All aboard!
A train station–it brings to mind going places, traveling or perhaps returning from close or far adventures.
Some people like to travel and some don’t. If you ask my wife she’d tell you I’m a homebody and recently she’s been right (sorry hun). But generally I enjoy traveling.
There are various thoughts on travel and it’s effects on each of us. Some say travel exposes us to different cultures, widens our experiences and perceptions and makes us better and more complete individuals.
Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends. – Maya Angelou
Not only does travel give us a new system of reckoning, it also brings to the fore unknown aspects of our own self. Our consciousness being broadened and enriched, we shall judge ourselves more correctly. – Ella Maillart
Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder, a part of experience. – Francis Bacon
Then others speak to the disadvantages of travel or perhaps more accurately the downside of unwise or excessive travel.
Everywhere is nowhere. When a person spends all his time in foreign travel, he ends by having many acquaintances, but no friends. – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls. – Anais Nin
It is not fit that every man should travel; it makes a wise man better, and a fool worse. – William Hazlitt
Travel and society polish one, but a rolling stone gathers no moss, and a little moss is a good thing on a man. – John Burroughs
Those of us who love photography are often motivated to travel for new photo opportunities, or at least to find photo opportunities where ever we travel.
To this point in my life I’ve travelled more then many but less then some, I hope to see much more before my time has come. I believe the benefits outweigh the dangers.
I have a whole list of places I’d love to see and photograph–how about you?
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Yes, I like to travel and working as a flight attendant allows me to do so. I do not get to spend much time at places where we overnight but I get to scout locations then make the trip. I will say that visiting the locations is far more enjoyable than the travel itself. I believe Cartier-Bresson wrote somewhere that he preferred not to travel by air as he wanted to experience the gradual changes in culture and terrain.
My list is long, but there are several places I want to just visit and experience and likely will leave the camera at home.
I love how the lines in your photo converge to the engine in the back ground. Great stuff!
I’m not sure… I’d like to see Cairo, but apart from this I feel fine for the moment… I have been travelling in the past, quite a bit in fact. I think I prefer calmer forms of travelling nowadays, train before airplane, and so on. This wouldn’t take me far outside Europe, and I’m basically fine with this, though I’d like to see more of your country too.
@Monte: I agree with you that the visit is often more fun then the actual travel. I use to love to travel by air but not anymore–the fun has gone out of that method of travel for me. If time allows I enjoy road trips, where I can stop whenever I want and set my own route and agenda. I’ve taken shorter rail journeys and would mind trying a longer one.
@Steve: Thanks. I understand your feelings. Sometimes the urge to capture the moment or best composition can sometimes come between the person and experience. I sometimes just make myself ignore the camera for a few quiet moments while I soak in the experience…then I grab it and shoot like crazy! ;-)
@Ove: Cairo would be on my list as well as New Zealand and Australia. I’d also like to see your country and others in Scandinavia. I’ve been to Europe a couple of times but have never had the privilege of visiting your area. Parts of Brazil and Argentina in South America would be good to visit as well. There are other areas but I believe they would be too dangerous at this time, especially for an American.
Due to physical limitations, I don’t get to travel much anymore, and sometimes I get a little blue about all the places that I will never see and some of the beautiful and exciting ones that I saw only once. I miss traveling now, although I am afraid that flying may never be fun again. But, I do still enjoy road trips in the old used RV we bought a few years ago, even if we travel only in a relatively small radius. It’s great making unscheduled stops and lingering in a place just because we happen to enjoy what we find.
The quotations are a wonderful addition to this post and I especially got a kick out William Hazlitt’s bit of wisdom. Like everyone else, I have known my share of well-traveled fools and wise men who never got much beyond their own back yards.
Terrific article, Earl.
@Anita: Thanks! If you believe, as I do, that travel is as much about a state of mind then distance and destination are not that important. Perhaps a trip down the road in the old RV can be as much fun as a flight to Europe–and a lot more comfortable. ;-)
I’d enjoy doing the RV thing.
When I was younger I thought I would hate RV travel, but after the back got wacky and the digestive system went south, I discovered the joys of moving down the road tortoise-liketaking your shelter and most of the comforts of home with you.
We have a great time, and we are long over-due for one of our jaunts. Fortunately, we both love exploring the southwest, so it isn’t such a big deal to us that we don’t get terribly far from home. If you enjoy travel and you are a bit of a homebody, an RV certainly could be the answer. :)
I just have to ask, what’s an RV? :)
@Ove: Sorry… a Recreational Vehicle (RV)…a motorized camper also sometimes called a motorhome.
Ah! Now I know two such abbreviations, SUV and RV. Good to know. Thanks, earl!