For the most part, I travel alone. It's been tough on relationships, and it's often lonely and demoralizing. After all these years, I still feel like a dork sitting alone in restaurants at the day's end. However, it's also the best way to get out of your comfort zone and actually experience the strangeness and wonder of a new place. Traveling with a group ensures security and a cozy blanket of insulation between you and your surroundings. As soon as there's more than one of you, it becomes about group dynamics and not the place you're traveling through.I once photographed the leather tanning pits of Fez in Morocco. It's tough, smelly manual labor that earns the laborers a modest but reliable livelihood. It's also incredibly visually compelling. Though the nearby shops offered viewpoints overlooking the scene, I made my way down into the pits to find an aerial view of one of the lower pits. I tried out my meager French language skills, smiled a lot and maintained eye contact. I was greeted warily, then welcomed heartily. I got my shot, not one the tourists would have gotten from the safety of their tour bus.
