Photo Diary: Eternal Visions
Rock and rhythm correspondent Marc Roberts retraces his steps across the Asia-Pacific, where tranquil panoramas wash away the pulse of metropolis. Set to the score of two-stroke engines, Marc and his girlfriend-turned-wife snake their way across Southeast Asia.
Photos: Marc Robers / IG: @moby__lick
Unlike any other clichéd travel trinket—fridge magnets, snow globes, or, let's face it, typhoid—Robert's retrospective is a well-documented souvenir to cherish. By ticking-and-clicking through his bucket list, Robert's transports us on once-in-a-lifetime adventure. A decade on, this Photo Diary offers a subtle reminder that memories fade, but photos last forever. Read on.
Ten years ago, wide-eyed, young, and naive, my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I set off on an adventure that is almost a rite of passage for the youth of the world. We headed off on a backpacking trip through South East Asia with no itinerary or timeline, just saved cash and a thirst to explore.
The next four months had us visit six countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. We ate, drank, and scootered up and down these wild foreign lands, with one of the most enjoyable things for me being the photos I could take and keep as memories. And I took a lot. Leaving Australia, I was equipped with a Pentax K1000, four rolls of Ultramax, and a Nikon 1 J1, which proved to be a travelling workhorse. The rolls of film were used up quickly, and if it hadn’t been for the size and ease of the J1, I would have taken even more. To think of the price of film in Vietnam in 2015!
At that time, I didn’t know about Street Photography or even the names of the revered photographers I would soon try to emulate in the years to come. I look back on these images and smirk, because even back then, I was drawn to the same things I still look for now: weird, wonderful, or, if I could, beautiful moments that would make for a picture capable of evoking emotion. This is usually something funny or a "what is that doing there?" photo that I still hunt for to this day. I always had a camera growing up. My mates were better skaters and surfers, so I enjoyed filming them and taking the photos, making little edit videos to show at school after the weekends. I have since really leaned into photography over making videos.
South East Asia is a treasure trove for street photography—eccentric lands with people following their own path. They are stunning in every way that one might judge a foreign country: food to die for, magical landscapes and countryside, and the most caring people. You want to walk around with your camera in hand, that thing switched on, because the world moves fast, and so do its photo opportunities.
Like a roadside dentist captured in the distance while flying through scooter traffic at the back of a tuk-tuk. Or open the windows and explore—you might find a crocodile farm behind your bedroom in Cambodia. If your 11-hour bus ride through the jungle breaks down, get your camera ready, because the roadside shack you’re about to spend the rest of the day in is about to get interesting. Being the only foreigners on the bus, the local kids were delighted to see us. A young girl, no older than eight, speaking a language I didn’t understand, signalled through hand movements that I needed to stop and wait where I was because there was something she needed to show me. By herself, from behind a wall, she dragged a four-metre-long Burmese python to show me. I was frozen, my wife was screaming, and to this day, it remains my favourite photo I’ve ever taken.
As mentioned earlier, this part of the world truly is a treasure trove in every sense, especially for taking photos. Street or landscape, portrait or even video—you can’t go wrong. I didn’t come equipped with the best gear, but I found that wasn’t necessary when exploring and taking photos on a trip like this. Though I would have loved to have been carrying my Ricoh GRD4, shooting in its in-built black and white, which I adore now. Luckily, the Nikon 1 J1 held its own, and as I write this, I looked for it in storage. I still have it, but it is no more. Mechanical faults and some corrosion mean its time has passed. Photographs will live on forever, though—unlike the J1. I can see these images and be transported back, and I can only hope that you, looking at these photos now, can be transported there too.
Check out more of Marc's work, HERE.
