Wow, that title seems kind of pretentious, but as I look back at the 7 blog posts that fit the criteria of the “My 7 Links Project” from Tripbase, the title seems to fit. :D Thank you to Kirsten Alana Larsson for nominating me for this project! Kirsten and I will be in Innsbruck at the end of August attending the #TBUIBK Travel Bloggers Unite conference, where we will be sharing some of our photography skills with the other bloggers on the city tours.

After I share my 7 posts with you, I’ll be nominating some other bloggers to take part in the My 7 Links Project.

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My Most Beautiful Post

This one is one of the more difficult of the 7 links to choose. The term beautiful is so subjective. As the saying goes… “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, so here is my take.

Snowy rooftops | The view from the top of the Cathedral in Florence, Italy

This post was perhaps the one that made me reflect the most, and was definitely one of the more personal stories I’ve shared on my blog. Looking back a this moment in my travels, I’m reminded of why I began this travel photography journey, who inspired me to follow my dream and why I’m not giving up.

I’m also reminded of the way people are so often at their best when they are on the road and willing to share special moments with complete strangers. The people that I have met on my travels have continued to inspire me to continue exploring the world. Thanks to the kind people I meet on my trips, my travels have become journeys.

The amazing scenes that I get to photograph are visually stunning in their beauty, and the people that I meet are beautifully inspirational. This is why I chose my Snowy Rooftops post as my most beautiful.

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My Most Popular Post

Petra – Jordan’s Incredible Historic World Wonder

This was an easy selection. My post on Petra has had nearly 50,000 views in four weeks, that in itself makes it the most popular post by far. I wanted to share some information about this amazing place with my readers and as I was writing, I just kept adding more photos and more info. The Petra post snowballed into this giant post that really went over well and is still getting hundreds or thousands of views a day.

I’ll have a lot more cool images and blog posts about Jordan in the upcoming weeks, stay tuned!

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My Most Controversial Post

The Love Affair with Train Travel is Over

I’m not one to write too many controversial post on my blog and this is the one post that I felt I had to write about a horrible experience in Italy & France.

I’m not sure how many so called controversial posts I will end up writing here on my blog, but I do want to write a few posts that may strike a nerve with some people. What I won’t do is write something just for the shock value, in order to get web traffic and boost my stats like some people do. Most of travel to me is rather magical, and I feel so fortunate to be able to be doing this type of photography, so it would seem a touch ungrateful to write too many posts where I bitch about trivial stuff.

I do have one hell of a post in me about the douchebag security guards with Napoleon complexes that I seem to encounter everywhere I go… Oh yes, that will be a good one ;)

My Most Helpful Post

I would like to think that I’m helping a lot of photographers and people who use photography, with my ongoing series on Photography and Copyright.

© COPYRIGHT – Part 1: Photography, Copyright, and the Law

© COPYRIGHT – Part 2: Photography Copyright Information

These posts were meant to be a resource for photographers who were looking for information on how to protect their images online. As I was doing my research, I decided that I could not fit all the information I was accumulating in one post, and the idea of a series on the subject of copyright in photography dawned on me. I will be continuing with part 3 very soon. With the third installment I hope to provide even more clarity on the subject, along with a great solution for photographers who are looking to register their copyright and protect themselves legally.

Obviously this is a subject close to my heart, as I derive my livelihood from my photography. As such, I feel it to be my responsibility to try to help educate people about the intricacies of copyright law and how it applies to different people in different situations. I hope that you find the information useful.

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A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

The Haunting Beauty of Savannah at Night

I loved the Historic District of Savannah and was happy to see that the the people at Visit Savannah liked this photo enough to post it on their Facebook page and Tweet about it. I was a bit surprised to see how many people “liked” this page on Facebook. To date it’s 232 “likes” and counting.

It took some time to get this shot with no cars going through the frame. I had to take a series of exposures up to 30 seconds long in order to achieve this look, and each time I’d start again another car or truck would inevitably drive by. It was getting a bit frustrating but in the end, well worth the wait.

One day I’d like to revisit Savannah and Charleston when the flowers are all in bloom. That would make for some amazing contrasts to the spooky look I was able to obtain with the night photos I took in January. Both those cities had a special feel for me and i know that I’ll be back one day to continue photographing these unique and historic places.

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A Post I Feel Didn’t get the Attention it Deserved

Oil Refinery, Montreal East, Quebec, Canada

Perhaps this one was a bit preachy, or had a rather dull title, but whatever the reason, I would have liked this post to get more attention.

The post was not really about the oil refinery, but rather about the environment, our beautiful planet and how we can do our part to help preserve that beauty. I listed and described many of my favourite documentaries about the oil crisis, the commercialization of fresh water, our addiction to “stuff”, and one of the best and most beautiful documentaries ever filmed called Home.

Maybe now this page will get a bit more attention and hopefully some of you reading this will also be inspired to watch the 4 great documentaries that I listed in this post.

Travelling has opened up my eyes to a lot of beautiful places in the world, and I’d like to think that these places will be preserved for generations to come. With some luck and a lot of hard work, millions more people in the future will get the chance to see and experience in person, what I have been able to capture with my camera.

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The Post that I am Most Proud Of

My National Geographic Cover Photo – Notre Dame de Paris

Last but not least, the post that I am most proud of is the one where I announced that my photograph of Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris, was chosen to be on the cover of National Geographic magazine. This is quite an honour for a photographer and I’m still pinching myself. This cover truly has been the highlight of my career, and I’m incredibly grateful and proud of this achievement.

This could have been titled the photo that I almost didn’t take, since I almost had to convince myself to take this shot when I was there. It was just before Christmas and the church was packed with tourists, so I had no real chance to take any nice interior images. Just after entering Notre Dame, I tried to set up my tripod and was immediately stopped by security. Since there were so many people there, it was rather difficult to set up a tripod without being a hazard, so while I was disappointed, I did understand why I could not use the tripod.

After walking around a while inside the cathedral, I left to try and get a shot of the exterior facade. Much to my dismay, I was confronted with a lop sided giant Christmas tree directly in front of the church. To make matters worse, the base of the tree was quite ugly and would not have made for a great shot, and to top it off there were hundreds of people surrounding the front of the church.

Sometimes a shot is just not possible, or at least the shot that you thought that you wanted is not possible. That doesn’t mean that the shot you were supposed to take is not possible. Not that I believe in fate or anything like that, but this shot that landed on the cover of National Geographic would not have happened if I had been successful in my attempts at those other photos that I was trying to get.

I’m reminded of a great quote about sculpture:

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
~Michelangelo Buonarroti

I feel like the photograph was there all along, it just needed me to set it free. I still don’t know why I took it. I remember being rather grumpy about the other failed attempts, but I convinced myself to take just one more shot. After all I was there and who knows when I’d get another chance to get a shot of this beautiful church. Needless to say, I now take quite a few photos that I otherwise would not have. Who knows what other pleasant surprises lie ahead of me for those photos that I almost didn’t take? :D

Nominations

So many travel bloggers have participated in this project and I think it’s time to include some of my favourite photo bloggers to the mix:

Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs

David duChemin of the Pixelated Image

Colby Brown of Colby Brown Photography

Enjoy more travel photos and stories: