I was 38, single, no kids, no debt, with a little savings, and between careers. What better time to take a year off and see the world.

I never traveled much as a youth, but got used to living in a foreign-speaking country when I commuted to Stockholm 25 times in eight months for a project. I’d always been afraid of strange food, and getting lost in the woods. But all that travel kinda sparked something in me and I began thinking about visiting Thailand, where all my Swedish pals went diving in the winter. I thought, “Well, if I’m going all the way over there, why not go all the way around the world?”

Then I wondered, “How nice would it be if I found a sponsor?” My frequent design client Agfa announced their second digital still camera, the ePhoto 1280, in September 1997. I put together a one page proposal and sent it to my longtime client Peter Broderick. It outlined my expected route, schedule, and story ideas. I proposed that they could use the photographs I made as test images, and as content associated with the web pages of the camera. We negotiated a price and they supplied me with the camera and software.