ePHOTOzine Talks To Don Mammoser

Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Don Mammoser, I'm from Denver, Colorado, where I live with my wife Anya. I've been an explorer and lover of all things that consisted of outdoor and nature adventures since the time I started walking.

Now, traveling and exploring new places and cultures with my camera, and sharing this knowledge with other interested people are my passions. I've been to 60 countries on 6 continents. I've lived in USA, Italy, Montenegro, and Russia. My wife Anya and I always travel independently with just small backpacks and a couple of cameras. We travel with local people on local transportation and we find that the less money we spend, the closer we get to the real experience of a place. We've just returned from a 21-month non-stop trip all over the World.

How did you get into photography? 
I've had a camera all my life but only really got hooked after University when I was working as a wildlife biologist in America. The more I used the camera to document what the scientists were doing, the more I realised that photography was my true passion.



How did the idea for Photograph the World Newsletter come about? 
Every single time I've traveled to a location where I hadn't been before, I had to spend several days "figuring out" where the good spots were for the best travel photos. Simple things like where to be at sunrise or sunset aren't written up in any guidebooks. 

My wife Anya isn't a professional photographer but she wants great travel photos as well, and whenever we met someone with a camera, no matter what type of camera it was or what type of traveler they were, they all wanted to know: "Where should I go to get a great picture of...whatever?" It was after this exact question came up from other travelers about a million times that I decided to put down into mini-photo guides all the knowledge that I had accumulated from years and years of travel. By doing so, anyone with a camera could know exactly where to go to get the best shot of the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, Saint Peter's etc.

Tell us a bit about the company. 
We are a family-run business and we work either out of our home offices or even from the road with our tiny laptop and an ipad. I've been in business as a professional photographer for 15 years, but our newsletters are written for everyone who wants great travel photos. Our philosophy is that anyone with any type of camera can get travel photos that they can be proud of by using our travel knowledge to get themselves into the right spot at the right time.  Currently we have 34 locations for which we've written our photo guides. Many more are coming as fast as we can write.

What will the newsletter add to a tourist's photos? 
In photography and especially travel photography, timing is everything. The light on every single subject changes by the season, the day, the hour, and even by the minute. For example, if you go to a place during mid-day (or whenever is the wrong time) you may see it at its crowded worst, when the light isn't making it look anything like the glossy travel brochures. But visit that same place during the right time and you can come away with gorgeous, spectacular photos that you can be proud to frame or show off to friends.

Our newsletters provide the knowledge that anyone with limited travel time in a place can make use of. If you have one of our newsletters, and the travel photography knowledge that the newsletters give you, right at your fingertips, you can be sure to know where to go and when to be there for the best holiday photos.



What is your favourite holiday destination and why? 
This question always makes me smile because I've absolutely loved every place I've ever visited! India for the noise, pollution, chaos and crowds, central Siberia for the wide-expanses, cleanliness and lack of crowds, Thailand for the warmth and azure sea, Lapland for the frozen expanses and endless, featureless white...I could go on and on here. I'd have to say that my favourite holiday destination is the next new place that I get to visit.

Do you have a favourite holiday photo that you're particularly proud of? 
When I get to be near real wildlife in a real setting and I manage to control my excitement enough to steady my camera and get a sharp photo - that always makes me particularly happy. But more than that, I love when my wife Anya, or another budding amateur uses something I've taught them, or the knowledge from one of our newsletters and then sends me a photo they are proud of. The photo above was taken by Anya with just a simple point and shoot camera, but she used knowledge about photography which I taught her. This is my happiness!

Visit the Photograph The World Newsletter website to find out more about Don's business.