First rule of travel writing: have a sidekick. Preferably, someone gullible and hapless. They should provide color commentary that aggravates the locals, drive during rush hour traffic, fetch coffee at 6 a.m., and buy the first (and all subsequent) rounds at the bar. They should also be ignorant of the legal system. That way, when you write about their follies, they have no clue how to take legal recourse against you.
My sidekick in Argentina, photographer Eliseo Miciú, failed on all accounts. He’s aggravatingly well-mannered, too dignified to fetch anything, and smart enough to know that if he waits, I’ll be the one to do/say something dumb (it happens often). I end up providing more photographic material for him than he does writing material for me. It’s a bother. If Eliseo weren’t a good friend, I would’ve demanded that Western Horseman reassign me a different photographer for the trip.
But the fact is, if I’d have asked editor A.J. for a replacement, he probably would’ve kept Eliseo and found a new writer. Take a look at the spread for “La Pialada” in July’s WH, and you’ll see why. Eliseo is a top-tier photographer who just came off a 3-month job shooting the upcoming National Geographic Argentina travel book.
When Eliseo submitted his work, A.J. saw that there were so many great shots but not enough space in the magazine. So, he posted a slideshow on WH.com. As I watched it, a realization dawned…I was Eliseo’s sidekick.
0 Responses to “The Sidekick”