Photobloggers Exposed: Come Live the LifeVicarious

Part of: Photobloggers Exposed

How many times have you, while sitting behind your little desk in your little cubicle, thought about just packing your bags and leaving it all behind? How often have you thought about exploring the world, experiencing new and exotic cultures, new smells, new tastes, and new adventures? What would it take for you to do it, to take the plunge, to head out there to places unknown — at least to you, alone, with no set plan, just you and your camera, to document our world?

It would take a lot, right? A lot of money, but even then, many of us have spouses, children, mortgages, student loans, the list goes on. We may still have the dream, but our reality always steps in. Until now. Now we can travel the globe, see the places of our dreams, take off at a moment's notice, and live life vicariously, through the lens of someone else.

Paris, FranceChristian Wagner, a photographer from Newport Beach, California, plans to spend the next 448 days traveling around the world, capturing moments in time with his camera, and sharing with the rest of us through his Photoblog: LifeVicarious.

Taking the philosophy behind carpe diem to a new level, Christian is doing what many of us only dream of: he is seizing this moment and not looking back.   Christian’s thirst for travel began four years ago when he took a trip to Europe in May of 2002. Armed only with a borrowed point and shoot camera, Christian took snapshots everywhere he went.

Madrid, SpainUpon his arrival home, he noticed he really enjoyed the images he had created. Since he had recently begun a rather technical job, he decided the creative outlet of photography would be a perfect fit. He purchased his first digital SLR camera, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Taking both a Canon 5D and 10D, Christian subsequently returned to Europe and also traveled to China and visited 20 different countries, all of which now grace the pages of his blog, LifeVicarious.

Influenced by the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Capa, and other photographers of famed Magnum Photos, Christian has managed to document the world in a style that is befitting the greatest photographers in history, yet still reflects his own personal flair.

He shoots primarily in black and white, and strives to include people in his photographs. He has the unique gift of capturing not only the mood of a moment in time, but also the emotion of the people involved and the condition of the setting.

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Article Author: Chantal Stone

Chantal is a professional Wedding & Portrait photographer based in Central Ohio. Her portfolio can be seen at Chantal Stone Photography. She also maintains a blog, where you can see much of her recent work, and a not-updated-nearly-enough photoblog.

Visit Chantal Stone's author pageChantal Stone's Blog

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Article comments

  • 1 - A.L. Harper

    Sep 06, 2006 at 5:29 am

    Wow! A fabulous photographer, a great writer and an angle of mercy. You are truly a renaissance woman. I miss you by the way.

  • 2 - chantal

    Sep 06, 2006 at 7:42 am

    Thanks Andrea!....I miss you too!! but it looks like we BOTH have been quite busy ;)

  • 3 - The Marquise

    Sep 06, 2006 at 2:40 pm

    Lovely idea, and something I've tried to do as much as possible myself when I travel. However, doing it on vacation versus doing it as a lifestyle are two very different things. How refreshing it is to see someone still 'going for it'. I wish him all the luck and I will be following along, and have plenty of good tips for Australia and New Zealand.

  • 4 - Jet in Columbus

    Sep 07, 2006 at 9:26 pm

    Looked forward to this sincy ou told me about it in the car. you'd make a great teacher on the subject.

    Jet

  • 5 - chantal

    Sep 07, 2006 at 10:25 pm

    thanks Jet :)

  • 6 - Howard Dratch

    Sep 12, 2006 at 2:05 am

    Chantal. The man has the right idea and a good eye. I, long ago, dumped the job (psychiatric social work) for photography and loved it. I didn't take this kind of plunge into world travel and, now, wish I had.

    It shows yet again that you should do what you have to do and what feels right and is fulfilling. Not to follow dreams is to make sure they won't be caught.

  • 7 - diana hartman

    Sep 18, 2006 at 6:27 am

    I am pleased to tell you this article is being featured in the Culture Focus today, September 18th.

    Diana Hartman
    Culture Editor

  • 8 - Kerly

    Sep 19, 2006 at 3:29 pm

    Chantal, nice story. I like it. I realized just some 20 minutes ago that Christian had visited my blog and he was pretty generous with his comments. Cool.
    I really hope that only good things happen to him during that trip.

  • 9 - Jet in Columbus

    Nov 15, 2006 at 1:40 am

    Wednesday November 15th is Chantal's birthday!!!!
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHANTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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