Central Europe & New Zealand.
Storyteller: Allen Fong, Australia
What were the reasons for your travels? What compelled you to share your travels in a photo book?
A celebration to mark 30 years of marriage and continued desire to see more of the world. A photo book allows one to compartmentalize the significant or fondest memories in a structured manner and re-live and rejoice those past events.
What advice do you have for fellow travelers?
Be prepared to wait for Nature putting on a show. There’s almost an element of luck with the weather and which were fortunate to have on our side for almost all of our trip.
What is your favorite image in the book and why?
Seeing the Matterhorn and stunning surrounding alps and glaciers on a remarkably clear day is like winning the lottery. We were both radiating joy at the sight.
What is your favorite story behind a single shot in the book?
The start of a day trip to Lake Bled was very ordinary. Looking at the weather which was grey skies and cloudy I was resigned to seeing the lake as just another nice spot to try see what the fuss was about. We hiked to the hills overlooking the lake to get a view I’d seen posted by others. As we neared the top of the hill I started noticing a gradual shift to blue over some area of the lake from the slowly dissipating clouds, so we decided to try our luck and wait out the clearing of the skies. And it was so worth it! As the clouds withdrew, the surface of the lake mirrored the intense blue of the sky and we were awestruck by an incredible fairy tale scene in front of us. Finally it made sense. Lake Bled in all its glory. After that we continued our walk around the lake which provided more amazing views. We now have a large framed print of the lake mounted against a wall specially painted in a complementary blue.
What inspires you to take photos?
There is much beauty and spectacle in nature and amongst humans which we can only fleetingly capture with our own eyes.
What do photos mean to you?
Moments in time when the essence of what you see or feel compels it to be preserved since life is a collection of the strongest memories.
