Deliberate Travels: Global Visual Storytelling with Lola Akinmade

Travel opens us up to unique experiences, new cultures and life lessons that can transform our view on humanity. Combining these with photography allows us to see just how far these stories reach.

Lola Akinmade Akerstrom’s travels include photography and storytelling as integral parts of her experience – she is an award-winning travel photographer and international bestselling author!

Last year, she was honored to receive recognition as a 2022 Hasselblad Heroine, adding yet another accolade to her already impressive list. Additionally, 2018 Bill Muster Travel Photographer of the Year honored her work, featuring it in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, The Guardian Travel + Leisure New York Times Travel Channel publications as well as many others.

Lola recently traveled to Mongolia and shared some great advice for busy globetrotters and travel photographers looking for some insight on self-care practices, how PhotoShelter fits into her travel life, as well as ways she utilizes PhotoShelter on-the-go. We caught up with her to hear all about it!

Lola is being featured this week on Instagram too! Be sure to head there to view more of her vibrant travel photography and environmental portraits.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length, featuring Lola Akinmade’s cover image as shown above.

Last year was an eventful one for you, both book-wise and otherwise! Not only were you one of Hasselblad’s Heroines but we’d like to know more about your experience working together with Hasselblad. Tell us all about it and share any memories or highlights from that project with us.

LA: Being invited as a Hasselblad Heroine was an immense honor and privilege for me, as it’s been one of my longtime goals to join this brand I so greatly admire. Beyond joining an incredible community of photographers, Hasselblad’s support, resources, and partnership will help me grow and hone my craft further as part of its family – this means having access to Hasselblad cameras and lenses whenever I need them for assignments or projects!

Tell us more about your recent journey to Mongolia for photo projects and workshops. Why did you decide to visit this country specifically, and are there any lessons learned along the way?

Mongolia has always fascinated me. From its rich history and harmonious balance between modernity and nomadism to its vast landscape spanning Altai mountains in the west to Gobi desert in the southeast, its topography echoes both traditions and peoples that exist here.

Traveling with an open mind, I seek out quiet moments between people or between nature and people. Additionally, I try to go with the flow and listen carefully to residents about their local knowledge – photographing these suggestions with fresh eyes.

What strategies can be employed when planning trips with photography in mind? What forms of research do you conduct, and what would a typical itinerary consist of for you?

LA: As a travel photographer, in addition to creating photographs that depict a sense of place, I focus on cultural lifestyles and environmental portraits that show people going about their daily lives against breathtaking backgrounds. I want my subjects’ eyes to reflect who they really are instead of judge them on the basis of where they come from or their environment.

I find inspiration in those who craft with their hands; from fishermen to textile weavers – people whose passion fuels my work in perpetuating traditions and cultures for future generations. Their excitement inspires my work, driving creativity to share their stories.

Traveling slowly and with intention means I research what the prevalent lifestyles and cultural traditions are in my destination city/town. My itinerary usually leaves room for serendipity while offering plenty of visits to bustling markets and spaces for serendipity.

How are you finding time for yourself as someone with such a hectic schedule? How are you managing it all, and what’s your view on self care?

LA: I would define myself as a multipotentialite (or multipod), someone who excels at multiple creative pursuits simultaneously and excels at all of them well. Multipotentialites tend to approach work differently from those wired differently – meaning I thrive off multiple creative interests which I excel in simultaneously and can thrive off rest, too.

Creatives don’t need to juggle multiple disciplines at once unless they can truly master multiple disciplines simultaneously. I have often found keeping up with a multipod frustrating as they can complete much work with limited resources in less time.

I do enjoy having some free time, as well as working with various teams on projects including managing my social media accounts and Geotraveler Media Academy.

I set aside weekly self-care massages when possible and usually take the entire month of August off work. Additionally, meetings tend to occur between Tuesdays – Thursdays with most Fridays being dedicated solely for resting or reading my stack of books accumulated over time.

Tell us more about your gear. What cameras, lenses, tools and programs do you typically rely on during travel or work processes?

LA: After years of using DSLRs, switching to the Hasselblad X1DII mirrorless camera has been truly transformative in terms of photo quality and dynamics. Working with mostly fixed Hasselblad lenses (rather than my 24-70mm or 14-24mm lenses) without zoom capability has given me more intentional control in creating images as a travel photographer often required to complete assignments rapidly.