As part of my job as a photographer and videographer, I travel to some countries that are not always the easiest or most predictable places to travel in. I’ve worked in at least 15 countries around the world (I’ve lost count!) including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, South Africa, Tanzania and Bahrain. I often travel by myself - and it often occurs to me how lucky I am to have such a wealth of information available to me. Before my trip, I use Google Maps for planning, whether it’s finding a hotel, working out where petrol stations are, or even scouting and storyboarding locations using Maps and Earth. On a small team, you’re often producer, director and location scout all in one, and Maps gives both the convenience of finding classic locations, or the thrill of scouting unique places using just the maps alone.
Whilst I’m travelling, I obviously use Maps to find my way to shoots, but also often end up using it to solve the unpredictable problems that frequently occur! I once travelled to Bahrain on a motorsport assignment at short notice, and forgot an important piece of camera equipment - I had to use Google Maps to find the only camera store open on a Friday in Bahrain! (I found it, bought the equipment and made the shoot!). Another memorable moment recently was trying to navigate around a huge cycle race happening in South Africa. We made the shoot, but then missed our flight that evening after getting stuck in a huge rainstorm! Google Maps to the rescue again, finding a hotel near the airport. One of the reasons I love travelling on these foreign shoots is the unexpected twists and turns - but you always need tools to solve these problems!
And when I’m away from home, Maps is also a really useful tool for exploring the interesting local spots, especially if you’re not in an obvious tourist destination. I remember trying to find a bar in Pretoria to watch the 2018 World Cup final, and ended up watching in a fantastically vibrant local craft beer bar that I would have never just stumbled upon. When you’re on the road by yourself your experiences can be drastically improved by using all the tools available, so that’s why I’m pretty passionate about making sure that the information on Google Maps is as accurate as it can be. Improving the reliability of the information is a fair way to give something back to a service that I use literally every day - that’s how I see my role as a local guide.