Dear Reader,
It was somewhere around day 34 on my voyage aboard the Oceanographic Research Vessel Gyre that a spark of interest in photography was struck within me. Armed with a simple Kodak point and shoot, I attempted to photograph fishing villages nestled upon the banks of the Congo River near Soyo, Angola. Dissatisfied with my initial results, I searched the ship's laboratory for something with a tad more horespower--a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS. I zoomed in, focused, and began to click away at a woman fetching a bucket of water, gracefully placing it on her head, and strolling home. I was suddenly hit with a delightful epiphany; I had captured a glimpse of humanity that few would ever witness.
It is this very premise that compelled me to purchase this very model of Canon (and eventually multiple Nikons) to harness bits of humanity and the beauty of the world to share with others. A photo may be worth a thousands words, but the chord that it strikes with a viewer is easily worth thousands more. I genuinely hope that you will enjoy and be touched by these snippets of my daily life and travels to over 26 different countries and live vicariously through them!
Humbly,
Michael Gaskins
