Nendo Man 2

One of my favorite photographers is Art Wolfe. His photography greatly influenced my own style and motivated me to travel the world. I have been fortunate over the past 20 years to be able to photograph remote landscapes and endangered wildlife, but had always desired to expand my work to include exotic people. In 2017, I dabbled at photographing people during my first visit to Vanuatu. This initial foray only fueled my desire to expand my work in this direction. When I travelled to the Solomon Islands to scuba dive in 2019, I also joined Heritage Expeditions’ Secrets of Melanesia expedition. This was my second adventure with Heritage and it was as rewarding as my first trip with them to the Subantarctic. The voyage began in Honiara and ended in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Along the way, we visited incredibly remote islands and were enthusiastically welcomed by the local villagers. The kindness and generosity I experienced was indicative of all the good that can happen when people share their culture with a visitor. This young man on Nendo Island in Santa Cruz Province was dressed in a traditional costume that warriors wear to intimidate strangers. He definitely caught me off guard as we approached his village, but graciously posed for me when I asked if I could take his picture. I look forward to sharing more of my amazing images of the welcoming people that I met during this amazing trip.