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Soon I will embark on my 7 month trans-African expedition. I will first begin by traveling to Iceland to photograph the beautiful landscapes and geothermal activity. Then I will make my way to Morocco where I will meander overland through 14 western African countries, across the Sahara Desert, through jungles, and down one lane dirt roads that take an entire day to travel 10 miles. The trip will conclude in the beautiful coastal town of Cape Town, South Africa.
Like every adventure I go on, the closer the approach of the departure of this trip the more excited and giddy I become. Though for the first time, I have to admit, I am slightly more nervous about this trip. The length of this trip, the list of dangers, the political instability of these countries keeps me up at night daydreaming about how much I don't know about where I will be going and trying to think of what it will be like.
This trip has been a year in the making both planning and saving up for it. People keep asking about my motivation for this trip. Well, it came from my eastern African trip back in 08 when I was stood at the border crossing between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, unable to cross and was intimidated by how many border guards with AK 47's stood guard. It looked like we were entering a military base. There was this sense that crossing over and heading down the dirty road disappearing into the dense jungle was taking us into a whole new experience and higher level of adventure. It immediately grabbed my curiosity like some kid with matches and gasoline. Western Africa is full of rare wildlife, beautiful cultures, amazing landscapes, and is about as raw a place left on earth.
Spontaneity brings excitement to my travels. I usually have a game plan to keep things organized but I never want to know that much about where I'm going. I love being surprised by the thrill of discovering something for the first time.
Like any photographer I strive to share parts of the world that are rarely seen by most travelers. For the first time I am going to include a blog so people can follow along with my daily challenges and experiences. It will be clearly obvious that writing isn't my forte, so I apologize before hand for my lack of grammar and spelling. These posts will be raw emotions from my trip, which will probably included lots of profanity and stories that most might find offensive, so I apologize for that as well. My writing is like my stories I tell around the campfire, I am very passionate about certain things in life. I'm easily stimulated by small things such as sunsets and thunderstorms. The more I travel the more depressed I get about how fast the world is changing and I want to experience it before mankind steam rolls it for personal gain.
I invite you to follow along with my adventure. I want to touch that adventurous side in everyone. Get you to get out and create your own amazing experiences. Life is like an unwritten book, where each day you get to write by choice how the story unfolds.
Someone asked me recently that I was crazy for doing this trip, that is was "crazy dangerous." I told them, well then you should follow along on my blog because it should make for some serious entertainment.
"Unless your living life on the edge, you’re taking up too much room." -Unknown.
If you would like to contribute to my trip please visit my photography website.
