‘If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff.’
– Jim Richardson, National Geographic Photographer
Born into a family with a taste for the ‘restless life,’ Max Lowe was indoctrinated into a life of far-flung travel basically at birth. ‘Traveling,’ Lowe says, ‘more than anything, has inspired me.’
It was during his years in college in Salt Lake City that Lowe first picked up a camera. In addition to bringing his camera along while he and friends were ‘chasing pow,’ Lowe found that pitching himself as a photographer often allowed him access to live musical performances for free. ‘This was really the first time I experienced photography as a tool that could take me to these places that I wouldn’t be able to access otherwise,’ Lowe says. ‘It was an addicting thing.’
After receiving his first payment as a photographer in the form of a gift certificate to a local pizza joint (‘the pizza was great’), Lowe decided to explore photography as more than a hobby. He began to experiment with combining his natural inclination for travel with his photography to actually build a career. It was while traveling through India that Lowe received word back from National Geographic that he had won the ‘Young Explorers’ grant. He was to leave India and travel to the Khumbu region of Nepal to document the influence of Western tourism culture on the native Sherpa people. And Lowe’s journey with National Geographic continues from there.
‘I found stories living in the experiences I already craved,’ Lowe says. ‘Find your story. Find something you’re truly hungry for. The rest will follow suit.’
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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)