Hidden Compass: The Podcast

Join Hidden Compass co-founders and podcast co-hosts Sivani Babu and Sabine K. Bergmann as they bring you stories from their award-winning magazine, and go behind the scenes with each storyteller to see what inspired them to venture to the frontiers of courage and curiosity. Season 1’s theme is “What Have I Done?”

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Hidden Compass: The Podcast

Just Another Adventure Story

December 08, 2021 • Season 2 • Episode 6

We hope you’re ready for “Just Another Adventure Story” — one of our earliest photo features, this remarkable story presents itself as not a remarkable story, which is, in fact, what makes it a remarkable story. If that doesn’t make sense yet: don’t worry. This is Hidden Compass: The Podcast, which means everything gets murkier before it becomes clear. Especially for this season’s theme, “What Have I Done?”

Today’s guest is world-renowned photographer Robert Holmes. Co-hosts Sabine and Sivani sit with Bob in conversation to discuss the series of career-changing events that brought Bob to accidental greatness, the importance of pestering editors (in both directions) and opening doors, and the confluence of experiencing the amazing and the miserable, the ruthless and the kind. But first, journey with us, as Robert Holmes takes us back in time to Pakistan in the early 80s and tells us about a historic expedition along the treacherous Karakoram Highway.

Story
“Just Another Adventure Story” first appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of Hidden Compass: The Magazine as a photo feature in our Quest department. See the full story and its accompanying photographs from nearly four decades ago, here: https://hiddencompass.net/story/just-another-adventure-story.

Storyteller
From the 1975 British Everest Expedition to the vineyards of the world, Robert Holmes’ career as one of the world’s most successful and prolific travel photographers has extended more than 40 years. Bob’s assignments have taken him from searching for snow leopards in the remote valleys of Western Nepal, to trekking into the rain forests of Borneo with Penan tribesmen, to crossing the Great Indian Desert on camel. Learn more about Bob at his website, https://robertholmesphotography.com/, and his blog, http://mobile-holmes.com/. Follow him on Instagram @bobholmesphoto. And check out his Hidden Compass profile at https://hiddencompass.net/journalist/robert-holmes.

Hidden Compass

Hidden Compass is an award-winning, women-led media company that’s forging an Alliance to turn storytellers and explorers into heroes and champion a new age of discovery.

To learn more about us and support storytellers like Bob, visit https://hiddencompass.net and contribute to our fundraising campaigns. We split campaign proceeds 50/50 with the writer of each story, and storytellers receive their cut on top of their article pay.

To support Hidden Compass, recommend us to someone who’s looking to stand up for journalism, science, history, and hope. You can also buy tickets to our virtual events at https://hiddencompass.net/events, and learn more about becoming an Ally at https://hiddencompass.net/alliance. Sign up for our newsletter at https://bit.ly/2Yc2HH1.

See you next week, when we’ll go deep into the forests of El Salvador, and speak with Jennifer Billock about revolution, transformation, and “Wartime in the Woods.”