About jmitchell
"Keep door closed or all the dark will leak out" read the sign on the entry to my
grandfather's darkroom in his basement. The times I spent with my grandfather, an avid
amateur photographer, are some of my fondest childhood memories. I can recall staring in
amazement as out of nowhere 'magically' a photograph slowly materialized as paper was
submerged in a tray of chemicals. Into view a picture of a silhouetted rhino with
Kilimanjaro looming in the background would form and was hung up to dry. He would tell me
about the places he had visited and we would look together through his collection of
National Geographic magazines he had bound in brown bindings. Even from that early age, I
constantly was dreaming of someday visiting for myself the far away places of the world
that he had seen.
I would say I am far from being a professional photographer when it comes to technical
settings or editing software, but I do very much enjoy composing and searching for a photo
that will capture the experience, especially for my family and friends who likely will
never personally visit the places I do. Whether sitting precariously on the edge of a cliff
for the perfect shot, clinging to an underwater ledge to get a macro photo of a tiny
shrimp, taking 50 to 100 photos of the same wildlife till the animal decides to finally
move to the best position, or waiting for hours on a crowded street in a slum for the right
moment are a weekly if not daily occurence in my life as of late.
My motto is I'm down for whatever... whenever! Life is an adventure, especially mine! I
have high goals, and no matter what, I work hard to succeed in everything I set out to do.
I plan to see the whole world or as much as possible. I currently am traveling around the
world for an undetermined amount of time. Thousands of miles, a near death experience,
hundreds of people met from all walks of life, treking through a wide array of ecosystems,
5 cameras and over 50,000 photographs, the last 12 months of this trip have been the best
time of my life.
I love to experience new cultures and see how other people live -- their customs,
traditions, and what is important in their lives. I'm into all kinds of outdoor activities
-- boating, kayaking, hiking, mountain climbing, SCUBA diving and most importantly
capturing the people, places and experiences with my camera. I'm never bored; I live my
life to the fullest and I want to experience everything the world has to offer. I'm not
about touristy stuff -- I like to see what is real from remote nature to the heart of the
worst ghetto and everything in between; castles to slums, luxury to poverty, any country on
earth or any culture, under the surface of all the oceans to the summits of the highest
mountains. I'd probably roll the dice and risk everything to live my dreams, lose it all
and risk it all over again. I've been shot at, stranded in the jungle, avoided avalanches,
survived 3.5 hours floating in the ocean after a shipwreck and yet I still crave more
adventure. I've slept on benches, couches, beaches, behind buildings or not at all while
meeting some of the coolest people from all over the world and I'm just getting started ..
the world awaits!
