Beyond the Guidebook with Jennifer Spelman

I'm convinced there is no better travel companion than your camera. It doesn't complain about the weather, request extra bathroom breaks, or try to control the armrest.

It merely requests a quiet conversation with you. Its gentle inquiry, “Just how deeply you can engage with this new experience?” It reminds you to look beyond the guidebook description of a place, insisting that you form a viewpoint and articulate it thoughtfully.

I recently had the experience of traveling, along with Santa Fe Workshops Board of Advisor Fredric Roberts, to India to teach 20 local kids. The students became travelers of sorts in their own country, exploring rural Rajasthan, using the camera as a means to engage in a new way with their surroundings.

The next time you find yourself passionately exploring a new place, with camera in hand, take a moment and celebrate the power of a machine that allows you to see beyond the guidebook.

See beyond the guidebook with Jennifer Spelman, Renie Haiduk and Eddie Soloway’s
Africa PhotoAdventure
May 13 - May 24, 2011

Visit Jennifer’s blog photocoleslaw.com to see what she's up to.

This video of the Sanjhi-produced Fredric Roberts Photography Workshop 2011 represents the photographic vision of 20 students in India. They were given 6 days of instruction on vision, photography, storytelling and the environment.