Matt Moyer & Amy Toensing | On Assignment Photography Workshops: Travel

Travel

Apr 09, 2012

National Geographic Expeditions GALAPAGOS

It is sometimes easy to forget how lucky we are.

I think this is true for most of us. We get caught up in the trials and minutia of daily life.

But it is essential to pursue those life moments that put it all in perspective; those transcendent experiences that wash clean the residue of the daily grind.

Years ago, when I was just starting to pursue photography and was dreaming of my first professional job, before I knew or even cared about contract negotiations, usage fees, or copyright infringement, I established a founding life principle.

The one with the most “bar stories” wins.

Life isn’t about accumulating toys. It isn’t about money, power or fame. It is about experiences. Breathtaking, thought provoking experiences. The kind you can reminisce about with friends around a kitchen table or at a local watering hole. That is, in part, what drew me to photography. It is a catalyst for engaging with the world, its people, creatures, and cultures.

It is this search for another “bar story” that landed me in a zodiac bobbing off the coast of the Galapagos weighed down by my baggage; the kind I had neither checked nor stowed on my flight from the States.

Moments later, as I rolled off the zodiac and into the sea, those wrongs, weighing me down moments before, began to dissolve into the salty swell.

By the time I was surrounded by six sea turtles munching on aquatic algae I had found one of those transcendent experiences I had been searching for. Nothing mattered but absorbing the beauty of those creatures and appreciating just how lucky a person could be.

Check out Amy's post and photos of the Galapagos here.

-Matt

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Posted at 01:24 PM in Matt Moyer, Photography, Travel | Permalink | Comments (6)

Galapagos by iPhone

When Matt and I traveled this year to the Galapagos as photography experts on a National Geographic travel expedition, I decided to play around with the Hipsta app on my iPhone.

When I am on assignment, I shoot with a Canon 5D, digital SLR camera, so it was fun to take a break from the weight and let go of making decisions about manual settings. With the Hipsta, I choose a “lens” and “film” and then the only thing left to control is the composition and when to hit the shutter, after that it’s time to let go.

Here’s a few of the images, shot on The John S lens with the Kodot XGrizzled film.