"BEAUTY IS HAPPINESS. HAPPINESS IS BEAUTY.
YOU CAN FIND IT ANYWHERE, BUT IT HELPS TO HAVE A GOOD PAIR OF FLIP FLOPS
AND A PENTAX 6-7."
Featured Traveler: Anne Menke
All photos by Anne Menke
When we were making a list of the world’s most experienced travelers to highlight, fashion and fine art photographer Anne Menke was one of the first people that came to mind. Though she works in the glamorous world of luxury fashion, Menke also embodies the down-to-earth traits of a kind traveler. Anyone who has worked with her knows her to be a laid back soul, who spends her free time surfing and giving back to her favorite causes. She is the co-founder of the nonprofit Niños del Sol and the Costa Verde International School. The mission of the Costa Verde International School is to provide children and adults in Sayulita and the surrounding area with high quality progressive education that is culturally and economically inclusive and focused on environmental sustainability, and to advance ecological responsibility in Mexico.
Born and educated in Germany, Menke opened her first photography studio there before moving to Paris and traveling the world to shoot fashion and advertising campaigns for top magazines and brands, such as Vogue, Elle, Sports Illustrated, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, and Nike.
Today, she commutes between New York City and her home in Sayulita, Mexico, and is one of the world’s most in demand fashion photographers. As such it’s not uncommon for Menke to find herself flying over the plains of Mongolia or the mountains of South America in a helicopter shooting models for Vogue, while capturing the indigenous people and cultures in such a way that they transform from mere backdrop to reveal a sublime influence on the world of fashion.
In her critically-acclaimed coffee table book, See the World Beautiful, Menke journeys from the deserts of Africa to the hills of Asia to the frozen landscapes of North America and beyond with her keen eye and an innate understanding of people and place. She documents as an insider not a voyeur, just how fashion, culture and art collide on such shoots.
She not only documents, she joins in on joyous pilgrimages in India, explores the roots of couture in Mongolia, and captures the interconnectedness between animals and gauchos in the Andes and other exotic locales.
Below, we share our favorite excerpts and photographs from Menke’s photography book See The World Beautiful and she gives her frank answers to the Kind Traveler Q & A.
FIRST YOU HAVE TO BE INVITED TO GO TO THIS VILLAGE HIGH UP IN THE ANDES. AND THEN YOU HAVE TO FIND IT. WE DROVE FROM CUSCO IN AN OLD VW VAN AND THEN A GUIDE NAMED MATHIAS, A Q’ERO INDIAN WEARING A PONCHO, CAME TO MEET US. WE PACKED OUR GEAR ON HORSES AND WALKED FOR THREE DAYS UP A TINY DIRT TRAIL. ALONG THE WAY I MET 8-YEAR-OLD GIRLS AND BOYS WALKING FOR DAYS BY THEMSELVES, HERDING SHEEP AND LLAMAS UP STEEP HILLS.
IN THE ANDES THE WOMEN PERFORM MANUAL LABOR IN THE FIELDS, HARVESTING CORN AND POTATOES. THE MEN DO ALL OF THE KNITTING. THEY MAKE ELABORATE PATTERNS THAT ARE SOME OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED I’VE EVER SEEN.
THE KIND TRAVELER Q & A
Favorite Occupation
Taking pictures and surfing
If I were not a photographer, I would be
A cook and Pastry chef
I am currently inspired by
Music and the ocean
I travel because
I love to see new places and, most importantly, meet the people that live there
Most cherished travel destinations
Mexico and Tahiti
“THIS IS A HOLY CITY WHERE PEOPLE BRING THEIR LOVED ONES TO LIVE OUT THEIR LAST DAYS. WHEN THEY DIE, THEIR BODIES ARE PLACED IN THE GANGES RIVER.”
Most memorable trip
Mongolia
I am eternally delighted by
Optimism
Music I travel with
Roots reggae
Three things I cannot travel without
My I pod, my Pentax 67 and Kai Perfume
Must-Have Travel Apps
Google maps, flightscanner, camera+, light seeker
My Favorite Hotels
Overwater bungalows in Tahiti
Place I dream about visiting
The Galapagos Islands
I support these charities
Waves 4 Water; Save the Whales; Colegiocostaverde.com
My most memorable volunteer experience
Working at the World Trade Center site right after 9/11, making breakfast–3000 scrambled eggs every night–for a week from 12am to 6am for other volunteers and emergency workers.
I inspire kindness
By giving and teaching children to do so