Despite having never crossed paths while at the University of Virginia, David Bacher and I have the shared history of being proud members of the Virginia Men’s Crew team (yes, I was on the men’s team). We first met in Paris several years ago where Dave works as a professional photographer, documenting Paris and New York (featured below and will be part of the Arles Photo Festival OFF in the restaurant La Charcuterie from July 3 – Aug 31), “shooting” (in the kindest way possible) reindeer in Sweden, and capturing weddings in France and beyond. Dave has a fantastic photojournalistic eye, and I love the moments and moods he is able to capture. Now to find a French husband, and I’ll be the first to hire him! {Merci, David!}

{Paris}

last trip taken:
Dubai U.A.E.

next trip on deck:
Casablanca, Morocco

{NYC}

{Paris}

one place you would go back to again and again:
South Tyrolian Alps, the area around Bolzano Italy. My father comes from this part of the world and the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.

place you’d most likely recommend a friend go visit:
South Tyrolian Alps.

{NYC}

{NYC}

preferred method of transportation:
Foot. Walking is the only way to get good photos. It’s all about wandering and getting lost in a place that enables one to come across unique hidden treasures.

place you’ve never been but dying to go:
Nepal/Tibet/Ladakh…Himalayas.

{Paris}

place you’d never go back:
Dubai

most memorable trip in 2 sentences or less:
I was in northern Sweden during the winter photographing a Sami reindeer coral. The light, the ambiance, the mysticism cannot be reproduced anywhere else.

{Paris}
{NYC}

how do you prepare for a trip?
Well, I don’t prepare that much because I like to discover on the road. I think it’s better not to have too many preconceptions of a place. I may glance through some travel guides or do a few internet searches for detailed information but that’s about all.

{Paris}
{NYC}

how do you record your travels when you’re traveling?
As I’m a photographer it’s mainly with my camera. I do carry a little notebook and jot down things that may catch my attention along the way. The accompanying photos are my travel records of street life in Paris and NYC for example. It’s a long term project that I’m working on. Sometimes I’ll jot down the name of a place or a street corner where I manage to get an interesting shot, but often this is a waste of time because based on my experience the best images jump out at you when least expected. It’s a bit philosophical in a way and merely entails letting things unfold, a bit like life one might say.

{Paris}

what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
People in their environment.

{NYC}

{NYC}

on an average, how many pictures to you take on a trip?
That’s difficult to say. It depends on each place. I’m not a big fan of taking thousands of photos while working on a personal project. I will clarify that this only pertains to my personal documentary projects. During a full day wedding I may take 1200 photos, which is a completely different way of working as compared to wandering around the streets of Paris looking for those magical moments. Sometimes I might spend 5 hours on foot and only take 10 pictures.

{NYC}

{Paris}

what’s in your “designer travel kit” ?
I am not a photographer who carries tons and tons of gear. I like to carry one camera body and usually one wide angle zoom. My preferred lens is the 17-35. I shoot with Nikon.

{Paris}
{NYC}

what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
I upload all of my photos to Lightroom and start going through them, completing 2-3 edits.

{Paris}
{NYC}

favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
This could be anything from a reindeer antler to a nice piece of South Tyrolian speck, which is dried meat somewhat comparable to jambon de Parma.

{Paris}

LINKS:
website: davidbacher.com
weddings: photobacher.com
blog: www.photographer-paris-france.tumblr.com/

Boarding Pass is a weekly column exploring the creative ways people travel.