My day-to-day job requires me to travel a lot. I beat my own record by visiting forty-six countries in 2010. I used my large format camera in only two of them, in one I used medium format. This does not alter the fact that all of my travels have been teaching me respect and understanding for other cultures as well as helping me perceive colour and uniqueness in the world that surrounds us. Nevertheless, my heart always wants to return to the mountains and the deserts. Their majestic beauty fascinates me and I also discover that beauty in the smaller detail once I am able to reflect on it. I usually wish to record such majesty straight away. Typically though, I am able to visualise the desired effect only on a second or a subsequent visit. It is after many returns, however, that I truly discover the detail, as it tends to hide well away from first glances. I have been very lucky to visit the Colorado Plateau thirty-eight times, and each time I find something new that I had not seen before. I find it interesting that photographs of the detail tend to succeed on a first attempt, perhaps because of the number of prior visits to their location. If only I could, I would like to bring my large format camera everywhere more than once.
Karolina Vyšata interviewed me in October 2010 for a photo book that accompanies the (Be)Longing exhibition, which she has curated. This was her original question, which I have answered above:
Travel is your other passion. How do you select places and objects that you want to record on film? When you see something for the first time do you instantly know “This is it!”? Are there, perhaps, places that you visit many times, returning and photographing them again?
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