My name’s Emma, I’m 26 and currently live in Washington DC. I was a senior in high school the first time I used my passport and stepped off a plane in Zambia. We flew through a rainbow right before landing, and walked down the runway in the clouds - I fell so hard for travel right then and there. For me it wasn’t just a travel bug, it was a lifestyle and a mindset I grabbed onto and have yet to let go of. Traveling for me was initially about stepping outside of my comfort zone. And then at some point it actually became my comfort zone. Traveling isn’t just about being in a new and different faraway place – it’s sometimes what it takes to remember the little and most basic things I forget to do when stuck in the complacencies of everyday routine. I’m happiest in motion, bare feet, dirty hands, counting coins, carrying my weight, dealing cards and playing charades.
Read MoreAWARD WINNING PHOTOGRAPHY WITH CAM COPE
My name is Cam Cope; I’m a 29-year-old Australian travel journalist and photographer. I regularly contribute travel features to a range of print and online publications, present on travel photography philosophy and in 2015 I’ll be kicking off a brand new series of photo-workshops that I’m really excited about. When I’m not sailing in Patagonia, riding horses with nomads in Mongolia, lurching on the back of a truck in the Bolivian Andes, deep sea fishing in Samoa, hitch-hiking in the Canadian arctic, island hopping in Indonesia, scaling volcano craters in Vanuatu or out bush exploring Australian Aboriginal culture, I can usually be found at home base in the most livable city in the world (if you believe the Economist): Melbourne.
Read MoreA MISSIONARY'S TALE BY NICK SWANEPOEL
My name is Nick Swanepoel and I was born in Kenya. My mother came from England after the war and my father came from South Africa. My first travel experience was when my dad and I drove down from Kenya to South Africa in 1961; I was just 12 at the time! The nine-day trip took us through Tanzania, Northern Rhodesia (Zambia today), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and finally South Africa. At one point while crossing the Serengeti in Tanzania at about midnight, an eland jumped into the road and we hit it with our Land Rover, bending one light that shone on the trees instead of the road! I am really not a great adventurer, yet I have experienced the most incredible adventures.
Read MoreNAMIBIA BY SCOTT JACKSON
My name is Scott Jackson, I'm 30 years old and work as a Respiratory Therapist living in Metro Atlanta. Although photography has always been a form of art that I admired, it wasn't until I started traveling overseas that I began to practice photography more seriously. Only haven used higher end point-and-shoot’s, I began to learn how to get creative with my shots. I can say now that I am entering the Full-Frame CMOS world with a whole new desire to capture my travel experiences around the world. I think the one thing that interests me the most about traveling is the unexpected. I'm more of an extrovert by nature, so unpredictability doesn't frighten me. The idea of traveling to places unknown to meet new people with whom I can have new experiences with is thrilling.
Read MoreGHANA BY STEPHANIE AFRIFA
My name is Stephanie Afrifa. I’m 26, and a Ghanaian and Surinamese girl born and raised in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands. Though I studied Fashion & Branding at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, Fashion Masters at ArTEZ and Comparative Arts and Cultural Studies, I’m currently working as an independent curator and community organizer. I also work as a (plus size) model and am in the running to become the first Miss Black Hair NL. By traveling I’m able to explore other parts of the world: explore foods and herbs that make my body work how I feel it’s supposed to work, and explore ways of living and mindsets that make me feel whole. By traveling, I become exposed to the insights of other people’s lives and thought patterns, which inspires and enriches my perspective on life.
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