I travel quite a bit. And I enjoy taking a lot of photos – it’s half my motivation for getting away. If I find myself out of context or intimidated by a new place, I easily take on the role of photojournalist. Yes, I shoot photos to supplement my income, but it’s also a hobby that developed organically. Nowadays, it’s all about video, and although I love good moving picture documentations of places, there is something about a still image that haunts me. Single images with good composition serve as a visual metaphor for human wonderment and wander-lustful desire to explore.

I have a large list of places on earth I want to photograph – everything from natural landscapes to architecture, environmental disasters to people and human accomplishments. Big on this “must photograph before I die list” was Coney Island in the winter. Though I’m a little ashamed to admit it, ever since I saw the movie Big, I’ve been wanting to see Coney Island when it was deserted, and cold.

Earlier this year, I got my wish. I searched and searched for the Zoltan fortune telling machine that would transform me, but alas, I had to settle for capturing the views I encountered at the time.

Starting this coming Friday, the Passport section here at EcoSalon will be featuring slideshow galleries from photographers all over the world alongside a quick interview of the shooter. Over time, we plan to be doing photo contests for reader submitted works. More details on that will follow in the coming weeks. But for now, check out the slideshow below and tell us what places you would like to see featured.

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“Water is the best of all things.” – Pindar

It’s one of the world’s worst sea-related ecological disasters, laying waste to thousands of miles of shoreline and ruining habitats and livelihoods on a truly terrifying scale – but suddenly, there’s new hope for recovery. No, nothing to do with this. Think bigger.

As recently as the 1960s, the Aral Sea of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan was one of the world’s greatest lakes, covering a whopping 26,000 square miles. Then along came a Soviet government keen to industrialize by any means necessary. The water was diverted for cotton farm irrigation, salinity soared, pollution festered (pesticides, weapons testing, you name it), and the sea gave way to a desert, eerily dotted with stranded boats and fishing stations that hint at the terrible human impact on the region’s population. It’s environmental change so profound it’s even upset the local climate.

How do you recover from that? Answer: with a government looking to erase the damage done by Soviet rule, supported by the coffers of the World Bank. The North Aral (above at top, one of the three main remnants of the once mighty whole) was dammed in 2005, and now life is returning – most importantly, the fish. They’re critical to boost the economy and bring the money that’s badly needed for further redevelopment. How much damage can be undone, only time will tell – and while the North Aral is gradually (painfully) expanding outwards again, the southern sea remnants are just years away from dying up completely. Recovery? Maybe, but not in our lifetime.

Images: martijn.munneke and NASA Goddard Photo & Video

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As a tourist activity, ziplining has definitely made a name for itself and is all the rage in eco-tourism hot spots. While feeding your adrenaline need, it’s pretty much carbon free (minus the traveling it took to get to your preferred ziplining destination) and you can see some pretty cool things from a whole new perspective.

Preparing for a zip line tour is far from complicated and mostly entails listening to the instructions of your guide. Plan on wearing comfortable clothes and stashing your valuables in a zippered bag or purse.

So what’s out there? Canopy tours are the most popular, but you might be surprised to know that flying over the jungle isn’t the only place a zip line can take you.

Check out the Great Wall

In China you can even experience the Great Wall from a bird’s eye view, where $4 in Simatai scores you a classic Chinese zip line tour. Okay, so you’re not ziplining directly over the Great Wall, but it does give you some great views of the wall as well as a ride over a river.

Cruise over a historic center

If your travel style is more focused on culture than adventure, you might want to take a look at Flyingfox in India. Boasting India’s first ever zip line, Flyingfox organizes tours over the historic landscape of Rajasthan.

Go Superman Style

French operation Fantasticable takes ziplining to the next level by letting you hang face down in your harness, the ultimate for a green adventure seeker. You can fly through the Alps, over a French village or 4,650 feet across the mountains of north-east Portugal.

Fly at night

Sure zipping in daylight is all well and good, but what are night owls to do? At Sky Adventures in Costa Rica you can opt for the Night Tour, with the promise of possibilities to view erupting volcanoes and nocturnal wildlife.

Images: Anna Brones, Anna Brones, Ryan McFarland, and Flyingfox

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