in
the summer of 2005, and it has since grown into one of the most popular
podcasts online. Chris says, “The
Amateur Traveler audio podcast is about travel destinations. It helps you
decide where to go next. The show usually features an interview with a
destination expert or with a traveler who has been to the destination
recently.” Chris, a
self-proclaimed podcast junkie, really wanted to share his love of travel by
helping others discover new destinations and evaluate which locations would be
best for them based upon their family structure, schedules and interests.
While the Amateur Traveler podcast has quite a following,
Chris understands that sharing the many facets of exploration require imagery
and photographs to showcase the depth and unique benefits each location has to
offer. Chris’s site, http://amateurtraveler.com, contains a wealth of
information about different destinations and photographs of the many places he
has traveled. The site covers
various modes of travel including rail, bicycle, road trips, air travel and
more. Traveling on a budget,
traveling to Disney, traveling for extreme adventure--it’s all here.
Chris keeps his trusty Canon EOS Rebel t1i on hand along
with as many as three video cameras to document each trip. When asked what advice he would give to
travelers wanting to capture the beauty of a location, Chris offers, “When you
get to your destination, check out the postcards. You’ll be able to identify some popular areas and see how
they were photographed. This will
help you examine the location and maybe come at it from a different perspective.
Use it as guide to help you get started but spend some time in the location and
photograph what speaks to you, what stands out as interesting or captivating.”
Chris employs a number of strategies to fit his passion for
travel and photography around his full-time career. Tight budgeting of his time and bringing his son in as an
audio-editing expert for his podcasts are two successful strategies. Sometimes, unfortunately, there just
isn’t enough time to fit everything in and this means having to turn down
trips. “I turned down fee trips to
Jamaica, Hong Kong and a two week Alaskan cruise last year. It was not that I
didn’t want to go on these adventures, but just did not have the time.” Still, Chris fits in an
impressive number of trips in his schedule each year, often opting for longer
weekend travels with his wife. He
also keeps himself to strict deadlines, which helps him make the most of his
time. He quips, “Oh, and did I
mention it helps if you don’t need to sleep much?”
When asked about some of his favorite locations to
photograph, Chris offers up several options. “Antelope Canyon is a surreal environment where the force of
water has carved a narrow (in some places just wide enough to squeeze through)
slot canyon in the Navajo sandstone. The rock is left with the shape of rushing
water. When the light catches the many different shades of the red rock it
becomes a photographer's paradise.”
“For someone who loves history like I do, Egypt is a must
see destination. I don't even think I grasped how old Egypt was until I learned
that the first dynasty that built the pyramids fell to some unknown people who
had a new technological innovation… the wheel. Yes, the pyramids pre-date the
wheel.
Turkey has layer of civilization upon layer of civilization.
Istanbul, in particular, is a colorful and delicious city with its monuments
like Haigia Sophia, the walls of Theodosius and its Ottoman palaces.”
Chris also comments on the surprises one encounters when
one’s expectations aren’t met.
Sometimes it can be a wonderful thing. This was the case on a trip to Tanzania. “I expected the treat of seeing the
wildlife in Tanzania. Herds of zebras and wildebeests going off to the horizon
is not something that a zoo prepares you for. But I did not expect the joys of
meeting its people. I left with the belief that any three Tanzanians would sing
a melody in four-part harmony.
Greece lured me with its ancient agoras and even more
ancient Minoan ruins (the oldest European civilization). Then it wowed me with
cities clinging to the lip of a volcano on Santorini and the beautiful seaside
towns of Crete.”
You might expect that someone who travels so extensively to
have his system down pat and be prepared for anything. He admits an equipment
mishap can happen. “I have had a
time or two that I have shot for hours and then discovered my memory card was
back in my computer. It’s only funny in retrospect.” This confession makes the rest of us feel a bit better about
our own photographic foibles.
Chris’s approach to improving one’s travel photography
doesn’t include detailed technical descriptions, but instead, simply encourages
taking more photographs. “Take a
lot of pictures. You can only
develop your own eye with practice and experimentation.”
To learn more about Chris Christensen and the Amateur
Traveler, visit http://amateurtraveler.com.
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