As a photographer abroad working under a professional photographer and exposed to multiple other photographers from a renowned travel photographer to the then coordinator of photography and film for the Institute of Shipboard Education, also known as Semester at Sea, I had the opportunity an incredible fortune to learn from some of the best. Which is something I would never have been exposed to if I had remained in my hometown if I hadn’t jumped headlong into my entirely quick adventure plan.
This excursion abroad was roughly three and half months traveling to fourteen foreign countries on four different continents, sailing through the center of the world—latitude and longitude 0,0— and over 25,000 nautical miles at the age of twenty-one. It was one of the crazier opportunities of my life and one of the best. I often recall telling others it was my most significant semester in college, though realistically it was one of the most significant events of my life thus far.
Nothing compares to learning to become a photographer than seeing the world while you’re doing it. The access to incredible minds, beautiful views, and other cultures and learning all the photography rules and regulations of travel in foreign countries, made the trip beyond worth the expense and the student loans I incurred.
Patrick is a brilliant editorial photographer; he had these travel strobe lights which was gear I wasn’t familiar with. He pushed me to observe his process, compositions, lighting, and subjects without a camera— oftentimes while holding the light trying to achieve the effect he was after. He taught me in minutes new and faster editing tricks with Photoshop that I use to this day, bulk editing— a concept and time savior that I had no experience with until he took the time to show me. He taught me to slow down and take my time, to sit with my subjects, take to them and make them familiar with me before bringing the camera into play. The effect was magical, more natural images, and would I have learned it in time? Absolutely, but having someone with experience break it down got me there faster than figuring it out on my own.
Mike, Semester at Sea’s photographer coordinator, was a wealth of support and creation goals. Nothing was as thrilling to me as having him tell me what a great photo I had taken and seeing how all the work we did over the semester came together to be used by the institute. It was amazing to be a part of an organization’s content creation and today I yearn to find that atmosphere and feeling again.
I was enthralled by Paul Liebhart’s photographic work and beyond excited to sit, chat, and dine with him. His travel photography was just inspiring; his use of light and connection to others was wowing. He was a wealth of encouragement to me both on and off the ship. Even as the semester came to a close, he gave me the means to contact him. He continued to offer me advice as I returned home and started my regular photography work again. To have access to someone with much experience, who is willing to share their knowledge is one of the biggest inspirations and influences in my own photography career.
As the semester was coming to a close, I offered a photo shoot with me for our last country of call, Dominica, in the silent fundraising auction. Dominica is a gorgeous Caribbean Island nation that I had no familiarity with whatsoever prior to our arrival, so it was set to be an on-the-fly shoot. My model and I happened to run into Paul, who waste lunch in a cafe, as we were heading out to explore and shoot. I remember him asking what we were up to, encouraging us to have fun and to seek the unexpected.
The shoot in Dominica was a success, actually beyond so for me; those were some of the best portraits I had taken to date. Partly because of the beauty of the country, the model’s natural talent, and a lot because of the tips I had picked up from these amazingly talented photographers who encouraged us budding photographers. Rather than holding onto their skills and acquired knowledge, they were willing to teach us and help us grow which makes all the difference and is rare among many photographers today.
