Utahn's 'traveling journal' showcases photography, places worldwide

Utahn's 'traveling journal' showcases photography, places worldwide

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SANTAQUIN — What started out as a distraction from a Utah woman's chronic illness has turned into a worldwide project bringing photographers of all styles and skill levels together.

In December 2009, Vonda Jensen’s liver nearly failed her, leaving her sick for a month. Also suffering from a chronic illness, Jensen decided she needed an outlet and a way to distract herself from her discomfort. She turned to photography, quickly realizing her love for landscape and nature photography.

Not content with the status quo, Jensen, of Santaquin, began thinking of how she could take her hobby to another level and create something really interesting. The idea snowballed into Photography’s Traveling Journal, a project that would end up engaging 30 international photographers and gain a modest following.

“To find most of (the photographers) I just had to do searches for and search really hard,” Jensen said. “It took a lot of work to find a lot of them, because I wanted it to really travel far. I wanted it to go places that people wouldn’t expect.”

Since Jensen snapped her photo for a book in Fishlake National Forest in October 2010, the journal has been making its way across six of the Earth’s seven continents. Photographers are asked to take some images that include the journal, write about the place and their experience, paste an image in the journal and post others to the journal Facebook page.

Jensen said the kindness and selflessness of the participants has kept this project moving forward. The brown leatherbound book was handmade and donated by Rogue Journals and the photographers invest time, talent and shipping costs.

The journal at Knigssee Lake in Germany. (Photo: Sascha Gobel)
The journal at Knigssee Lake in Germany. (Photo: Sascha Gobel)

“It changed me in a lot of ways,” Jensen said. “It’s inspired me. I came up with the idea, but it’s inspired me probably more than anybody.”

Jensen said she chose the photographers based on what they had to offer in perspective as much as how much she liked their work. By involving individuals with a variety of skill levels, the book has taught her about the world and its people, as well as photography.

“Certain people intrigued me more by their perspective than their work, I guess,” Jensen said. “I liked their perspective of life and I thought it was just as important as their photos. I let all different skill levels join.”

Unexpected stories have emerged throughout the project, like that of photographer Ayham Alruhban of France. He wrote in the journal about the difficulty of being separated from his girlfriend, who is in Syria. Bombings took out lines of communication, making the distance seem even further for them, Jensen said.

“To see their love for each other and to be separated has made me realize how blessed I am to live where I do,” Jensen said.

Stories like Alruhban’s have motivated her to endure her challenges and keep a positive outlook.

“A few of the friendships I’ve made, they’ve inspired me to continue looking on the bright side of life and they've supported me through my trials,” Jensen said. “We’ve really grown friendships on Facebook through it. I think of them as my team members; we’re all in this together. They definitely inspire me, they always lift me up and encourage me. We do that for each other, all of us.”

Frequent communication with people across the world has also taught her that more than anything else, we’re all part of a global community.

“Everybody around the world is the same. We all have our trials. It’s left me feeling really blessed,” Jensen said. “I’ve seen these people change jobs, have families. It’s just been really inspiring for me.”

Jensen will be starting a 50 states journal next, she said.

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Celeste Tholen Rosenlof

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