Around the World in Eighty Photos is more than just a photography book; it’s a visual adventure that takes readers across the globe to view the often-overlooked corners of the world through the lens of an experienced traveler. What inspired you to create this pictorial travel book?

My previous book, On to Plan C: A Return to Travel, which documented my return to travel after the pandemic, was the first to include my photography. I really enjoyed the experience of putting it together, even though it required editing both the text and photos. For this book, I knew I wanted to include photography again, but this time make the photos the focus.

There are many books out there showing you photos of famous places around the world, but I wanted to steer the reader toward lesser known locations and give them some insight into how each photo was created—what caught my eye, what challenges I faced, how I dealt with less than ideal lighting in some situations, and so on.

I also wanted to include background information on each location for those less interested in the photography. For those interested, I disclose the settings I used for each photo along with a glossary of photographic terms at the end. So, it can be used as a guide to lesser known locations and/or as a guide to creating better travel photos.

What photo in this collection do you feel has the best “story” surrounding it? 

The photo created inside Iglesia El Rosario in San Salvador, El Salvador. From the outside, the church looks like a concrete bunker. In fact, I wasn’t sure it was not abandoned and walked past it without much thought while exploring the area. When our local guide started eventually heading toward it, I was a little unsure of why he was taking my wife and I there.

Turns out, its nondescript concrete exterior conceals an arched roof that sheds a rainbow of natural light that spreads across the altar and bounces off the metal and rock inside. Designed by sculptor Ruben Martinez and completed in 1971, Iglesia El Rosario is radically beautiful and one of the finest churches I have ever visited.

As I don’t travel with a tripod, and it being a church with occasional visitors, made this a very challenging photo to create. I chose settings I felt would let in a good amount of light and used a shutter speed that wouldn’t cause blur being handheld. Situations like this I tend to hold my breath for steadiness and hope for the best.

What advice do you have for aspiring travel photographers?

Study the fundamentals and know your camera well so that you don’t have to hesitate when changing a setting. I have my camera setup so that I can change things like aperture or the type of focusing very quickly. Things can happen fast while on the road and you don’t want to miss them while fiddling around trying to change something.

I’m also a big believer in previsualization. This allows me to determine the lens and general settings before I even start to take photos. For instance, if a situation calls for street photography, then I’m going to use a lens in the 35mm to 50mm range with an aperture around f/8 to keep everything in focus and a minimum shutter speed of 1/250 to of a second to stop motion. This was, I can concentrate more on composition and less on adjusting settings.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from Around the World in Eighty Photos?

There are so many more places in the world than the handful that always seem to be promoted. Yes, Venice is a stunning location filled with canals, but so is Bruges in Belgium or Wuzhen in China. The world is full of surprises. For instance, the Salt Cathedral of Zipaquirá is a remarkable underground cathedral built within the tunnels of a salt mine just north of Bogotá. I hope this book inspires readers to seek out such places and take more inspired photos while there.

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