New Contributor: Travel Photographer Ben Cooke

This week on AMW, we’ve got ultimate vagabond and travel photographer Ben Cooke, sharing a few of his (very real) experiences traveling and living on the cusp of poverty in India. This talented gent has recently returned from a 10-year stint backpacking the world. Yes that’s right – 10 years of flip-flops, hostels and passport stamps!

In 2006, Ben finished an Engineering degree and promptly bailed on western society to experience the giant global wonderland that is Earth. For an entire decade Ben floated from country to country, from odd job to odder job with some freelance photography gigs in between. He’s certainly a character with many stories to tell, so stay tuned.

In his humble words, he doesn’t really think of himself as much of a photographer, which is pretty silly because I think he’s exceptional. Still, he does rationalise his photography skills (or self-proclaimed lack thereof) by explaining he is simply a vessel to record life’s beautiful moments:

“I am not a particularly good photographer, in itself. Studios tend to induce a deep sense of foreboding, I’ve never used a medium format camera, and I am mostly at sea with Photoshop. I do, however, possess, quite independent of my own design, an equal current of both desire and stupidity to be in places that most wouldn’t even contemplate. I put myself in situations where I sit there stunned at the beauty of what’s around me; where it is actively difficult to take a bad shot. At best, I am good at recognizing this beauty, but really, I am just a medium for it. Nature takes the credit. I press a button. Maybe two.”

Regardless of what Ben says about his photography, expect to see more of his brilliant stuff on AMW over the next few months.

Here are a few of my favourite shots from his travels…