Today was one of those days that are memorable and just make you feel good to be alive and affirm your life’s convictions. Even though I “worked” today – on my birthday – I realized once again that my “work” has never really felt like work at all, but rather a gift.
Once again, because I am a storyteller and a visual communicator by profession and have the great fortune to have been able to make a living doing so, I had the privilege of spending the afternoon with a remarkable woman. Her name is Ronni Kahn, CEO (Chief Energy Officer as she would say) and founder of Oz Harvest, a food rescue program in Sydney, Australia. What Ronni does is quite simple – yet far reaching. She has set up an organization that picks up food from events, parties, affairs etc. that would have normally been thrown away, and sends it over to various charities that feed the needy.
But one of the many remarkable things that Ronni has done was to use her connections and passion to change the law so that people and organizations who were willing to give away their perishable and left over food, could do so without fear of being sued or liable in the process of doing a good deed. Ronni made it happen because she saw the big picture and overcame the obstacles in the way.
We spent the afternoon with Ronni, first touring around the lovely coastal areas of Sydney, then filming her inspirational interview and ended the afternoon at the beach. One thing stuck with me that Ronni said during the interview. She told me that many people tell her that they would love to get involved and do something along the lines that she has done but that it just wasn’t the right time in their lives and then proceed to give her a variety of reasons of why they can’t. And then she said “if you want to do something – you just need to do it”. You need to stop making excuses and live in the “now”.
As I write this blog entry, her words are kicking around in my head and I realize how grateful I am that I am living in the “now” and doing what I feel I need to do. And that is the best birthday gift of all – nothing can ever top that.
I hear an awful lot of people these days saying they are re-inventing themselves. I always take pause when I hear that because I think to myself that I don’t want to re-invent myself.
Gail in bamboo hut in hill tribe village, northern Thailand
I like who I am and what I do – so why change it? It doesn’t really matter to me if I’m in vogue or doing what everyone else is. What matters is that I’m true to myself.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not stuck in the 1970’s and wishing for the good old days. It’s just that I’ve always kind of done what moves me – what I just have to do. So in that sense I suppose one would say that I re-invent myself on a daily basis. But in fact I’ve always lived my life and pursued my career based on what that little voice or “inner self” is telling me to do.
Has that inner voice always been right? Many times when things don’t have the kind of outcome that I expected, I’d probably say that my inner voice led me astray. But in fact, the outcome was what it was meant to be – even though it wasn’t what I wanted. Things happen for a reason and things happen when they are meant to happen.
There have been times when I’m in such a hurry – in pursuit of my dream – that I don’t stop and realize that my dream is happening right then and there. On those days when I feel that I’m just a day away from where I want to be – I try to remind myself that maybe I’m already there.
In my 99-day journey around the world, I try to remind myself on a daily basis – not to look ahead to my next destination but to relish the one I’m in. A powerful thought and an even more powerful action.
So as I continue on following what that inner voice is telling me, I realize this is what I’m meant to do and this is the time that I’m meant to do it. I believe that and know that this is all happening for a reason. This is my path and where it will lead, I’m not certain. But I’ll follow along with faith and good judgment and never feel forced to re-invent myself.
It’s been only 5 months since I stood on top of a 10 foot frozen wave of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Seems like a lifetime ago. I couldn’t be further from that wave, both literally and figuratively speaking.
Lake Superior, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
As I stood on the crest of that frozen wave, in utter silence with no one in sight for miles, I reflected on the human spirit in this remote part of the world. The sun was setting and I was fearful of slipping into a crevice but yet drawn to the glow of the setting sun – feeling hopeful for the future.
I am in Jaipur, India right now with the temperatures nearing the 100 mark and the humidity level the same. But it seems hotter because everything here in India seems intensified on every level. I’ve been on the road for close to 2 months now and have traversed a variety of climates, cultures, joys and heartbreaks. It’s been easy, hard and everything in between.
In creating this documentary “Opening Our Eyes” I have challenged myself in every way I know how. Just shooting a documentary with an HDSLR system, on a slim budget and with a two-person crew is a feat in itself. But this documentary is taking us around the world and putting us in touch with the less fortunate of our planet. It’s humbling, heartbreaking, exhausting, yet somehow a boost to my inner spirit – that same spirit I wrote about back in February when isolated and alone on that 10 ft. frozen wave.
How I crave those frigid temperatures and the utter silence of tranquility. Space is a luxury in India with billions of people competing for it. Such an intriguing culture but one that is beyond demanding of all that a body and soul has to give. I draw on my inner strength and my people that came before me who taught me well about struggles and endurance as well as compassion for those who are less fortunate.
My eyes have been opened these past two months in so many ways and so I think unknowingly I chose the perfect title for this film. To experience and see the extremes of the human condition across the globe has broadened my perspective and put things into balance. What seemed so important just a few months ago, seems so trivial today.
And so it goes as I complete this journey in a few months time. Off to another climate and culture with my eyes opening wider as I go along.
Technically, I began working on my latest documentary, “Opening Our Eyes” about 7 months ago when the idea came to me. I had just seen Robert Frank’s show “The Americans” at the Met in New York City with a friend of mine and I commented to him that I was really yearning to get back to my beginnings and take a visual road trip.
Even though I had spent a lifetime traveling and shooting assignments for editorial and corporate clients, I never lost sight of my passion to explore with my camera.
Gail at Red Square, Moscow
In the beginning, my explorations were through the lens of my still camera but when I started shooting motion about ten years ago, my tool of choice became a video camera and with that came self assigned documentaries.
It had been two years since my last passion project “Freedom Riders” and I was itching to start another. My daughter had just graduated from college, I was an emptynester and pretty much free to do as I pleased. I had accumulated over 300,000 airline miles, thousands of hotel award points and another 300,000 plus American Express points. I didn’t know what I was saving them for but it seemed like a good time to use them. So, I made a decision to take a trip around the world. I felt like I still had the energy and stamina to take on such a journey but something was missing – I needed a purpose.
The Idea
I have always been interested in the “common man” as opposed to the celebrity and the simple story that resonates in a viral way. I’m intrigued by people who go up against all odds, to right a wrong or fight for a cause and never give up. I usually side with the underdogs and am inspired by the Cinderella stories. And so after that day at the Met, an idea was born and that was to shine a spotlight on 6 people on 6 different continents who were making a positive difference in the world because it was their calling to do so.
Of course coming up with an idea is the easy part and many times those great ideas seem to drift away with time as one gets caught up in daily work and life. But this idea wasn’t going away – I knew it was the right time for me to bring these stories to life. My goal was to create individual videos about each of these people that would combine together as a feature documentary. My hope was that the film would not only create awareness of my subjects’ efforts, but also motivate others to create change.
The Pre-Production and Facilitation
Next came the hard part – making it a reality and the first step was figuring out how I would fund it. After working on 2 other self-assigned passion projects, I knew one thing and that is that it’s really hard to sell an idea. When I was in the planning stages of The Delta Bluesmen, I spent a lot of time applying for grant money and seeking funds from a variety of sources to no avail. I finally got frustrated and decided to self fund the project even though it meant taking it a bit slower and doing more of the work myself. My critics thought I was crazy to tackle a short film by myself and self fund it but I stuck to it and created a piece I’m proud of and which has brought many rewards to my life. So with that experience behind me, I took another leap of faith on my latest project and started the planning process. But perhaps most importantly, I focused on the fact that the positive aspects of working on a self-funded project is that it would be the way I wanted it to be – not compromised for the wrong reasons.
My first order of business was to send out a query to everyone I knew as well as use social media to find my subjects. My first subject was a given – a local young woman my daughter went to high school with, Maggie Doyne,
Maggie and some of her children
who opted not to trek off to college after high school. Instead she wound up in Nepal and built a home for orphaned children. She’s 23 years old now, has 30 children in her home and is in the process of building a school. Then my daughter Erin, expressed interest in working on this project with me. She knew she’s need to leave quit her job, sublet her apartment and say goodbye to her boyfriend for 3 months – but she wanted to be part of it. And so we became a duo and with that the project really took off with her support and help.
Since the project was self-funded, I had to be extremely creative with the budget – or lack thereof. So after nailing down our subjects across the globe, we started to plan the logistics –airline tickets, hotel rooms, visas, vaccinations and of course equipment needs. From January to May, I spent countless hours booking reward tickets with 14 airlines for 29 flights – a round the world itinerary with extra local hops thrown in. I’ve arranged for 99 nights of accommodations, staying with friends, friend of friends, using reward points, paying for budget hotels and bartering for other rooms. I had to bite the bullet and pay large sums for our vaccinations and visas and budget for our meals. Most importantly, I needed to purchase new gear because my intent was to shoot this project with the HDSLR cameras. I knew I wanted to shoot stills and video and also knew that I had to travel lean and mean so this seemed like the best solution. You can read more about the gear here.
The Execution
We are about one third through the shoot and have worked on 3 continents. The scheduling has turned out to be brilliant – we work hard and exhaust ourselves for chunks of time – anywhere from a week to ten days and then have a few days to recoup, catch up on sleep, write in our blogs, or just sightsee and take some still snapshots along the way. We’ve had a couple mother/daughter disagreements but for the most part we are having the time of our life and seeing the world. At this point we sometimes forget which currency we are using or what the exchange rate is or what our room number is but in the process of creating a film, we have built a lifetime of memories.
We have also created an audience who tune into our project blog religiously and follow our journeyas we go along. But something remarkable is happening and that is evident in the comments we are getting. We are opening people’s eyes though our travels and our writings. We have connected our audience with our subjects and their endeavors and are building a global community. It has been truly inspirational meeting and working with our subjects and there are days that my heart is full to bursting and confirms my belief in this project.
Post-Production
When we return in September, my first priority will be to edit the videos that I promised in barter arrangements. And hopefully at the end of the month, I will begin the edit. It will most likely take me a month just to log and transcode the footage and sync the audio in the situations where it was captured independently. I’m confident in my editing abilities but I would love to work with a pro. So if there is a pro out there reading this who would love to get involved in a fabulous documentary – I’d love to hear from you.
Distribution
Not really thinking about this part right now other than to use social media and perhaps itunes and Amazon to distribute it. But I have faith in this project and something tells me that this will take on a life of its own. It’s a feel good story and we’ve already gotten a lot of support and interest.
At any rate it’s the trip of a lifetime and I’m taking it with my daughter so I’ve already been blessed.
I am about a third of the way through my 3-month round the world trip working on a personal project and documentary, Opening Our Eyes. I’m holding up pretty well – better than I thought actually. After all, it’s a whole lot different putting myself to this test this time, more than 35 years after my first adventure around the world. Besides being older, I’m carrying a lot more expensive photo and video gear with me and I have a job to do. Yes, it’s a personal project and not an assigned job, but for someone like me, I take it with the same commitment and responsibility that I would if I was shooting for a client. In fact, if anything I have a more vested interest and push myself harder. But I’m not alone, I’m traveling and working with my 23 year old daughter Erin
Erin wearing a GoPro Helmet Cam at Spice Bazaar in Istanbul
and having her along has made all the difference in the Without her, this project would have been much different and harder on me. Besides being attentive to the travel logistics with the multitude of flights we need to make, the hotels we need to arrange and find once we arrive at our destinations and coordinating our subjects all over the globe, we need to be constantly attentive to our security and safety. When traveling with photo equipment – and a lot of it – my daughter and I must be forever diligent and aware of our surroundings. I’m fortunate that my daughter is along for this trip because we watch each other’s backs, especially when shooting in bazaars or traveling on public transportation.
Many days I feel like I have two jobs to do – one being that of a creative and making sure I get the images and video that I need for our project and the other being that of a travel agent. Fortunately for me, I’ve been facilitating my own travel arrangements as long as I can remember and I’m good at it. I’ve also built up a kind of sixth sense and I’m streetwise which seems to keep us out of trouble and harm’s way. I sense danger and go the other direction.
We’ve managed to keep a balance of down time and project time, leaving a little room for error because not everything goes according to plan. Plus, travel does take its toll and some days we just need to give into our bodies telling us to take time out. When I’ve finished this sojourn, I could write a book – in fact I could probably write a couple of books – on travel – on passion projects or on shooting a documentary with HDSLR’s. Maybe I will after I get the postproduction done on this project. Or maybe I’ll just take a vacation – at home.
I’m sitting on the rooftop of my small hotel in Istanbul on a glorious morning. In front of me is the Blue Mosque,
Blue Mosque
behind me Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
and to the left the Bosphorus Strait. I’m feeling blessed that I can experience these sights in my lifetime and even more fortunate that I can see them with my daughter Erin.
From the rooftop of our hotel.
We are about 1/3 through our journey of circling the globe creating a documentary on people who are making a positive change in the world – Opening Our Eyes. Just like at home, I relish the quiet peace of the early mornings when I take time to reflect on what’s ahead in my day or write down the random thoughts that pulse through my mind. The mornings are my time and even in the hustle and bustle of moving from one destination to the next, I try to take this time for myself.
As I look across other rooftop gardens and watch as people start their day, I’m thinking about my first travels and how so different it was back in the early 1970’s to stay in touch with people back home. There was no Internet, nor cell phones and making a call required investing some time in a telephone exchange office until they placed your overseas call and directed you to a booth. Because it was so costly, you crossed your fingers that someone would be home or that you wouldn’t get a busy signal – no answering machines back then. And if you were so fortunate to connect , you made every word and minute count and talked rapidly. Every once in awhile I would get a letter from home that was either sent to the local American Express office or to General Post. It still amazes me that I got anything in the mail back then and somewhere in my boxes of memorabilia are those precious letters waiting to be discovered some rainy day.
Nowadays it seems that one is always connected. Even when I’ve been in somewhat remote spots without Wifi or wired connection, my global phone has worked and I’ve gotten emails. It’s great to be able to stay connected and with that comes a sense of security. But it’s also easy to be too connected and miss some of the nuances of the culture you are in. Like everything there is a fine balance.
Many people asked me how I was going to be able to keep in touch with clients when I was gone and wasn’t I worried that being away for a 3-month period would be detrimental to my business. I’m very fortunate that I have a partner and husband Tom who is holding down the fort while I’m gone – paying the bills, servicing our clients, marketing and everything else that goes into keeping a business alive in a struggling economy. I’m also taking full advantage of the time we live in and the ease of staying connected through emails and blogs. Not only am I able to stay in touch with clients, I am keeping them abreast of my project and building a larger audience and presence in the process.
It’s an amazing time we live in and having grown up when I did, I take none of this for granted. I’m going to sign off for now and take myself offline to connect with the place I’m in – the people, the culture, the landmarks – the sights, the smells and the sounds. Thanks for listening and more importantly for all your thoughts, comments, Facebook posts and emails and keeping me connected
I’ve traveled most of my life and I’m almost always with my camera. I’ve experienced the good and the bad and the difficulty and the ease when taking photographs on my travels. Some cultures are open to being photographed and some not. I’m not just talking about the rules and regulations concerning photographing landmarks and such, which has certainly changed since 911, but rather the receptiveness of the people in various countries.
It used to be that the people in “third world” destinations were leery of being photographed and superstitious. That has given way to more of an attitude of wanting money for every click of your shutter in their direction. But then there are some cultures that it’s a bit of a surprise how open the people are to being photographed.
Istanbul was certainly one destination where the people were quite accepting of photography. And surprisingly, Moscow is another city where I have found that photography is a lot less restrictive than I thought. Aside from some museums where cameras are not allowed, I have found that shooting on the streets of this city hasn’t been a problem at all. Quite different than I imagined and in fact a bit of a contrast to what I’ve experienced lately in my own country where I feel like I’m an intruder with my camera or worse, feeling like I’m breaking the law.
It’s a fine balance when arriving in a new destination and feeling out the situation as to what is or isn’t off limits to a camera. One needs to be observant and respectful and work into the culture gradually. When photographing people, I don’t go up and ask them if I can take their picture. It’s not because I’m trying to be sneaky, but rather I don’t want a posed moment and that’s exactly what happens if I ask permission first. However, after I’ve taken a few shots and a person has noticed me, I will then question with body language if it’s ok to take pictures. If they say no, I respect their wishes and move on.
I’m on a long extended shoot right now creating a documentary Opening Our Eyes with my daughter Erin. In our free time, we are doing a bit of sightseeing and photographing the landmarks and people of the destinations we are in. From time to time we want a picture of the two of us in a quintessential setting and we seek out just the right person to take our picture. We have discovered that picking the right person is an art in itself and quickly find out if our hunch in who we ask to take the picture proves right. We have acquired quite a collection of photos that people have taken of us from the terrible to the pretty good. It’s always funny to see other people’s eye and how they frame us in the shot.
We have another two months for our journey and it will be interesting to see the cultural differences with regards to photography. I hope that we won’t encounter the obstacles that seem to be popping up more and more in the US when it comes to taking pictures. I wonder – is the change in attitude because of security or is it because everyone has a camera these days with the ever-present cell phones and maybe people are just tired of being photographed.
In planning our itinerary for Opening Our Eyes, I needed to ticket a flight from Warsaw to Moscow. There was nothing direct – most European airlines went back to their hubs and thus took more time, going out of the way. I thought about the train, but I saw warnings about going through Riga and having to pay for high transit visas so I avoided it. I opted to fly Belavia Air, the national airlines of Belarus. Every flight went through Minsk (its hub), but at least that was going in the same direction. But little did I know what was awaiting us in Minsk.
We had a scheduled layover of 2 ½ hours in Minsk, which quickly dwindled to less than a half an hour because the flight was 2 hours late taking off from Warsaw. The problem was with baggage – they couldn’t match the baggage tags with the passenger roster so everyone needed to get off the plane – identify their bag on the tarmac and then reboard.
When we got to Minsk we were in a hurry, but we needed to pass through passport control. I thought since we were in transit, it would be like most transit flights and we’d whisk right through. But when the official asked us for our Belarus visa – we knew we had a problem. We quickly went upstairs to the visa window and were encountered by a stern blonde woman who looked like she was straight out of a 1960’s Cold War novel, who asked for our passports. When she saw the US passports she told us it would be $300 – I was shocked. And then when she informed us that was for each one of us – my shock turned to outrage.
I wasn’t traveling with that much cash so I needed to go to an ATM. Of course the ATM would not accept my card so we were ushered to a small currency exchange kiosk. It was closed and wasn’t going to reopen for another 40 minutes. And that’s when I started to panic a bit, knowing that our flight to Moscow would leave with our bags – but without us. Not something you want to have happen as we were due to arrive in Moscow after midnight. After waiting over 45 minutes she opened the kiosk and people started pushing their way to the window. I finally got my “usury” money and paid the “bandit” immigration authorities after an hour and a half of stress and agony.
The only saving grace was that the airline officials held the flight for us. My daughter was wondering why they didn’t have direct flights from Warsaw to Moscow since it would have taken less than 2 hours. I know why now – the routing is designed to hold anyone with a US passport hostage until they pay these exorbitant fees. No pleading or explaining that we were only in their country for 15 minutes would do any good. I have never seen such callous and rude people in all my years of traveling and I will never return to Belarus.
But I do hope someday that I will come upon a Belarusian visiting the United States. I will go out of my way to treat them with the kindness that we never received in their country and perhaps that will filter through. I can only hope.
I became a visual artist , not as a photographer, not as a filmmaker, but as a storyteller using images and later video to tell the tales of other cultures, lands and people through my eyes and my journeys. My camera was my tool – it was a means to an end. The end being the story that needed to be told.
I’ve spent the last 30 some years documenting the world through my lens, whether it be for magazines like the National Geographic Traveler, Smithsonian or Travel & Leisure or for major corporations. I’ve been blessed and have truly lived a charmed life. But there have been times when I’ve started to go off kilter – or stray from the essence of my being. It’s easy to do, especially in a culture that is obsessed with the drive to succeed – the definition of success being to make a lot of money and have a lot of “things”. Don’t get me wrong – I also enjoy the rewards that money brings – but for me that means having the resources that help me to live a full life.
A few years back I was shooting a documentary on the Delta Blues Musicians and I spent a memorable afternoon with blues drummer Sam Carr. As we were winding up our conversation under the shade of old tree he sat back and said “I’ve lived a rich man’s life in a poor man’s shoes”. That comment has stayed with me over time and when Sam died last year, I was told that his family was grateful for the interview that I captured that day and used his comment as his epitaph. I was humbled and honored, but mostly felt richly rewarded that my personal project had touched the lives of others.
As we wind up our first stop in Africa on our round-the-world trip, some of the fears and trepidations I had that came with taking a risk, and heading out to the unknown for 3 months, have vanished. In their place is the calming realization that this was what I needed to do at this point in my life and I was grateful I had the means to do it and the stamina to travel on a shoestring budget. Africa puts things into perspective – this vast continent is so wild, colorful, rich, poor, exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time. Africa has taken its hold on me and has sparked my true spirit.
My daughter and I decided to take some time to get out of the city and go to Murchison Falls National Park, after shooting the first part of our documentary about people making a positive difference in the world. We saw
Elephants along the Nile
elephants, hippos,
Hippo on the Nile
giraffes,
Giraffe, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
antelope, cape buffalo, baboons,
Baboon, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
slept in a tent and sat by a fire in the evenings under a canopy of stars that stretched from horizon to horizon. We chatted with people from countries all over the globe – all of us different yet with a common cause – the love of the journey.
Of course I shot still photos
Cape Buffalo, Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda
as well as some VIDEO but more importantly I absorbed this rich experience and it energized my spirit and my soul. This is the “fire” that I need every now and then. I think we all need a spark every once in awhile and to get past the science of the photographic craft and back to the essence of the art and the story. That is what ultimately leads us to create the kind of visuals that will resonate with others. That spark is different for all of us but nevertheless an essential ingredient for the creative process. It’s not the tools, nor the techniques that define the message or create the images that strike a lasting chord with those who see them. I was fortunate that I learned that years ago and now I’m reminded of those lessons as I get back to my beginnings.
We leave Africa today and continue our journey – next stop Istanbul, Turkey and then on to Poland where our next subject awaits.
The older one gets and the more settled one gets in their own ways, the more difficult it is to push oneself outside their own comfort zone. I know this full well, as I am now immersed in a project and a journey where I’m pushing myself every minute of my day and will be doing so for the next three months.
I’m in Uganda, Africa right now and every day I face several challenges. Everything from attending to my personal needs and safety, to negotiating taxi rides and reconfirming upcoming flights to making sure that I’m getting the content that I will need to create the documentary I’m working on, Opening Our Eyes. Little things become much harder and take a lot longer to deal with than if I were at home. And every minute it seems like I’m facing a new learning curve.
Last night, for some inexplicable reason I couldn’t get an internet connection with my laptop. Nothing had changed from the night before when I was online for a good 3 hours, yet all of a sudden – I couldn’t get online. Since I’m working with a digital workflow and totally dependent on a computer, I brought a backup laptop just in case. The “just in case” scenario has already come into play and that backup laptop has become my connection. A few weeks ago when I wrote the blog My DSLR Kit for My 3-Month Road Trip, I received numerous comments telling me that I was taking too much stuff. A part of me agreed but after only one week into this trip, I have used every piece of gear that I had packed. Call it paranoia or the voice of experience but I’m glad that I have the backup, regardless of the extra gear it necessitates.
Building a comfort zone happens gradually, where you set up your business and lifestyle and things click into place over time. But nothing ever stays the same in life and if you’re not proactive, before you know it you get in a rut – whether it be a creative rut or otherwise and when change happens – and it always does – your comfort zone disappears regardless if you were the one that made that a conscious decision or not.
I’ve always known when to “rock my own boat” – when I’ve become dangerously too complacent. I knew at this point in my life it was time that I really push myself outside my norm and as hard as it is at times, I’m confident it will bring great rewards my way. It already has.
Any time I leave the country, especially since I’m usually shooting when I do, I challenge myself on many levels. Yesterday, we were following one of our subjects through a crowded downtown area in Kampala as she went about her errands and searched for just the right fabric in various shops. It was chaotic and a test of nerves as we made our way through the crowded streets dodging vendors, scooters and buses. We were also testing our GoPro Hero helmet cam which was a lot of fun. It was hard enough to blend in being the only “mzungus” (whites) on the street, let alone wearing a camera on your forehead. But check out the VIDEO and see for yourself how it is to negotiate your way through the streets of Kampala. And that’s what I love about this little “adventure sports” camera – it makes the viewer feel like they are part of the action. You can also see what I mean when I say that I am pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
Journeys of a Hybrid 