BEVERLY - If you're traveling, chances are, you're bringing a camera.
"I would be willing to say half to three-quarters of the people on (any) plane have a camera," said Boston photographer Lou Jones. "They may use it in varying degrees of confidence, but they use it."
Jones spends about three months a year traveling abroad, shooting photos of people and places for business and pleasure.
"I always thought photography was the most powerful of the mediums, both art- and communication-wise," Jones said.
This month, Jones, who has more than 30 years of experience in travel photography, is sharing his images and his expertise with the North Shore in an exhibit and lecture at Beverly Public Library.
Jones' show mainly features images from his trips around the world - Brazil, Africa, Japan, Singapore, Haiti and Cuba, just to name a few - from his book "travel + PHOTOGRAPHY: Off the Charts." The book also offers tips on travel photography.
Jones will give a talk next Thursday in which he will share stories, photography tips and slides, and describe the "act of navigating the world with a camera, whether you're a photojournalist or someone who travels and takes pictures," he said.
"The emphasis of the talk will be on the book and how to take marketable photos and travel tricks to know about going around the world," said library spokeswoman Robin Flynn.
Many factors go into planning a photography trip to another country, Jones points out, such as physical demands, health concerns, transportation, language, clothing, climate, and availability of food and water. Jones said as far as his preparation was concerned, he had to learn the hard way.
"Unfortunately, I made all the mistakes," he said. "I learned it the hard way."
After seeing his extensive photography from around the world, people were calling Jones, asking him about what they needed to know before going to assignments in other countries. Jones eventually decided to share his knowledge in a book.
The exhibit, which features 17 pieces, also includes one of Jones' death-row depictions from his book "Final Exposure: Portraits from Death Row," and an Olympic image from his trip to Torino, Italy for the 2006 Winter Games.
"I would be willing to say half to three-quarters of the people on (any) plane have a camera," said Boston photographer Lou Jones. "They may use it in varying degrees of confidence, but they use it."
Jones spends about three months a year traveling abroad, shooting photos of people and places for business and pleasure.
"I always thought photography was the most powerful of the mediums, both art- and communication-wise," Jones said.
This month, Jones, who has more than 30 years of experience in travel photography, is sharing his images and his expertise with the North Shore in an exhibit and lecture at Beverly Public Library.
Jones' show mainly features images from his trips around the world - Brazil, Africa, Japan, Singapore, Haiti and Cuba, just to name a few - from his book "travel + PHOTOGRAPHY: Off the Charts." The book also offers tips on travel photography.
Jones will give a talk next Thursday in which he will share stories, photography tips and slides, and describe the "act of navigating the world with a camera, whether you're a photojournalist or someone who travels and takes pictures," he said.
"The emphasis of the talk will be on the book and how to take marketable photos and travel tricks to know about going around the world," said library spokeswoman Robin Flynn.
Many factors go into planning a photography trip to another country, Jones points out, such as physical demands, health concerns, transportation, language, clothing, climate, and availability of food and water. Jones said as far as his preparation was concerned, he had to learn the hard way.
"Unfortunately, I made all the mistakes," he said. "I learned it the hard way."
After seeing his extensive photography from around the world, people were calling Jones, asking him about what they needed to know before going to assignments in other countries. Jones eventually decided to share his knowledge in a book.
The exhibit, which features 17 pieces, also includes one of Jones' death-row depictions from his book "Final Exposure: Portraits from Death Row," and an Olympic image from his trip to Torino, Italy for the 2006 Winter Games.
Jones got into photography as a sophomore at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York when his roommate at the time, a photographer, encouraged Jones to pick up a camera. He started shooting as a hobby and got his career started soon after, taking photos for textbooks.
He then starting taking on assignments that brought him around the world. His career took him to refugee camps and army barracks in Central America, prisons, electronics companies in Japan and all Olympic Games since 1984. He also still shoots images for books, advertisements and businesses.
Eleven years ago, Jones decided he wanted to take a more artistic angle with his work and create something that would make a mark. He started his first personal art project, a collection of 27 black and white images for "Final Exposure: Portraits from Death Row."
"No one was going to remember me for the photo of a computer printed in an annual report," Jones says. "I wanted to (focus on) something that no one else had done, something that was an issue that was significant and discussion and debate on it still hadn't been invested in completely. I spent six years photographing men and women on death row."
Jones says even if you're not a photographer, you can still enjoy this show because it also appeals to those who like art and travel.
If you go
* What: Exhibit and lecture with photographer Lou Jones
* When: Lecture is Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. Exhibit runs through April.
* Where: Beverly Public Library, Sohier Room, 32 Essex St., Beverly
* How: The show and lecture are free. Call 978-921-6066.
