Jord Hammond was 23 years old and didn’t know a camera from a camel.
He was traveling around Asia picking up random teaching jobs to help make ends meet. As he explains it, “I began taking photos whilst working as a teacher in China back in 2015—when I was 23—as a means of showing my family and friends what I was up to out there. I didn’t know much. My work schedule allowed me to travel a bit so I was able to practice photography as a hobby but not much more. So, I saved up enough money while teaching to take off for a few months. The first step in my humble ‘career’ in photography started whilst journeying around and offering small companies free photoshoots in order to build my portfolio, and from there, I began offering paid photography services once my portfolio and following were big enough.” Clever guy. This feature is not a photo journal to show you travel through the lens of Jord Hammond, now a top Instagram-famous travel photographer/hybrid marketing guy, it is a composition of what working everyday for several years with 16-hour work days being the norm will get you. Well, that and a couple of 4 dollar bus tickets. The young Mr. Hammond was not able to capture these moments by accident or through entitlement. It seems he took the other path, and ended up hustling his way to these spots. Nothing wrong with that.
Carry on, Jord.
Desert Train
Thinking back to one of my favourite days in Jordan. If I could take a train ride to anywhere in the world I’d likely take it to Hogwarts.
Jungle Train
A shot from Bangkok’s very own inner-city jungle where, surprisingly, we had the place all to ourselves. Shot on a 200mm lens far enough from the train to move aside in good time—safety first, friends.
Taipei Scooter Stairs
This is probably one of my favourite photos from the past year, shot at rush hour in bustling Taipei.
Misty Mountain
I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life. It took a painstaking 48 hours of travel to finally reach this unearthly location, only to see it emerge from the rolling clouds for a total of 60 seconds—but hey, 60 seconds is far better than zero seconds.
Mongolian Hawk Child
Like father, like son. Hunting with eagles is a traditional form of falconry now found in few parts of the world. We were lucky enough to witness this family in action in the mountains of Ölgii, Mongolia. Considering I live in Bali, it’s ironic that I’m by far more interested in visiting lesser frequented locations.
