Matthew David Nelson

To Kade Krichko,

I’m Matthew Nelson, a travel writer and photographer from Des Moines, Iowa, writing to pitch a story for the Growth issue.

I would contribute a personal essay about how I grew as a photographer and made a living while traveling despite being from a seemingly uninteresting place. 

My message intends to inspire storytellers who may not be from mainstream destinations to look deeply and find the threads that connect all of us on a global scale.

In my own story, I start by looking at my hometown closely for interesting relationships with other countries and peoples - and through discovering Iowa’s rich network of sister-state relationships, find myself suddenly landing photo assignments that crossed cultural and international boundaries; involving meeting and photographing heads of state in the Western Balkans, camping above 4000 meters in Himalayan wilderness within a Tibetan Buddhism sanctuary, and covering Japanese high school baseball tournaments, through the connections I made solely in Iowa of all places.

I would love to talk more about contributing to Ori Magazine, as I think it presents a rare path forward for genuine story-telling and returning to true craftsmanship despite the current trends of superficial and hollow travel “content.” 

A set of photographs have been added below to accompany the article. I look forward to discussing a potential story in further detail.

Matthew

www.mearcstapa.com

Bio:

An advocate for sustainable travel and citizen diplomacy, travel photographer and writer Matthew Nelson has undertaken projects in ten countries, primarily in the Western Balkans, India, and Nepal. His work has been published in National Geographic Traveller Magazine, Outside Online, and Get Lost! (AU), among other publications worldwide. His photographs have appeared in exhibitions and shows in Athens, Greece, and Prishtina, Kosovo. He is also a freelance contributor to travel guidebooks.