Call for submissions: Fall Harvest

What do you hunt, fish, and gather? Email your submission or show us on Instagram to participate in this month’s Adventures in Aperture!

Fall harvest, window box garden of lettuce and kale

Window-box garden

Fall harvest is a time of preparation. Whether you’re a hunter or fisherman putting up meat for the winter, a bear fattening up for hibernation, or a squirrel gathering acorns relentlessly, tuning into the rhythm of the environment is the key to survival.

But it’s more than just the act itself; it’s what it gives back. Good food nourishes your body, can be shared with friends and family, and connects you to the land. There’s more meaning behind an afternoon spent splitting a sauna’s wood versus going to the gym, though both provide good exercise. You look at that wood differently; see the knots and rings; shapes and grains, and adjust your swing accordingly to fight through the stubborn son of a bitch. There is something primordially transcendent about this ritual that bonds you to the land.

Yet unquestionably, food has become an institutionalized concept. We’re all guilty of it: at the grocery store we grab a tomato we have no connection with, or wonder if it’s worth it to spend 99 cents on organic bananas or 79 cents on the guilt-ridden ones—but what did it take to get any of that fruit? How much fossil fuel was used in its production and transport? How many others like it did not meet the aesthetic standards of the produce aisle and how many more spoiled during transport? What really is the footprint of a store-bought tomato versus one grown in a garden? What about a locally hunted moose versus store-bought grass-fed beef?

Harvesting is communion with the land, and it’s only in the last few generations that we’ve lost that.

In fact, the grocery market mentality is ingrained in all of us to the point that we don’t question it. For many of us, the ritual of grocery shopping is our closest connection to our food’s origin and the repercussions are evident. We have become so disconnected from the process of feeding ourselves that some people become unsettled by the thought of hunting but won’t bat an eye before buying low-grade meat at a fast food restaurant.

Window box garden: lettuce, kale, broccoli

Produce that will grow despite your most inept efforts

Although I am no role model for food harvesting, this year I took some strides toward improving my relationship with the land. Namely, I grew a small garden slightly bigger than a window box and harvested kale, lettuce, and broccoli—three vegetables that can grow in any condition short of a nuclear fallout—but I did it. And despite my complete ineptitude as a gardener, I felt the reward of making salads and smoothies with food I’d grown. This feeling has only escalated this fall as I’ve collected blueberries and cranberries to add to home meals.

Alaska fall harvest: picking blueberries and cranberries

Alaska fall harvest: picking berries

Many people provide far more for themselves than I’ve managed. Now I wonder: what is the Professional Nomads community harvesting this fall? How many fisherman are among us, who’s headed to deer camp, and who’s growing alfalfa sprouts in a container on a shelf? Show us your fall harvest! What has the land provided you?

This isn’t a chance to brag about how big of a moose you’ve killed, this is a celebration of life and the life cycle. Let’s see what is possible in this day and age. Let’s get an understanding of where our food comes from and create a visual representation of our collective bounty.

Whether you grew it yourself, hunted it, or gathered it from the land, we want to know: what has the land provided you? Send your photos to professionalnomads@gmail.com, or Instagram them by tagging BOTH @professional_nomads and #professionalnomadsfallharvest. Be sure to include a few words so we can understand the importance of your harvest.

This month, the first ten participants receive a Professional Nomads sticker so let us know where to snail mail your shwag! Selected work will be showcased on ProfessionalNomads.org. Professional Nomads retains the right to use your submission anywhere on ProfessionalNomads.org as well as ProNo social media (giving you photo credit, of course); photographers retain reprint rights as well as bragging rights in social settings. A collage of the best submissions will be unveiled October 1st!

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Foreigner at Home #2

We further explore the idea of being a “Foreigner at Home” with Scott Underwood’s insights to living and teaching as an American in Thailand. Having backpacked and traveled for years, he was surprised to learn that calling a place home took more a bit more adjustment, but he soon found himself instep with a new pace of life. Click on the photo journal below to learn about what it’s like to live as a “Foreigner at Home” in Thailand!

Return to Foreigner at Home #1.

Thank you, Scott, for sharing your new life with us—a Professional Nomads sticker is headed your way! Check back next week when we’ll share details to the next Adventures in Aperture call for submissions. Click “follow” to have notification about contests like these sent right to your inbox!

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Foreigner at Home #1

As we learned through our previous reader-submitted series, travel forces us to break out of our comfort zone, put aside preconceived notions, and build tolerance. But what happens when the trip doesn’t end? How does that affect you, your relationship to your home country, and your perspective on the world? Can you ever feel at home in a new place? What about the country you left behind? And if living abroad does scramble your perspective on the world and your place within it, why do it at all?

Jill Friant is an American expat working and living in Australia. Click on her photo journal below to delve into her experiences acclimating to life as a foreigner not only on new soil, but back in her original country, as well. For submitting her story Jill will receive a Professional Nomads sticker to further claim her duplicitous role as a “Foreigner at Home” wherever her travels take her.

Thank you, Jill, for sharing your world with the ProNo community! Check back Friday, July 3rd, to learn about Scott Underwood’s transition as an American teaching in Thailand!

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Call for Submissions: Foreigner at Home

Thank you to everyone who participated in the “More Than a Tourist” series! In this installation, we saw each contributor reflect on a different angle of the same concept: Becky’s transition from tourist, to outsider, to St. Thomas local; Patrick’s cultural exchange in the Native Alaskan village in Tatitlek; Gene’s work as a historical interpreter; Cail’s moments of cultural authenticity on an otherwise touristy trip to Indonesia; and Dennis’s connection with the simple pace of life in Nevis. It is the blending of those perspectives that makes Adventures in Aperture valuable.

Adventures in Aperture is comprised entirely of reader submissions, and therefore there is no single right answer. Contributors offer insight from their personal experiences so while each piece holds value autonomously, collectively they flesh out a concept that we might otherwise see from only a single vantage point.

The next call for submissions is geared toward expats, and is themed, “Foreigner at Home.”

A single flower grows out of rubble two years after the 2004 tsunami in Thailand

A single flower grows from rubble two years after the 2004 tsunami in Thailand

As we learned through the previous series, travel forces us to break out of our comfort zone, put aside preconceived notions, and build tolerance. But what happens when the trip doesn’t end? How does that affect you, your relationship to your home country, and your perspective on the world? Can you ever feel at home in a new place? What about the country you left behind? And if living abroad does scramble your perspective on the world and your place within it, why do it at all?

Although not everyone has a “Foreigner at Home” story to share, most everyone knows someone who does. If you think your friend living abroad might have an interesting perspective on this concept please share or tag them in this post! Don’t forget foreign friends you’ve made in your own country! They may surprise you with their insight and experiences.

The details

In 3-12 photos, assemble and briefly caption a short photo journal that invites us into your experience. For insight into the format, browse submissions from the “More Than a Tourist” installation which employed the same format. Selected work will be revealed July 1st. 

All participants will receive a Professional Nomads sticker so email professionalnomads@gmail.com and let us know where to snail mail your shwag! Selected work will be showcased on ProfessionalNomads.org. Professional Nomads retains the right to use your submission anywhere on ProfessionalNomads.org as well as ProNo social media (giving you credit, of course); photographers retain reprint rights as well as bragging rights in social settings.

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More Than a Tourist #5

I’m proud to conclude this installation with a submission from my dad, Dennis Olmstead. My dad was the first person I knew who openly saw through the manicured facade of big cruise ship companies and valued something more than a getaway. Instead he opted for sailboat tours and fell in love with the pace of island life. It is partially his love of travel that incites me to wonder what experiences are available in the world, because he clearly saw something more than just beaches on these trips. In Nevis, he rubbed elbows with a pace of life he’d like to adopt as his own. If circumstances twisted ever so differently, he’d gladly call Nevis home.

Click on the first photo to read Dennis Olmstead’s photo journal!

 

Thank you to everyone who submitted their interpretation of “More Than a Tourist!” Details for Adventures in Aperture’s next call for submissions will be revealed Friday, June 12th!

Return to More Than a Tourist #1, #2, #3, or #4

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More Than a Tourist #4

Itineraries are a jumping off point for misadventure. We travel to gain understanding and collect new experiences but our deepest memories are often etched where plans fail and resourcefulness takes over. Every country boasts unique attractions but the most impactful travel experiences are often found where money can’t buy admission. No matter how many incredible experiences we purchase, it is the unplanned moments and conversations that often resonate the most.

Cail Hubert spent a couple months backpacking around Indonesia with friends but his most meaningful memories were forged when he connected with local people—usually the result of something going wrong. Mishaps abroad can leave travelers feeling vulnerable, but Cail shows us it also opens us up to one of travel’s greatest gifts: human connection. When we drop our pretenses, we allow ourselves to understand each other on a basic human level unimpeded by language or cultural barriers. Misadventure, therefore, becomes a window to human connection.

Join us for the fifth and final installment of the More Than a Tourist series two day from now on Tuesday, June 9th!

Click on the first picture to expand Cail’s photo jounral!

Return to More Than a Tourist #1, #2, or #3

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More Than a Tourist #3

I love Gene’s take on this theme. As a historical interpreter, his role is to breathe life into a place and help visitors draw meaning from their experience. The result gives Gene a different vantage point to consider the meaning of “More Than a Tourist.”

New photo journals in this series are being posted every other day. Come back Sunday, June 7th to see installment #4!

Click on the first photo to read Gene’s story!

Return to More than a Tourist #2, (or #1)

Adventures in Aperture is a monthly call for submissions. Check out last month’s reader-based photo collage: Show Us Your Playground!  Details for our next contest will be announced next week!

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More Than a Tourist #2

We continue our exploration into what it means to be “More Than a Tourist” with a submission from Patrick Kelly! After graduating with a master’s degree in outdoor and environmental education at Alaska Pacific University, Patrick seized an opportunity to participate in a week-long cultural exchange in the village of Tatitlek. In this piece, Patrick shares details from his impactful experience, and reflects on the greater importance of adventure, especially when juxtaposed against insulated, cruise ship tourism.

Want more from Adventures in Aperture? Check back Friday, June 5th for the next installment of “More Than a Tourist,” or click “follow” in the sidebar and let us remind you. New photo journals from readers like you will be published every other day for the next two weeks!

Click on the first photo to expand Patrick’s photo journal into a storybook!

Continue to More Than a Tourist #1 and learn about Becky Kusar’s transition from tourist, to outsider, to local in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands!

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More Than a Tourist #1

Professional Nomads is proud to announce the first installment in the reader-submission photo journal series, “More Than a Tourist!”

You showed us that ProNo readers deeply value authentic travel experiences with cross-cultural connections. Beyond manicured tourism and away from the guise of business, political, and religious agendas, lies the stuff that genuine connections are made of: people. From transplants, to cultural exchange programs, to befriending locals abroad, the ProNos featured in this series each experienced genuine human connection that still resonates today.

Perhaps no one’s story echoes as loudly as Becky Kusar’s. Becky currently lives as “more than a tourist” in St. Thomas. Her photo journal invites us to understand her meaningful progression from tourist, to outsider, to local, and sets the standard for the rest of the series.

We’ll continue posting new photo journals every other day for the next two weeks so check back Wednesday, June 3rd, for the next installment. Better yet, click “follow” from the sidebar and we’ll help you remember!

Click on the first photo below to expand the photo journal and read Becky’s story!

Continue to More Than a Tourist #2

Adventures in Aperture is a monthly call for submissions. Check out last month’s reader-based photo collage: Show Us Your Playground!  Details for our next contest will be announced next week!

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When have you become “More Than a Tourist?”

Professional Nomads reach for a deeper connection with the world around them. Last month we explored our relationship to landscape in a reader-based photo collage themed, “Show Us Your Playground!” This month we explore it through cultural connections in a slightly different format. We’d like you to share with us your experience being “More Than a Tourist,” in the form of a short picture book. Here are the details.

Dog houses on the Bering Sea coast. Ever wonder what's the story behind a photograph?

Dog houses on the Bering Sea coast. Ever wonder what’s the story behind an Instagram?

This is an opportunity for Professional (and amateur) Nomads to shed light on our collective vision of traveling. Whether you’ve moved someplace totally new or just visited one, by sharing your experience we learn what’s truly important about travel itself. Travel isn’t about luxury cruises and 5-star hotels, nor is it about drinking from coconuts on beaches (well, not totally). It’s not even about seeing how others live—it’s seeing what they value, and letting that experience change us in return. The traveler’s mind is nothing if not fertile. When humans shed business, political, and religious agendas, we make our most raw and genuine connections. Let us share yours.

What would compel people to duct tape their face?

What would compel a person to duct tape their face?

In 3-12 photos, assemble and briefly caption a short picture book that invites us into your experience. This is a simple way to divulge a story you’ve wanted to tell; that time all the stars aligned or misaligned to allow you to delve a little deeper into a culture or place. Connect those Facebook photos with a little narrative and show us what they really mean to you. We want to know: during your adventures in aperture, when have you become “More Than a Tourist?”

This month, the first five participants will receive a Professional Nomads sticker so email professionalnomads@gmail.com and let us know where to snail mail your shwag! Selected work will be showcased on ProfessionalNomads.org. Professional Nomads retains the right to use your submission anywhere on ProfessionalNomads.org as well as ProNo social media (giving you credit, of course); photographers retain reprint rights as well as bragging rights in social settings.

Deadline: May 31, 2015

Where will your Professional Nomads sticker go?

ProNo Sticker Matt $

Alaska

ProNo Sticker Dad

Colorado

St. Thomas, US Virgin

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

ProNo Sticker Bruce Lee

New Mexico

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