Richard Nixon Exchanges Photos for Food, Shelter and Transportation

Richard William Nixon is a professional photographer at The Glass Passport who is exchanging services for food, a place to stay and onward transport. It is his hope to reach every continent living nomadically through trade.

He asks that those that hire him cover these basic needs and in return, he will provide his photography for any event, business or project they have for the duration of his stay.

In an effort to help create a positive change in travel, we asked Richard from our Travel Massive London chapter a few question to inspire Travel Massive readers to do the same.

What is your project about? Who does it help?

Photography is universal and by just asking for a ride, plane or train ticket and hosting in return it hopefully becomes more accessible for those that may not normally have the budget for it.

What inspired you to start The Glass Passport?

I was completely lost out of University working an office job without much direction. In that time I bought a camera, taught myself the basics and developed a desire to explore and document. I kept reading stories and movements of people who had built their work around their desired lifestyle opposed to the other way around, and it all eventually led to a decision to leave my job and force change.

How are you funding the non-free costs of your travel?

I have a little bit of money just in case I get stuck, but for the project to be sustainable, I will need to support myself completely on trade. At this stage, I am trying to scale plans with the project. For example I am currently looking to trade for a haircut but down the line.

What do you think will be the biggest challenge en route?

Logistics!

Managing, planning, doing the work, editing and writing, while also trying to get the word out has already proved to be a balancing act. All I can really do is find more trades and establish my own rules for making it work as I go.

If you could give other photographers 5 of your best tips, what would they be?

Human for scale – even just adding a single human figure to a scene will provide a known scale for the viewer. It’s a particularly effective technique in grand landscapes to create a sense of size and awe.

Frame the photo – Use elements in the foreground to frame the scene or even obstruct part of the view.  This provides a sense depth and where you are positioned in the scene as the photographer.

Live the little things – Take the time to photograph the smaller details of your surroundings as well as the landscapes and people. It will help build a more complete and vivid story of the experience.

Less is more – Don’t always feel the need to completely fill the frame; good use of negative space will bring balance to your image and help your subject stand out.

Get out there – Obvious but still sometimes forgotten: explore! Traveling to new places always inspires better photography. It doesn’t even have to be far-flung destinations; explore what’s on your doorstep too.

Purposeful Traveler is a series that profiles inspiring people or projects making a purposeful change to the way we travel. You can connect with Richard and The Glass Passport on Travel Massive, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.