Analog Forever Magazine is pleased to showcase 30 images in this month’s online exhibition, entitled “I Used To Travel,” curated by independent curator, photographer, and Director of Photolucida, Laura Moya! The selected photographs are more than just stand-alone images of travel but retellings of specific moments from our intrepid past. Collectively, they share the longing and desire to experience the world as we are all confined.

Laura Moya had this to say:

“Jurying the submissions for this call-for-entries was simply a troika of: strong image + strong narrative + feeling of transport to a travel experience. I was seeking to travel vicariously through the experiences of others through the power of image and words combined. Travel has served to spark creative fuel for photographers and writers for generations (I am currently reading Henry Miller’s The Colossus of Maroussi and inadvertently insert photographic visuals that I wish existed) and when shared with others hopefully serves as an inspiration to keep one’s view of the world large by exploring the details.

Thank you to the photographers in this exhibit who did just that! I was reminded during this time of staying stationary that these places still existed: Cuba, Morocco, India, Iceland, Italy, Bolivia, Egypt, Japan, Ghana. Places in the United States now also sound exotic: Death Valley, Yellowstone, even Mt. Hood National Forest. I met monks, farmers, tangerine peddlers, and tropical fish. I was reminded of the heavier side of travel absorbing images of large-scale volcanic fires and the quiet space of a long-ago deserted concentration camp. The added element of the use of analog photography was wonderful – hopefully, people can recall the feeling of a heavy camera hanging from one’s shoulder or making room for equipment in a backpack, having to work that much harder to get an image. It is my hope that this exhibit serves as a springboard to people thinking about the world opening up again and the possibilities that exist.”

JURORS SPECIAL SELECTION

GALLERY 

Artist: Matt Miller | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Writing to you from Olallie Lake, a small "resort" nestled within Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon's beautiful Cascade Range. We rented a rustic cabin - no electricity or water but the wood-burning stove and scenic view more than makeup for it. We've met a lot of Pacific Crest Trail thru-hikers as they stop to gather supplies at the little store just past our cabin - many writing postcards to friends and family just like us. It may be a while before we can travel again, but we can't wait! Will send a postcard when the time comes.

Artist: Barbara Rae Coleman | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Evocation. An all-day ride, on an old French school bus from Tangier to Fes. The dusty desert air billows, a radio blasts microtonal music. The center of the Fes el Bali, our lodging, an old pension, five dollars a night. The Medina is a 540-acre labyrinth with narrow streets and ornamented entryways. Donkeys carry bundles of ancient, scratched Coca-Cola bottles, still in use. A ninth-century wall has the perfect patina. Two men in djellaba and keffiyeh, have oranges and garlic for sale. The harsh light, intense, perfect for Kodachrome. A young boy enters the frame, a blurry counterpoint.

Artist: Alia El Sewedy | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Roaming around my childhood summer place in Egypt, I was always intrigued by it’s simple, minimal and wholesome architecture. Gouna has always emitted this sense of warmth and tranquility in me. I always feel at home whenever I’m there. I decided to take my Olympus and walk around the resort town to capture that feeling. While walking around, I couldn’t help but notice an abandoned train in the middle of town. Something drew me to that train and I ended up capturing a completely different feeling. The train was old, rusty and deserted yet somehow, I was waiting for it to depart, waiting for its passengers, waiting for the last call.

Artist: Joseph Ptacek | Link: Website
Narrative:

In March of 2019, I hiked parts of the Nakasendo Trail, an ancient highway that winds its way through preserved villages and across mountain passes between Nagoya and Tokyo, Japan. In days gone by it was travelled by Samurai warriors, pilgrims and wandering poets. The famous haiku poet Matsuo Basho came this way in 1687. I came across this empty neighborhood in Tsumago and thought of Basho's poem about longing for his friend. I understand the disappointment that inspired this haiku:

You weren't home when I came.
Even the plum blossoms
were in another yard.

Artist: Jon Feinstein | Link: Website
Narrative:

This was one of the first photos in a now-defunct series called "Small Signs" which looked for and responded to ominous signs in the natural and man-made world. I made this on a 6-week post-college road trip with one of my best friends, stopping at the obvious sites and attractions. Looking back on this image as I approach middle-age, in the midst of quarantine and work-parent life, I can't help being a bit nostalgic.

Artist: Tarmo Rätsep | Link: Website
Narrative:

In 2017 my friend and I went to Iceland. It was planned as a photo trip. We rented a camper van and for one and half weeks we drove around the island. It was raining mostly and it was impossible to take pictures with my DSLR camera because the lens gathered raindrops very quickly. I had with me my panoramic pinhole camera and some rolls of film. So I took pictures with it. Here is one of my favorite shots from this trip. It is Gullfoss Waterfall. There you can get wet, even when it is not raining.

Artist: Ann Kendellen | Link: Website
Narrative:

We needed adventure, something to steer us from recent memories of medical trauma, fears, stress. A friend suggested Bolivia, a place unknown to us and a hemisphere away. We traveled on the Altiplano with a gregarious local guide, gleaning what we could with our limited Spanish. On one remarkable day Freddy stopped to show us Geiser Sol de Mañana. Standing at 16,000 feet, we stared at a collection of spewing mud pots, boiling lava, and steaming geysers. Photographs were made slowly, cautiously, nervously. Unforgettable.

Artist: Anne-Mette Kelter | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Ghanian Mornings were shot in January 2019 in the early morning along the Ghanian coast close to the historic city Elimina. I traveled in Ghana for 10 days to photograph and this morning was extraordinarily beautiful. Having my breakfast on the beach, I sat watching the local fishing boats come in with the day's fresh catch. When they were close to the shore, local men and women helped drag the boats in. The sight was so beautiful and I shall never forget this stunning morning. So tranquil, so meaningful, such a precious memory.

Artist: Herr Benini | Link: Website
Narrative:

Three years ago we were vanlifing through Morocco with our old Mercedes van and our daughter Raja (at that time 1-year-old). We traveled in a caravan of other friends and families which we met shortly before in Portugal. After some time together along the Moroccan coast and the mountains of the Atlas, we split from the group to continue until the desert, where we enjoyed the big calm and the amazing light.

Artist: Mike Beard | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Three decades ago, during a school trip to Berlin, we visited a concentration camp called Sachsenhausen. This photo captures our somber and reflective mood as we were walking away from what was truly a formative experience for me. Mankind is capable of doing so much good, and yet also so much evil. I think that every person should seek similarly eye-opening experiences, which often can be facilitated by travel. We can only hope that we continue to learn from history, and about other cultures until atrocities become a thing of the past.

Artist: Cable Hoover | Link: Website
Narrative:

I first met my mentor in the doorway of a rented apartment in Old San Juan. I had studied the old man’s work since I was a teenager when I stumbled on one of his books by chance. The book became instantly precious to me and carried it everywhere I went for twenty years. Now, I had come to the island just to find him, to attempt to rub off some of the magic. He answered the door wearing old swim trunks and a threadbare tourist t-shirt, a half-finished joint pinched awkwardly in the center of his mouth. He immediately ushered me away from the apartment, said it was a mess. We strolled together down the cobbled streets and out along the battlements of the fortress of San Felipe. I was eager to impress him and I chatted nervously. He saw through me easily and he chuckled. “It’s funny,” he said, “you can be a hero to a complete stranger but the people that really know you, they think you’re a bum.”

Artist: Dimitra Papageorgiou | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Last summer, I went to the Greek Island of Kefalonia, where I lived as a student, ten years ago, for 4 years. So I decided to grab my analog, vintage Zenit camera with a 35 mm color film, and go to a beach that people cover with mud for soft skin and care, as I heard. Xi beach is definitely one of the most famous beaches in Kefalonia characterized by its white rocky hills that surround the beach and the reddish-brown sand. It is a long drive from Argostoli about 40 km and 10 km from Lixouri. The beach took its name from the cove that has the shape of the letter X. At the time I arrived, the beach was empty, and only one family was there covered already with that mud and playing with the sand. So I asked them to take a family photo. I remember the laughing and the free feeling of joy. I missed that.

Artist: Pablo Fanque’s Fair | Link: Website
Narrative:

When the lockdown came to the end, I was finally able to come to Moscow. There were many people on Red Square under snowfall. It seemed that they were always there and were crossing the square in a continuous stream. In this picture you can see random people who are not posing but walking their own path, disappearing into the snowy haze. They seemed to me like faceless souls crossing Styx. They carry eternal identities, as well as identities of today: the girl who enters the frame has a medical mask on her face – as a new symbol of our era.

Artist: Dan Fenstermacher | Link: Website
Narrative:

I woke up early to photograph the morning alms (Sai Bat) of the monks in Luang Prabang before sunrise. They collect donations of food from locals along the main street in town. After sunrise, I visited a few temples. These three monks were on a break and I got to chatting to them about their cat and their life as a monk. We shared a great moment and I took two portraits of them, this image being one of them. I liked the shallow depth of field focusing on the monk in the background who is not looking directly at me.

Artist: Kotryna Saje | Link: Website
Narrative:

In 2018 I took my old Zenit camera with me and went solo travelling to Greece. At that time I have decided that I need to get back to photography after a long break. While walking through the market in Athens, a man waved and invited me to come closer to his stand. There he took out this huge Helios lens for the Zenit camera and without hesitation I bought it. I have attached the lens and went up the hill to watch the sunset. The sky and weather was magical. That is when I took this mystical photo.

Artist: Harvey Castro| Links: Website | Instagram
Narrative:

In August 2017, I traveled to the town of Viñales, Cuba. One rule I had set for myself on this trip was to focus only on candid street photos. I was carrying my Hasselblad 500 CM loaded with Portra 400. Within a couple of hours of getting to Viñales, I broke my rule when I met this beautiful Guajiro (farmer) standing at the bus stop. His skin weathered from the sun, holding a traditional hand-rolled cigar and wearing his straw hat. I've gone back to Viñales twice since then, but I haven't run into him again.

Artist: Yuliana Paranko | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Coral reefs and fish are attractions for tourists. And it is truly amazing underwater life with its colors and rules. It was the second time in my adult life when we went on vacation with my mother and the second time for both of us to the Red Sea in Egypt. I wonder how underwater inhabitants look at people who are guests in their waters. I was surprised how close to me fish were swimming and how curious we were about each other.

Artist: Danielle M Dean | Link: Website
Narrative:

I lived in Italy for four months when I was twenty years old and always carried my 35mm film camera with me. At the end of my time there, I created a small book of hand-printed silver gelatin prints. This image of the Pantheon in Rome with its oculus open to the sky is still one of my favorites. This building, with its lessons on light and time, continues to inform my work.

Artist: L. Andrés Esteban | Link: Website
Narrative:

Iceland is a truly amazing place. As a Spaniard, I tend to think natural phenomena like volcanoes are disasters and cataclysms that make you flee in a hurry. But Icelandic people see it differently. So here's an Icelandic family having a picnic at an active eruption. I think it relates to the theme because it's the kind of picture that would automatically make me want to travel if another photographer had taken it, and immensely glad that it was me who was able (priviledged?) to go there to capture this moment with this very special film that makes it a bit otherworldly and from another, maybe happier, more travel-friendly time.

Artist: Lieh Sugai | Link: Website
Narrative:

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first visited Morocco but the impact was immediate and overwhelming: the sounds, the scenery, the aromas, and the faces were dizzying, magical, and fleeting. Suddenly I understood why this part of the world is called Al-Maghreb, or The Place of Sunsets. From the charming coastal town of Essauira to the majestic and tranquil Sahara Desert, each stop in my journey had a flavor of its own and a people as distinct as the terrain who called it home. Encountering these people, their strength, and purity is what makes me return time and again. 

Artist: Raquel de MundoKela | Link: Website
Narrative:

I have always thought that traveling is a beautiful thing and this image reminds me of that feeling. Traveling into the unknown to the incredible places the world has to show. This image was taken from the second car on the Salt Road in the Dallol Desert. I didn't know what I would see ahead, but I had such an impressive view of the "nothingness" that I couldn't avoid but photograph the car in front of me in the "nothingness".

Artist: Christopher Schuette | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

My girlfriend and I were hiking on the so-called “path of gods“ on the Amalfi Coast in 2019. Right before the end of the hike, I saw this old car and obviously had to take a photo. Every time I look at this photo it makes me miss traveling so much… Italy is such a beautiful place and I wish I could go back there soon.

Artist: Philip Rothenberg | Link: Website
Narrative:

I must start by saying that my most favorite photographer and who I try to emulate the most is Henri Carter-Bresson. In November of 2014, I was in Rome, Italy, and had no idea that there was a retrospective exhibit of Henri Cartier-Bresson's work at the Ara Pacis Museum. It was an enjoyable discovery. As I was leaving the museum I looked up, and by the sign, I saw an older gentleman above me standing on a balcony taking photographs. It was like a shock. For to me, in my imagination, for a second, it looked like Henri Carter-Bresson standing there. I took his photo. It was a decisive moment.

Artist: Kyna Marie | Link: Website
Narrative:

This was the last photograph I shot with my film camera in March 2020. I had planned a vacation with two of my best friends for my 32nd birthday. I kept a close watch on the news during this time, which caused a lot of anxiety over traveling. The sun was about to set in Death Valley, so we ran up this hill to shoot one roll of film before navigating our way out of the desert. I scanned all the film from my trip during the first month of lockdown, and this became my favorite photograph.

Artist: Elena Serikova | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

This was my first trip around the biggest country in the world — Russia. I decided to explore the Altai Republic. Many people say this region has beautiful nature and stunning places to visit. I’ve visited Blue lakes where the water has turquoise color, Swan lake (there’re lots of swans swimming in the lake and literally shouting at each other) and there were lots of mountains. Can you imagine: you’re driving a car and there’re majestic mountains covered with snow around you. Just unbelievable. There’re lots of small houses surrounded by mountains in the Altai Republic. This place is definitely worth visiting.

Artist: Michael Caputo | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

I am a firefighter on the Big Island of Hawaii. When the most recent volcanic eruption occurred, I spent a lot of time working in the area checking escape routes, taking air quality readings, and assisting residents if needed. The lava flowed from the main fissure continuously at a rate of 26,000 gallons a second. I always have a camera on me and this was no time to forget one. My PPE had a Nikon F3 and Olympus XA shoved into the pockets and I wound up shooting many rolls of Velvia and 400TX throughout the event. The eruption is over but it destroyed many roads I used to travel, like this one; it leads to a neighborhood and surf break now covered by the river of lava seen in the photograph.

Artist: Valerie Kruglova | Link: Instagram
Narrative:

Two years ago, my friends and I got into a car and drove to the south of Russia to the Caucasus Mountains to the highest point in Russia, Mount Elbrus. I remember the warm morning breeze in the valley as I leaned out the window to take this photo. And endless fields of white snow when we reached the foothills.

Artist: Ethan H.W. Johnson | Link: Website
Narrative:

In 2019 I spent fourteen days in Israel on an Israeli government-funded birthright trip. The first evening we were in the country, we were given red string bracelets and asked not to remove them, but to let them fall off on their own. Mine lasted for five months. In the second week of the trip, we hiked several miles upstream from the dead sea to a natural swimming hole in a stream that contained so much iron it tasted like blood.

Artist: Dora Kontha | Link: Website
Narrative:

This was one of the last hikes I did before the corona lockdown and it was probably the most memorable one as well. After an extremely windy night when I woke up all the time worrying that our tent will be blown away, finally the morning came. After a short drive, we arrived and I was beyond excited to be able to explore an active volcano and I was completely mesmerized by all the colors, the distinct smell, and the otherwordly landscape.

Artist: Kristy Headley | Link: Website
Narrative:

I traveled to India years ago with friends, and visited Agra – yes, a tourist site – but a must for a couple members of our crew. It was beautiful. At the palace, I was taken by the architecture, so I stepped back to photograph the light and shadows when a young boy ran across the way to his father. I checked with them to see if this was ok – yes, of course, with so much courtesy. I offered to share it with them, and they declined. At the time, I hadn't noticed the pair in the lower right.

About the Curator

Laura Moya is the Director of Photolucida, in Portland, Oregon. She organizes Photolucida’s biennial Portfolio Reviews event, Portland Photo Month, and overseas Photolucida’s Critical Mass programming - managing scholarships, residency awards, project grants, and the TOP 50 group exhibition. She has juried for Critical Mass, Blue Sky Gallery’s Northwest Drawers, Newspace Center for Photography, Photo District News, United Photo Industries/The Fence and PhotoPlace Gallery. She enjoys writing blurbs and introductions for photobooks.

Laura co-curated an independent project, The Early Works Project, which was shown at Newspace Center for Photography, Rayko Photo Center, the Center for Fine Art Photography, and the Photographic Resource Center, as well as The Elevated Selfie: Beyond the Bathroom Mirror, which exhibited at LightBox Photographic Gallery and the Griffin Museum of Photography. She has participated in Reviews events including the National Society for Photographic Education and LensCulture in Paris, and participated in talks and panels at international festivals such as Pingyao International Photo Festival and GuatePhoto Festival. Most recently she curated photography + science for the Yixian International Photography Festival, and Hypermedia in Critical Mass for the Lishui International Photography Festival in China.

Connect with Laura on her Website and on Instagram!