Breaking Down Ambition Versus Reality

Not many can call themselves a photographer and an adventurer. Not because they can’t, but probably because they won’t put themselves in a situation that stretches them to their limit and beyond. Cory Richards on the other hand seems like a photographer who is born out of adventure. Bhavya desai speaks to him about his innate sense of adventure, his personal journey, mental toughness and his recent collaboration with a car manufacturer. Excerpts:

- Bhavya Desai

What is the level of preparations that an adventure photographer undergoes ahead of any expedition?

These trips are months, if not years of making. Often times before a large expedition, like the one with the Rolls-Royce Cullinan I spent a few months in preparation, learning about the place I was going and doing research, then a couple of weeks of packing, making sure I had all the equipment I needed from a photography perspective.

These things are logistical puzzles, some people would call them nightmares, some people would call them an absolute dream. I tend to think of them more as nightmares and I am always blown away by the capacity of the teams that come together and orchestrate these massive endeavours.

If you look back at all the time that I am putting into my next adventure, which I’m embarking on in spring, it is literally ten years of work. The acute preparation is around three months while the training period is about a year.

Despite vigorous preparation factors like isolation, fatigue among others take one to the edge of their mental toughness. Do you think any level of prep can do that?

I mean you can’t prepare for the rapid shifts that may or may not happen in an assignment or an expedition, because all you can do is adapt to the moment as it unfolds. That’s the nature of expeditions or exploration. The only thing that prepares for that kind of decision-making is doing that decision-making. You will not know what those decisions are going to be or what is going to predicate them.