VISITING a country while it is embroiled in civil war might not be everyone’s cup of tea but for Michael Runkel, a trip to Cambodia in 1993 changed his life.
The 46-year-old from Nuremberg, Germany, visited the Asian nation when the country was in political turmoil. It was here that he realised his love and passion for photography — something which he is still heavily involved with.
Runkel traded his degrees in economics, geography and physical education for lenses and a camera to achieve his dream of travelling and photographing the world.
“I met a couple from New Zealand who were travel photographers and the fighting in Cambodia was really intense and we were even evacuated,” he says. “They were travelling with me for three months and we’re still very good friends.”
Since then, he has managed to travel to more than 176 countries.
“I work for big stock photo agencies like Getty Images, Qorvis and Robert Harding in England and I do a lot of cruise ship photographs, mainly river and regular cruise ships.”
Apart from Europe and Asia, he has also travelled across the Pacific, including Fiji.
“I love the Yasawas and Navala Village.”
Recently, Runkel took time out from a Pacific trip to visit the Mamanuca Group.
“There were a lot of exciting experiences because I was going to very remote places like Majuro, Tuvalu and Wallis and Futuna.
“There were very untouched societies and the people had an incredible spirit of community, which you don’t find in many places in the world.”
He says Fijian communities out of the mainland have started to change over the past decade.
According to Runkel, things like access to the islands are fast developing while internet services are still developing slowly.
With his travels, he has managed to become arguably one of the most travelled people in the world.
“I have taken pictures for a lot of tour operators, travel magazines and calendars.”
Having just returned from a month-long expedition in Antarctica, he is planning to take his wife and newborn baby on a round-the-world trip soon.
“We are planning on going on an around the world trip for five months.
“We will be coming to the Pacific, visiting Vanuatu, the Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Niue and maybe Fiji.
“We will continue on to the Christmas Islands, Bali, Japan and then to South Africa.”
