Nepal.

By Linka A. Odom.

At this moment, there are millions of people traveling the world. In fact, it is estimated that this year alone over 900 million people will internationally arrive at a destination, and over half of those will be for leisure, and recreation. I started traveling quite young, however my first visit to a third world country was thirteen years ago, to Nepal in 1998. I spent six months in South East Asia on that journey and it was then, I was introduced to the culture of travel. What amazed me was the huge subculture surrounding it, like an underground club scene. Once you know about it, it is as if a whole new world opens up, filled with possibility.

This project arose from my knowledge and experiences of traveling, and a desire to explore the travelers, as opposed to the places traveled. ‘And the things we carry’ focuses on this tribe of travelers worldwide.

My method for finding people; I would go to the most touristic area of the city and find a spot slightly off the street, then basically ask every traveler that passed if I could photograph them. When I began planning, I was incredibly nervous about asking strangers to be photographed. My favorite discovery through this project; was how incredibly kind people are. Almost every person I asked said yes, it was about an 80 to 20% average of yes to no. What I discovered in this process was that people will give you much more than you think, if you just ask.

Linka A. Odom is a photographer and installation artist, currently living a nomadic life.