William Uglow – Five Travel Questions

As an amateur travel photographer, I’m always looking out for new ideas on how to document my journeys. A new favourite travel photographer of mine is William Uglow. Through Williams photos you can feel and experience what’s around him (check out his Instagram). And he’s certainly experienced a lot, which makes him a perfect candidate to answer our Five Travel Questions!

Why do you love travel?

It wakes you up and keeps you pumped! At home you can drive to and from work on complete autopilot everyday, the same route over and over again. The scenery around you goes by without you even noticing.

But when you are travelling, you don’t give your brain the chance to go on autopilot. You’re fully conscious all of the time, figuring out where to go on the map, listening to drums in the street, watching camels walking down the road. Each day feels twice as long because you notice everything that happens!

What destination is top of your bucket list?

The top of my bucket list is quite a vague one I’m afraid. Rather than a specific country or city, I’m craving an adventure which is more self-sufficient and focused on stumbling into cool scenery rather than visiting well-known locations.

I want to find my way around Europe in a 4×4 and just drive wherever I feel attracted to and wherever looks interesting in the distance.

Guys like Foster Huntington and Kevin Russ have produced some beautiful photography by being able to get where they want and stay for however long it takes.

Where is your most favourite place you have travelled to?

Nepal. My visit to Nepal was completely unexpected and last minute. I knew nothing about it, only that the Himalayas ran through it and that I wanted to see some big ass mountains. This was my first trek, and being completely unprepared I trekked alone, mostly with flip flops, for 6 hours a day over 3 weeks, and at one point I thought I was going to die (lost and dehydrated). None of the above I recommend. But the immense scale and beauty of the Himalayas is indescribable. The feeling of knowing that you have carried yourself and your belongings up a mountain with nothing but your own body, strength and determination is something that I wish everybody could feel at least once. I loved it so much that we are actually flying there tomorrow. I’m lying in bed in Kuala Lumpur too excited to sleep (hence writing this at 2:30am when I have to be up at 7am)!

What is your most favourite memory or experience whilst travelling?

This has to be the hardest question for every guest! I would say mine was sat in Angkor Wat in Cambodia, watching the sunset with my friends, whilst a monk burnt incense and rang bells inside the temple. I just felt completely relaxed. Or, skydiving in Australia. I didn’t feel as relaxed then.

What is your favourite photo from your travels?

So this photo isn’t the best photo I’ve taken of a place but it definitely sums up the mood of the day for me! Such a good memory.

This photo reminds me of a day in India that couldn’t have gone any better. We woke up in Agra before sunrise to get over to the Taj Mahal. Afterwards, as I always try to when travelling, we went to explore the back streets away from the other tourists. A group of children started following us and asking us to take photos of them and then they’d run around to look at themselves on the screen. They then took us for a tour around the streets and one of their families invited us into their house (where this photo was taken) for a tour and up to the roof tops.

After this we went to find a beer to relax and get out of the sun. I was travelling with a Spanish guy that can’t speak much English and we are drinking in a cupboard of an illegal shop sat on crates with three Indian men. One of them just happens to be an Spanish-English translator so we have this mad three way conversion. A few more beers later and the Indian guy wants to take us for food. We all get on his motorbike which has a flat front tyre and he’s racing down the highway when he says he’s a stuntman and gets up to stand on the fuel tank which obviously produces a little fear poo in my pants.

After food, he drops us back into Agra right next to a massive wedding ceremony which somehow we get invited into as guests and are fed ice cream and endlessly asked for photos until way too late.

Follow William’s travels on his blog and Twitter!