Images published in Himal Magazine

The Nepali magazine Himal ran two of my images in print and on the web in a story on trekking to Khopara Ridge in the Myagdi District of Nepal. Now I know that शैली बस्नेत is Nepali for Andris Bjornson, as listed in the photo credits.

Roll Your Own Peace Corps

"Whether it’s the trekking guide who shares a closet-sized apartment with his sister, the homestay host who can’t scrape together the cash to repair her leaky roof, or the bright-eyed children who study in a thatched-roof schoolhouse, people in developing regions bring you face-to-face with the massive gaps in standards of living.

Confronting this economic divide can generate powerful emotions ranging from shock to shame to outright anger at the state of the world.

Point these emotions in a constructive direction, though, and you may find yourself planning your next big trip around finding a way to help."

I've been quiet for a few months now, but the whole 'packing up everything I own and moving to Nepal' thing has kept me busy. Here's a piece I just did for MatadorChange.com on planning your own volunteer experience by getting in touch with local NGOs in developing countries that need the skills you already have.

Enjoy!

Another KPAM Radio Interview: Exploring Malaysia

Pat Boyle at the Azumano Travel Show on KPAM 860 in Portland interviewed me again, this time it was a broad overview of exploring Malaysia. Check out the audio below:



It seems like every time I talk to them, we end up talking about leaches. I'm really not that fixated, they just keep coming up...I swear.

Images on the UNA-USA Media Blog

A few select pictures from my June trip to Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina with Adopt-A-Minefield are up on the UNA-USA Media Blog along with some audio I recorded of a demining metal detector in action.

Hopefully more images to come from this trip soon. I've almost completed work on a slideshow telling the story of the tight bond between demining dogs and their handlers.

Landmines are bad, people...really bad. Visit landmines.org to learn more and donate.

Cambodian Dirtbiking: Another interview with KPAM

Apparently the guys at KPAM in Portland liked my first interview on Borneo trekking enough to ask me back to do another, this time on my Cambodian dirtbike trip to Preah Vihear.



Incidentally, Preah Vihear has been in the media spotlight lately. On June 8 it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and Thailand wants in on the tourism dollars. The Thai government is disputing Cambodia's claims to the temple, and hundreds of Thai and Cambodian troops have been in a standoff on the temple grounds for the past week.

Hopefully the standoff won't turn violent, but it sounds like tensions are high. Now might not be the best time for a visit.

Giving Back to your Subjects

(photo by Thomas Holton)

"As traveling photographers, we are often in the unfortunate position of taking from subjects less fortunate than ourselves without giving anything back. On an ideological level, I like to believe that a great image comes from a collaboration between photographer and subject. However, we capture images, show them off to friends and relatives, promote ourselves professionally, and maybe even sell prints. For the barefoot pilgrim, the hungry child, and the lonely grandmother with the tattered shawl though, life continues unchanged."

Here's a short article I did for Collective Lens on the one-way "take but don't give" relationship that sometimes exists between photographers and their subjects, and what one photographer did to help when the subjects of his long term documentary peice narrowly escaped disaster.

Andris Bjornson on the KPAM Portland Travel Show

A producer for an AM radio travel show up in Portland came across my Matador piece on Borneo trekking, and contacted me for an interview. People have always told me I had a good voice for radio...you be the judge!