5000 Miles 5000 Smiles
THE MAN
John Edwards, an Electronics and Telecom engineer turned Photographer and a Creative Consultant has contributed a decade of extensive shooting for Indian garment export industry and fashion fraternity. He has published works on People, Fashion, Editorial and Industrial photography. Apart from teaching Photography and Visual Communication in Pearl Academy and also a visiting faculty in St. Joseph’ s College, Bangalore.
Being a‘ Canon Mentor’, he conducts workshops all over India in various genres of photography for Canon India. He was awarded Best‘ Travel and People Photographer’ of the year 2016 by International Camera Fair. As an Air Force Veteran who is trained and conditioned for challenges, John Edwards took up this mission in pursuit to collect those scattered keys to happiness.
THE MISSION
‘ SMILES 5000 MILES’ is an epic journey designed in a way that a solo bike trip on Indian roads scaling 5000 miles to capture 5000 smiles through 50mm lens in 50 Days time frame. Cruising through 15 states on 15 National Highways, Coastal roads from Gujarat till Odisha of Indian peninsula, this journey was a life changing event as I could collect at least 50 stories as a part of this mission. Avoided staying in hotels, motels and guest houses as far as possible but asked random strangers to provide night shelter and food. Getting firsthand experience of security, trust, mankind, tolerance, and brotherhood or the absence of them from unknown was a part of the journey’ s design. This was neither a regular Roadies trip nor an adventure biking challenge … in his own words, " For me, riding 5000 miles on a bike alone from summer to monsoon in Indian roads is less challenging than shooting 5000 happy smiles and making people willing to accommodate me and collecting their life stories …."
THE MACHINE
Custom made ROYAL ENFIELD Electra evolved as a‘ Battle Bull’ and a Canon body with 50mm lens took this challenge with him. Well, a GoPro was sticking along to document this crazy trip until it was broken in a near fatal accident just a day before reaching home on completion.
50 Vol 5