11 Comments

We were just in Erg Chigaga, the remotest part of the Moroccan Sahara, so loved this piece and the photos, Nicholas

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Wonderful! Further than I got!

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Writing about it at the moment

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I can so relate to a lot (most!) of this, Nick!

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Thats great Robert. Would love to know your favourite journeys.

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Thanks Nick.. Favourite journeys? Where to begin!?

As a kid, my mum and dad had a caravan - a small, yellow thing the dining table would up-end to become their bed, and somehow at the other end, bunk beds would materialise for me and my brother. Basically nearly every weekend was an escape. Living in County Durham we could very easily make it to Northumberland.. Seahouses, Craster, Lindisfarne.. and waking up on Saturday morning somewhere else, somewhere other, was always magical. Maybe that's where the travel thing set in.

But: Senegal, for sure. The Sahel.. Just amazing and life changing for all the right reasons. Australia too. In Chatwin's footsteps. (And I'm hoping to be back there in March). But like you say, sometimes it's the places you (re)discover on the doorstep that are equally powerful... I get excited about a trip to Leeds these days. 😂

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Sounds blissful! I got as far as Tenby when I was a kid. Except a school trip to the Shetlands which was crazy for that time. Ashamed to say I only made it to Lindisfarne for the first time in 2024. Would love to go to the Outback. In Chatwins footsteps… strange as I’ve been dreaming of a project around that very idea!

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Loved your share, Nick, and your article with photos of the Sahara are magical! The nuanced shadows between the rocks and in the folds of the people's clothing are magnificent. Makes me practically feel the heat and crave the shade. Love it!

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many thanks!

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Thank you for sharing this inspiring piece. I have also dreamt of the vast sandy dunes of the Sahara since childhood, wondering what it would feel like to be weighed down by the immensity of it all. While my first taster back in 2016 was a bit of a distasteful failure (I was granted a very sketchy guide and the company of three Spanish tourists who loved a good boombox shouting music even out there in the sacred silence – and I was too shy to ask them to turn it off), I hope to go back one day and experience it differently :) Your photos are a wonderful teaser for it!

Since you have asked a couple of times what it is your readers would like to read more of, I would appreciate insights into your career as a photographer and any advice you would have for people that look up to it in today's world.

Thank you Nicholas!

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Thanks Ella. Sounds like your experience would make a good story!

The Algerian Sahara isn't a place you can go alone really. So its pot luck as regards guides and other people. Well unless you have your own vehicle!

ok I will have a think what I can say about my experience starting in photography! Nick

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