Global Entry: Travel Photographers Expanding Your Mind

These days, anyone with an Instagram account and a smartphone can post a travel snap, but there is still an elite class of photographers that can call themselves legitimate travel photographers. Their sense of composition, anthropology and personal investment in telling a place’s story. It’s all evident in the feeds of these five expert shooters from around the world, all with a very different aesthetic and MO. In the sign-off style of our first photographer @AnnurPatjane, “Good light and thank you for visiting.”

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@anuarpatjane

After we heard of Anuar Patjane, we immediately Googled him. The first hit reads, “The Best Underwater Travel Photographer In The World.” No hyperbole, it’s entirely correct. He’s been shooting since he turned 5—plenty of time for him to become the master of wide-scale, sweeping panoramas of both land and sea. His photos become more impressive still when you realize he’s shooting with a pocket-sized point-and-shoot.

Location: Mexico

Followers: 14.6k

@santiago_arau

No situation is off limits for the 25-year-old photographer. He isn’t afraid to embed himself in protests, on packed rush-hour traincars, or at sold-out soccer games. It’s all in the name of commemorating cultural and social moments in a place’s living history.

Location: Mexico City, Mexico

Followers: 6,574

@diegohuertaphoto

Diego Huerta considers his work an honor—he’s found himself living, for months at a time, among the indigenous communities of Mexico. His current project centers on Oaxaca, where he inadvertently witnessed the country’s biggest annual festival called the Guelaguetza. His portraits are works of living, breathing art, and we love that he’s totally transparent about what his experiences are like, often posting selfies with the people he photographs.

Location: Austin, TX

Followers: 82.8k

@renatapedrosa

Renata Pedrosa may be based in Brazil, but you could drop her anywhere in South America (she’s been on a big of a tropical island tear lately) , and she’ll find the heartbeat. Her specialty is ocean life, but her feed has a locals-only vibe that gives you the sense of riding shotgun as the visits markets, boutiques, local secret spots you’d encounter in daily life.

Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Followers: 46.4k

@jesusochoa

You don’t have to speak Spanish to understand what Jesus Ochoa’s feed is about—a few themes emerge right away. First? Weddings. It’s a definite niche for a travel photographer, capturing a special place through the filter of a couple’s most intense few hours. But that human element is what sets him apart: a place is best understood through its people.

Location: Venezuela

Followers: 9,279

@anuarpatjane

@santiago_arau

@diegohuertaphoto

@renatapedrosa

@jesusochoa

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A 2022 World Travel Guide