Traveler Tuesday – Blogger Henry of Fotoeins Fotopress
And we're back! Another season of Traveler Tuesday, my travel blogger interview series that introduces you to road warriors from around the globe. Today I wanted to introduce to Henry Lee of Fotoeins-Fotopress, a travel blogger based in Vancouver, Canada.
Let’s meet Henry!
When and how did you become a traveler?
I began traveling more frequently, beginning in 1995 when I was a graduate student in astronomy. My first trips for research were to Chile and to Wales.
Where do you love to travel?
I try to visit Europe and Germany as frequently as possible.
Most memorable travel moment:
On a boat in the Mekong River in Vietnam, realizing that a few short decades before, bullets fired, blood flowed, and people died.
What won’t you travel without?
Camera.
A day isn’t complete until I…
Get at least one shot with my camera.
A quirky daily habit of mine is…
Determining the “strike” angle of the rising and setting sun on landmarks wherever I may be.
Travel essential – 3 things you always travel with
1. Passport
2. notebook (with pen)
3. a credit card with a healthy limit.
Name one thing people would be surprised to find in your travel bag:
Small compact LED flashlight.
Perfect travel day from start to finish.
Morning visit to the bakery for something freshly baked, with coffee. Walk, photograph, and walk some more. Talk to a resident to practice my (rusty) German. Beer and/or coffee. Walk and photograph some more. There's Döner somewhere; a final beer, perhaps. A good day on the job, and a good sleep to prep for another day on the job.
What are your favorite food cities? What restaurants do you go to in each?
Hong Kong and Saigon: the food centres in the former; open street-stalls and tiny places in the latter.
Have you been anywhere which turned out to be totally different to how you imagined? If so, how?
New Zealand was far better than imagined; the place reminded me a LOT of my Canadian home province of British Columbia. Moreover, the present-day ongoing collaboration of First Nations (Maori) people with New Zealand society provides important examples for North America.
What has travel taught you?
Patience and zen can go a long way, and so too can speaking multiple languages.
Best place you’ve been to and why?
Edinburgh, because I had few to no expectations, but both people and city absolutely rocked.
What's one location on your bucket list?
Where Canadians fought in the two “great wars”; i.e., Vimy Ridge
Favorites:
Hotel: K&K Hotels
Airline: Cathay Pacific (CX)
Airport: Hong Kong (HKG), or Singapore Changi (SIN)
Mode of Transportation: Rail
Travel snack: None
Country: Tie between Australia and New Zealand, for vastly different reasons
Travel Gear: Tamrac Velocity 8x pro photo sling pack
Travel App: VelaClock
Travel Book: “In A Sunburned Country”, by Bill Bryson. The book opened my eyes to Australia.
Travel Movie: Not movie, but a series, “Spain: On The Road Again”.
Song on your smartphone: “Off He Goes”, by Pearl Jam.
Thanks Henry!
You can keep up with Henry on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and of course on his blog. Wherever you catch him, I am sure you will enjoy his adventures!
How about you? What would you like to know about Henry?
I love to travel, but at this time, I like to stay domestic. I don’t like to be THAT far from home.
Robin, thanks for your comment. You don’t have to go far from home to travel. You never know what unexpected finds you’ll discover in your city, region, or state.
I bet that travel blogging would be a lot of fun. I personally like to travel in moderation.
Harriet, thanks for your comment. Everything is better in moderation, especially travel. I don’t mind traveling for long stretches, but like many, I stop in one or two places to “smell the roses,” as it were. For me, “not traveling” makes me appreciate traveling much more. Travel blogging can be done out of occasional interest, as hobby, or as a profession. Like anything worth doing, it takes a lot of time and effort to make things a real go with travel blogging/writing.
I don’t travel sadly, my kiddos are all still too young and theres so many of them. But I would love to travel more in the future.
Jeanine, thanks for your comment. Young children begin to see the world through their parents’ eyes, and like big sponges of knowledge, young children absorb everything they see and hear. My parents couldn’t afford to travel, but they saw the value in sending us on field trips to nearby destinations to begin seeing the world outside of our neighbourhood and (a little bit) outside of our city.
What a great interview. One of my dreams when my kids are older is to travel the world.
Ourfamilyworld, thanks for your comment, and all the best towards your goal of traveling the world!
I would love to travel and love to hear about other’s travels….I am also a Pearl Jam fan!!!
Shannon, thanks for your comment. There’s a lot of online material to find and read with some coverage for every region in the world; how things have changed over the last 5 to 10 years! And to a fellow Pearl Jam fan: “rearviewmirror” 🙂
I’ve never traveled by rail but have wanted to. The small flashlight is a great idea, it could be very useful.
valmg, thanks for your comment. That small flashlight has bailed me out a number of times when I needed a bright light source. As most of my travels have focused on Europe, rail has been a very good option for me, balancing cost, time, and environmental impact. But when my schedule has been tight, I have hopped onto intra-European flights (on legacy carriers), though I feel some guilt by trip’s end.
Because I love traveling so much, that was incredibly interesting! I love that he takes at least one photo a day!
Liz, thanks for your comment; all the credit goes to Andi for asking me to participate! While I’m on the road, I’m constantly on the lookout, which means lugging my (DSLR-) camera gear. I might occasionally regret some of the bulk and weight, but I’ve never regretted the pictures I’ve made. I have, however, deeply regretted the pictures I didn’t make. At the end of the day, what’s true is that the best camera is the most already have in their hands: their smartphones.
That’s a great interview! I wish I could also travel different countries like Henry! I’ve only been outside the country once, and that’s when we went to Singapore for business purposes. lol
Mizuki, thanks for your comment. I saved my money and I went on a year-long around-the-world trip, which didn’t maximize the number of countries visited. Instead, I maximized the amount of time promised to and spent among different friends in different countries. I miss Singapore’s hawker centres a lot: food so good!
This looks wonderful.
Thanks, Irma!
Sounds like he has an adventurous soul. I would love to see these sights.
Debbie, thanks for your comment. My wish is for you to see those places, too. I think there are varying degrees of being adventurous. I’m not much of an outdoors person, but I might be more “adventurous” in matters of food.
I do not travel often. You have me curious about Edinburgh and New Zealand. Maybe I can talk my hubby into a trip to one of those places some day soon.
Tami, thanks for your comment. Edinburgh and New Zealand are remarkably beautiful in their own way. Please contact me if you have questions.
Nice to meet you, Henry! You’re such a down-to-earth person. Do you prefer traveling alone or with a companion? And why?
Mai, thanks for your comment; that’s very kind of you to say. I prefer traveling alone, because I can go with pre-made plans, go off-plan into spontaneous diversions, or go with lazy, without answering to or justifying my reasons to someone else. I also tend to linger in a location and take a *lot* of photos; and by linger, “5 to 10 minutes” becomes “30 to 45 minutes”. Disadvantage is when I encounter a special or magical moment and wish there was someone else with whom to share that moment.
I would love to travel but currently don’t have the time or funds… these travel blogs make me so jealous!
Janel, thanks for your comment. With careful planning (like all things of importance) of time and money resources, you can also travel, if you truly desire to do so. Also, you don’t have to go very far to travel: how about an exploration of your city, region, province/state?
I would love to be able to travel around the world like that someday! I just have to keep saving up my money. 🙂
Leanne, thanks for your comment. If you really want to make travel happen in the future, stick with your goal of saving money to do the kind of travel that you want to do and fulfill your dream or goal of seeing a place or places you’ve always wanted to visit.
I’ve been following Henry for quite a while and really enjoyed this interview! I love his ideal way of spending a day traveling and that he looks for the best place and time to photograph light wherever he is. Sounds like we could be friends and I could learn a lot from him about photography!
Hi, Jenna! 🙂 While there are online tools to help figure out the “best sun angle” to get the most possible out of the light conditions, sometimes I have to go “recon” and scout the location myself. Google-Maps or -Earth doesn’t always let you know about new construction, newly built structures, or whether something else gets in the way of a possible shot. But sometimes you have to hope for the best, if time is short. It’s a lot of fun, and I’m still learning a lot about photography. Thank you for your comment; you are too kind! 🙂
LOL. The last time I travelled it was TO Vancouver.Does Henry want to rent out his apartment while he goes elsewhere?
Hi, Karen. How long were you in Vancouver? During your time here, what were your favourite and least-favourite things? Would you consider a return visit?
Much like Henry, I can’t travel without my camera or iPhone for a camera purpose. I use my phone for photography more than for calls!
Murissa, thanks for your comment. Many have expressed how much more they use their smartphones for photos than making calls. As I wrote above (and others have said before me), the best camera is the one you have in your hands, and for many, that’s their smartphone.
Got my passport but no stamps yet!!
Lisa, congratulations on your new passport! Time to go out and get some “entry stamps”! 🙂
I wish there was a bakery near me. Fresh baked goods are so yummy.
Ann, I also wish there was a (German) bakery near me. I never much like bread until I lived in Germany. And now, every time I’m back in country and I’m often going through a train station, I know where to go to get the baked goods, and I have a pretty good idea what I want.
Great interview, Andi!
My thanks go to Andi, too. Thanks for reading the interview, Nyssa!
Very cool!
Thanks, Keeley!