SEVEN+

SEVEN CONTINENTS + SEVEN YEARS. A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY

DAVID DUCHEMIN
THE EXPANDED DIGITAL EDITION
 SEVEN+
SEVEN CONTINENTS + SEVEN YEARS. A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY
DAVID DUCHEMIN

THE EXPANDED DIGITAL EDITION

This is an expanded digital edition of SEVEN. In creating this edition we were free
from the constraints of print media, so weve added more pages to include photo-
graphs that I would very much like to have included in the original edition but had
to cut to accomodate the size of the book. In some cases we have changed the lay-
outs to take advantage of the digital medium, like the lack of gutters between pages.
David duChemin is a Canadian photographer based alternately in Vancouver, remote places in the tent atop
his Jeep, or on one or another of this planets seven astonishing continents. He divides his attention between
Published By Craft&Vision Press
creating images of hope for advocacy and fundraising projects for the international humanitarian & NGO
Copyright 2013 David duChemin, All Rights Reserved community, and pursuing personal work in wild places.
Craft & Vision Press is a division of Pixelated Image Communications Inc.
CraftAndVision.Com A passionate advocate of the photographic arts, David is the author of several books, including Within The
Frame, Photographically Speaking, and The Print & The Process.

Photographs of David duChemin Cynthia Haynes His work can be found online at DavidduChemin.com
 The gift
of photography is that it teaches us to truly see. This is
as true of the photographer with the camera to his eye
as it is to the person who experiences the photographs.
The camera, subject to so many more limitations than
the human eye, the limitations of the frame especially,
excels because of those limitations, not despite them.
Photography is the art of exclusion, made so by the
fact that it forces us to place what matters inside a
frame, excluding all else. Its a story-telling device of
extraordinary elegance and simplicity. And by this
act of exclusion we point more powerfully to the things
within the frame, saying without words, because they
arent needed when the photograph is clear, Look
at this! With so much going on in the world of our
periphery, its the photographer who picks one detail
and elevates it from the unobserved and mundane and
points out the line, the light, or the moment that would
otherwise have passed without our notice.
Photography is not merely about what we see, but
how we see it. The often repeated nonsense about the
camera never lying is, of course, just that. Nonsense.
The camera is a storytelling device that will tell any
truth or lie we ask of it. Or have we forgotten that it is
cameras, and many of them, that capture the raw
materials for the thousands of movies created every
year, and the hundreds of thousands of ad campaigns
that choke the once-beautiful print media thats now
in such decline, not to mention the propaganda films
of every conceivable dogma? The camera is far from
objective, and I say this in praise of the camera, not
to slander it. How many of us really want our stories
told to us with just the facts, whatever those are, with-
out feeling or reaction? The price of this so-called ob-
jectivity is a loss of humanity. How much would I love
to watch news anchors who actually, forgive my crass-
ness, gave a damn - and showed it? Theres a reason
we flock to stories and not simply facts: they feed our
souls, help us sort out meaning, re-ignite lost wonder.
Thousands and thousands of years of humanity finding
meaning and beauty in stories and we talk about the
camera as though it can, or should, free us from that
terrible burden. What a loss. After all, its not the
camera itself that is the point, but the astonishing
things it can do in the hands of a storyteller.
It is the very subjectivity of the camera that I love.
Were it objective it would produce frame after frame
of homogeny, but it doesnt. Or, at least, it doesnt
have to. From the moment I picked up my first camera,
a used Voigtlander bought cheap at a neighbours yard
sale, I was mesmerized by the ability to make some-
thing new, my photographs becoming a collaboration
between the reality that was out there, the constraints
of the camera in my hand, and the choices I made by
virtue of my imagination, or as often as not, by sheer
Plate 01
dumb luck (I will always be grateful for the grace of Camogli, Italy. 2010
serendipity). With the camera to my eye I could re-
frame the world and bring new order to it. I could put
lines in new places with different lenses and a change in
perspective. I could de-focus a lens or move the camera
during an exposure, and reduce a scene to nothing but
shape and colour. I could freeze a moment in time that
would otherwise pass so fast that it would escape notice,
and extend the experience of wonder for as long as I
cared to look at the print.
It is that wonder, I think, more than anything else, to
which my cameras have opened my eyes. The wonder
of this astonishing planet and the people that dwell
thereon. The wonder at our differences and commonali-
ties. The wonder at all the beauty this planet continues
to create, despite our own reckless, and astonishing,
determination to destroy it. My favourite songwriter,
Canadian Bruce Cockburn wrote a song called World
of Wonders in which he speaks of
a rainbow shining in a bead of spittle, Falling
diamonds in rattling rain. Light flexed on moving
muscle, I stand here dazzled with my heart in flames
at this world of wonders. Moment of peace like brief
arctic bloom, Red-gold ripple of the sun going down.
Line of black hills makes my bed, Sky full of love
pulled over my head, in this world of wonders.
There is so much beauty out there if we only have the
eyes to see it.
There is great darkness too, though Im not the one
to tell those stories. There are men and women out
there much more able to bear witness to the horrors
of the human drama, and natural disasters, of our age.
Ive chosen not to tell those stories, because Im not
sure the human heart and soul is wired to hear them
all, and these days we hear them from a million differ-
ent voices, on a million different channels. The telling
of many of them is necessary, but theyve become at-
tached to so much fear-mongering that its no wonder
were seeing record rates of clinical depression and cor-
responding prescriptions to treat it. Ive chosen to pho-
tograph not the wars, but the things I imagine we hope
for in the midst of war, as we have been, as a planet,
almost without stop during this century of genocide,
which are hope and beauty. Even in my assignment
work for humanitarian organizations I look for the
hope because there are enough photographs of
children with flies around their eyes, all of them
pointing to the horror of poverty, but not to the
reality that the people living in this poverty share a
common humanity with us. They laugh, play, love,
and long for the same things we long for. Both stories
are needed. I simply chose to look for, and tell, the
stories of hope, pushed there by my own hope that we
have a better shot at changing the world when we are
moved by love and respect and a desire for justice, not
merely pity. Shock keeps us glued to televisions, para-
lyzed by disbelief, it does not often move us to action,
much less a life of sustained generosity.
Over the last seven years Ive placed my feet on seven
continents, at least according to the geopolitical defini-
tion of the term. The glaring exception is continental
Australia, though spending time photographing in
New Zealand means Ive been in Oceania. And it is the
camera to my eye and the never-easy creative process
of wrestling with my muse, that has helped me see
it - this planet and her children - with fresh eyes. And
having seen it, to reclaim my own place in it as one of
her children. Its easy to identify with our own national
citizenships and forget that we remain, no matter the
borders that separate us, citizens of this earth and our
brothers keepers. And to care for, and love, each other
means to move past the Us vs. Them mentality that
divides us along national, racial, or religious lines. It
means to wonder at mankinds search for the Divine
through faiths not our own, and learning from wisdom
where it can be found, instead of shutting the doors
of our hearts in fear, or misunderstanding, of the
differences. It means to love and respect the planet,
and yes, to save trees and whales, lest our myopia
allow us to forget not only is it right and good to
protect what is beautiful and vanishing, but that this
planet is not merely the place upon which we walk, but
from which we are fed and watered, and it is in areas of
greatest environmental destruction that Ive seen the
greatest poverty and conflict.
Perhaps Im naive to think we can change, but I know
theres great beauty and wonder out there, all around
us, and Id rather live my life looking towards the light
than fearing the darkness. And so, as a photographer,
my medium is light. And time. Both commodities of
extraordinary value, not only symbolically, but actually.
We have nothing if we have neither. And with these
raw materials, and the clumsy tools of this craft, come
another great gift - a voice. To see the world is one
thing, and enriches our own souls, but to be given a
voice, a way of sharing the way we see the world, with
the world itself, is also a gift both to ourselves, and -
one hopes - to those who hear our voice, see the world
differently because of it, and experience new wonder.
So many words to say simply, that the camera has
opened my eyes, and then my heart, to a world that I
love more with each passing day. I dont use the word
love lightly, and by it I do not mean I just really like
it. Someone once said, and Ive no idea the source,
that love is not blind, that love sees more, not less,
and because it sees more, it is willing to see less. Its
true of the people we love, and of the whole astonishing
world. Its not perfect; we dont love because of perfec-
tion but because of beauty, and the two are not remotely
the same. If its possible that love is not merely an emo-
tion or a choice, but a way of seeing, then I hope this
collection widens both your eyes and your heart to this
world of wonder and the moments we share in this too-
brief life.
David duChemin. Vancouver, 2013.
 Plate 02 Plate 03
Old Delhi, India. 2008 Nizamuddin, Delhi, India. 2008
 Plate 04 Plate 05
Agra, India. 2007 Agra, India. 2007
 Plate 06 Plate 07
Varanasi, India. 2007 Varanasi, India. 2007
 Plate 08 Plate 09
Varanasi, India. 2007 Varanasi, India. 2007
 Plate 10 Plate 11
Varanasi, India. 2007 Varanasi, India. 2007
 Plate 12 Plate 13
Ushuaia, Argentina. 2011 Ushuaia, Argentina. 2011
 Plate 14 Plate 15
Antarctica. 2011 Northwest Territory, Canada. 2012
 Plate 16 Plate 17
Yukon Territory, Canada. 2012 Northwest Territory, Canada. 2012
 Plate 18 Plate 19
Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. 2012 Circumcision Bay, Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 20 Plate 21
Cape Foulweather, New Zealand. 2010 Cape Foulweather, New Zealand. 2010
 Plate 22 Plate 23
Moeraki, New Zealand. 2010 Moeraki, New Zealand. 2010
 Plate 24 Plate 25
Ucluelet, BC, Canada. 2012 Roatan, Honduras. 2011
 Plate 26 Plate 27
East Coast, Sweden. 2012 East Coast, Sweden. 2012
 Plate 28 Plate 29
Gobi Desert, Mongolia. 2012 Gobi Desert, Mongolia. 2012
 Plate 30 Plate 31
Yukon Territory, Canada. 2012 Yukon Territory, Canada. 2012
Plate 32
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
 Plate 33 Plate 34
Maasai Mara, Kenya. 2010 Maasai Mara, Kenya. 2012
 Plate 35 Plate 36
Jkulsrln, Iceland. 2010 Jkulsrln, Iceland. 2010
 Plate 37 Plate 38
Venice, Italy. 2010 Venice, Italy. 2010
 Plate 39 Plate 40
Dal Lake, Srinagar, India. 2007 Taj Mahal, Agra, India. 2007
 Plate 41 Plate 42
Ladakh, India. 2009 Old Delhi, India. 2009
 Plate 43 Plate 44
Kashmir, India. 2007 Sankhu, Nepal. 2007
 Plate 45 Plate 46
Bhaktapur, Nepal. 2010 Kathmandu, Nepal. 2009
 Plate 47 Plate 48
Lalibela, Ethiopia. 2006 Lalibela, Ethiopia. 2006
 Plate 49 Plate 50
Jodhpur, India. 2007 Jodhpur, India. 2007
 Plate 51 Plate 52
Srinagar, India. 2007 Ladakh, India. 2008
 Plate 53
Kathmandu, Nepal. 2012
Plate 54
Kathmandu, Nepal. 2012
 Plate 55 Plate 56
Nizamuddin, Delhi, India. 2008 Nizamuddin, Delhi, India. 2008
 Plate 57 Plate 58
Kathmandu, Nepal. 2010 Kathmandu, Nepal. 2010
 Plate 59 Plate 60
Old Delhi, India. 2009 Old Delhi, India. 2009
 Plate 61 Plate 62
Nizamuddin, Delhi, India. 2007 Old Delhi, India. 2007
 Plate 63 Plate 64
Chiang Mai, Thailand. 2009 Chiang Mai, Thailand. 2009
 Plate 65 Plate 66, 67
Sapa, Vietnam. 2009 Sapa, Vietnam. 2009
 Plate 68 Plate 69
Cairo, Egypt. 2009 Cairo, Egypt. 2009
 Plate 70 Plate 71
Kairouan, Tunisia. 2008 Kairouan, Tunisia. 2008
 Plate 72 Plate 73
Lalibela, Ethiopia. 2012 Lalibela, Ethiopia. 2012
 Plate 74 Plate 75
Quito, Ecuador. 2007 Thiksey, Ladakh, India. 2008
Plate 76
Thiksey, Ladakh, India. 2008
 Plate 77 Plate 78
Lalibela, Ethiopia. 2012 Lalibela, Ethiopia. 2012
 Plate 79 Plate 80
Old Havana, Cuba. 2009 Kathmandu, Nepal. 2009
 Plate 81 Plate 82
kathmandu, Nepal. 2012 Kathmandu, Nepal. 2012
 Plate 75
kathmandu, Nepal. 2012

Plate 83
Kathmandu, Nepal. 2010
 Plate 84-86 Plate 87-89
Biritnagar, Nepal. 2008 Senegal. 2010
 Plate 90
Senegal. 2010
 Plate 91 Plate 92
Ladakh, India. 2008 Maasai Mara, Kenya. 2012
Plate 93
Havana, Cuba. 2009
 Plate 94 Plate 95
North Island, New Zealand. 2010 South Island, New Zealand. 2010
 Plate 96 Plate 97
Gobi Desert, Mongolia. 2012 Cape Kiwanda, OR, USA. 2011
 Plate 98 Plate 99
Milford Sound, New Zealand. 2010 Milford Sound, New Zealand. 2010
 Plate 100 Plate 101
Lake Tahoe, CA, USA. 2011 Death Valley, USA. 2011
 Plate 102 Plate 103
Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia, Canada. 2012 Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada. 2012
 Plate 104 Plate 105
Fagelsundet, Sweden. 2012 Fagelsundet, Sweden. 2012
 Plate 106 Plate 107
Iceland. 2010 Iceland. 2010
 Plate 108 Plate 109
North Island, New Zealand. 2010 North Island, New Zealand. 2010
 Plate 110 Plate 111
Iceland. 2010 Iceland. 2010
Plate 112, 113
Deception Island, Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 114 Plate 115
Deception Island, Antarctica. 2012 Deception Island, Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 116 Plate 117
Antarctica. 2012 Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 118 Plate 119
Antarctica. 2011 Antarctica. 2011
Plate 120
Antarctica. 2012
Plate 121
Drake Passage. 2012
Plate 122
Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 123 Plate 124
Antarctica. 2012 Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 125
Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 126 Plate 127
Antarctica. 2012 Antarctica. 2012
Plate 128
Antarctica. 2012
 Plate 129 Plate 130
Antarctica. 2012 Antarctica. 2012
Plate 131
Jamaica. 2010
Plate 132
Lake Turkana, Kenya. 2013
Plate 133
Kargi, Kenya. 2013
Plate 134
Kargi, Kenya. 2013
 Plate 135
Loiyangalani, Kenya. 2013
Plate 136, 137
Loiyangalani, Kenya. 2013
Plate 138, 139
Ndikir, Kenya. 2013
Plate 140, 141
Loiyangalani, Kenya. 2013
 Plate 142 Plate 143
Loiyangalani, Kenya. 2013 Loiyangalani, Kenya. 2013
 Plate 144 Plate 145
Loiyangalani, Kenya. 2013 Loiyangalani, Kenya. 2013
 Plate 132
Ongeli, Kenya. 2013
Plate 146
Ongeli, Kenya. 2013
 Plate 147 Plate 148
Kargi, Kenya. 2013 Kargi, Kenya. 2013
Plate 149
Kargi, Kenya. 2013
Plate 150
Senegal. 2010
Plate 160
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
Plate 161
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
 Plate 162 Plate 163
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
 Plate 164 Plate 165
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
 Plate 166, 167 Plate 168, 169
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
 Plate 170 Plate 171
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
Plate 172
Alberta, Canada. 2013
 Plate 173 Plate 174
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
Plate 175
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
 Plate 176 Plate 177
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
 Plate 178 Plate 179
Yamanouchi, Japan. 2013 Yamanouchi, Japan. 2013
 Plate 180 Plate 181
Yamanouchi, Japan. 2013 Yamanouchi, Japan. 2013
Plate 182
Yamanouchi, Japan. 2013
Plate 183 Plate 184
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013
Plate 136 Plate 185
Hokkaido, Japan. 2013 Hokkaido, Japan. 2013