Jiří Kolbaba is well-known Czech traveler and photographer. Most people know him from various slide shows, exhibitions and meetings where he introduces his unique observations and experiences. He grew up in totalitarian regime so he never planned to be an explorer. But in his youth he came to Mongolia with his father who was there with geologists. This changed everything.

“It was a great experience for me. At that time I got closer to the Buddhism and the Lamaism and longed to learn more, especially those of Asian cultures. With the advent of the Velvet revolution and the change of political regime there was an opportunity to travel, so I went. At first, it was with travel agencies to Mexico, Tunisia and Indonesia. My visit to Indonesia has totally changed my life. In 1994 I was for first time in Bali and since then I have been there already eleven times. I’ve decided I don’t want to live in Europe whose standards, lifestyle and morality I resent and has started to sprout abroad.”

You’ve already visited 130 countries on all six continents. Which countries do you like best and where do you still want to go?

“Antarctica was the most suggestive for me. And recently I have travelled around Pacific Islands because I am James Cook’s fan. I also try to fill in some countries in Africa and America, especially in South America.”

You mentioned James Cook who was a great traveler. He visited a large number of islands during his life. How many of these islands have you visited already?

“I don’t have it precisely counted but I know I have been on more than two hundred of the world islands. I still miss few of them, for example Cape Verde, but I will eventually complete it. I need to return to some places and take better shots as I visited them during a period I wasn’t interested in Cook so much. But the vast majority of places I have thoroughly explored. Including Kauai where Cook landed the first time on Hawaiian Islands and Kealakekua Bay in Big Island where he was killed in 1779, ten minutes after eight on February 14th.”

Is there any country you would still like to visit?

“My dream is to visit the North Pole, to return to Antarctica and to see a few other countries in Africa and South America. There are places I like to return and places where I don’t want to go. I am not a war correspondent, so I don’t travel to sites with the military activity. I like going to the beautiful world and creating projects which acquaint with the world, cultures, natural constants which inspire and not haunt, that speak of tolerance among people, and non-xenophobic behavior, emphasizing the protection of fauna and flora.”

Is it possible to identify the uniqueness of a country or its people in such a short period as a week or two?

“If I visit some area only briefly, I present it as my personal observation which I have of the country, its environment and culture. It’s obviously nice to be somewhere for a long time, but on the other hand, we all know that we don’t understand even what is happening in our neighborhood. I don’t need to be an analyst or a site expert and yet I can provide information that will be supremely objective, truthful and inspiring.”

You have travelled through many countries. Don’t you feel some dullness when visiting another country? Or do you still approach it with an initial enthusiasm of a traveler beginner?

“I am the traveler who dreams about aborigines, palms, beaches and islands. It does not tire me at all because nothing can be ever repeated. Each visit, even of the same field, is always different. Probably like everyone I am sometimes lazy to get on the road. More often I don’t want to come back from travels, though.”

During your journeys you pass different time zones and taste exotic foods which might be stodgy for many Czechs. How does your body align with that? Do you get vaccinated against various diseases?

“When people enjoy something, it never hurts. I myself don’t know what fatigue is or when someone has been food poisoned. Time zones passing or change in diet leave no consequences on me. However, I stay abroad more than at home so my microbial environment is probably totally different from the European one. Sometimes I thank to my parents they equipped me genetically so well for this career. Over the last 22 years I haven’t had an injury or illness to seek a medical help. But I believe in travel prophylaxis, therefore I voluntarily visit a doctor before traveling to inoculate what is needed.”

In several different interviews you stated that you are the traveler in the first place and only then a photographer.

“I defend to call myself the traveler, although this is my living. And I defend even more to call myself a photographer because I am not a trained photographer. I am an artist and graphic designer so I know something about the Golden Ratio Rule and the composition. And maybe I look at a picture compositionally differently than others. When a man takes pictures by heart and enjoys it, he can get quite far. It works great for me.”

Your pictures bring many interesting topics closer to people. Do you have a favorite one you would like to pay more attention to?

“The biggest theme is human faces. I want people to realize that even though we have a different color skin, we share the same emotions and reactions. People are really great motive for me. My second topic is nature where deserts are the most photogenic. It is amazing what can be experienced there. And although I am not a specialist in photographing animals because I have no appropriate technique or patience, I often photograph them around the globe. I prepared a special program called ´Photo safari – Planet of animals´ which celebrates the animals. We project at schools, especially for small children. We try to teach them how to differentiate a seal from a sea lion, a cheetah from a leopard, and to awake an interest in nature and its protection.”

What photographic equipment do you carry with you?

„Usually I carry about twelve to eighteen kilos. In my bag I have three to four bodies and a few lenses. Then I have a pouch in which I hide a standby camera, three lenses and a flash. I never use creative filters, only polarizing one. And then I carry with me some films because I still take analog pictures. I am a huge lover of Fuji Velvia films with film sensitivity 50. I have two full refrigerators so I am ready to leave immediately for a photographic trip. I’ve tried all kinds of film brands but this one is unbeatable.”

What kind of camera do you use?

“I own Nikon F6, Nikon F100, Hasselblad Xpan panoramic camera and ultra wide Voigtlander Bessa-L with a fixed 15mm lens. From time to time I also use digital Sony Alpha 900, which is a full frame with 25 million points. Sometimes I carry a small unobtrusive camera Sony CyberShot with 13.6 million points which I take out on places where it is dangerous to use a big camera. Disguised as a tourist who just snaps, I have pictures which are not so common. Resolution is so decent that I could use some photos in a slide show or an article. I am obsessed with presenting exactly what I get so there is no need to make additional cuts or to edit photos.”

Do you have divided what device takes what topic?

“Basically, I take pictures almost permanently by Nikon F6, which I still have on hand. F100 is my backup.”

During your travels you certainly experience a lot. Could you share some humorous or terrifying story from photo shoot?

“I have innumerable humorous and sometimes even dramatic footage from the photo shoot. For example, photo shooting of a cheetah in Africa when you are only one meter away, photographing people at a market in Central America or Indians in North America…This all is full of drama and yet beautiful human encounters. It is about smiles. Those people often ask me: “Why do you photograph me?” And I reply, “Because I like you. You are a representative of your culture and I want to get from this trip the best possible images that tell about your country, your culture.” It's all about interpersonal relationships, nothing else.”

What would you advise to beginning travelers?

“If the traveler has no heart, he is no traveler. And I add that it is necessary to have a desire, a dream and go for it. It's nothing else. So many times I have seen it around me. I know people who live through heart and they enjoy the world. I know wealthy people who can not make there a solid step. Masaryk said: “It is not sufficient if we hop around the world. It is important to internally process what the world gives us. And it's important to learn something of it, enrich our ranking of values and beliefs. And then to pass it on to someone.” All great Czech travelers and certainly also explorers from other countries had this ambition. Even today in the Czech Republic, there is a large number of motivated people, who travel intensively, live it through the heart and have the humility towards visited territories and cultures.”

If you are interested to read more about Jiří Kolbaba, visit http://www.theworld.cz/