I love my job because...

I don't normally participate in challenges here on Vocal. Mainly because when I write something, create something or photograph something it is normally about content that I choose and to share what I believe will either help or inspire others. That being said when this challenge showed up and Vocal said complete this sentence "I love my job because..." I really can't think of any reasons I don't.

If you follow any of my social media channels, read my articles or simply Google my brand or name (it's Yaman Mutart if you care to try) you will see a real variety of things. Images from around the world for sale and used in publications and books. Videos on platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Articles on Vocal Media and some other places too. The fact is, for the longest time I had thought I love my job because it is essentially me and I can do what I want. The pandemic however proved to me there is far more to it than that.

Before COVID-19 and all the restrictions and hoops we travel type folks now have to jump through were in place I mainly based myself in Thailand and Asia. Back then certainly I loved my job for the reasons I mentioned above.

Once the world stood still and times had changed however, I started to realize that there really is a lot more to it, and I was only getting started.

I spent the start of COVID-19 in Bangkok when most of North America had no clue what was really happening. I started making more videos, more images, I was locked in my room most the time and I needed something to do. From that I was able to produce 3 posts a day on Instagram of all the places I had been and all the wonderful things that I had seen. I was able to do this as any photographer does, not just by displaying a picture but by conveying my emotion using processes in what we call post. I was able to share more stories visually and I even produced my first short series for YouTube showing places on the island of Phuket.

I started to get messages from people in Southeast Asia, Europe and eventually around the globe thanking me. They were tired of the negative posts and constant, confusing and often fake information about COVID-19. It was bad enough for many of these people to have to live in the situations they were in. Having to see it all over social just amplified that for them.

I returned to Canada in May of 2020 and I continued to just do what I do. I photographed restaurants and shops so they could sell products online. At that point many people in North America, especially the United States were starting to feel the full impact of what was happening. Now instead of getting random messages and emails I was receiving smiles, thanks and quite a bit of food to sample while I went to these various places. I was actually helping people. Not just helping them by taking a photo but as my mother once put it, by continuing to do what I do I am showing people that things will eventually be OK. I remember talking to her in Hamilton Ontario about it as we sat outside a Tim Hortons having a coffee. I even remember the feeling I had when we parted and I gave her a hug. It was the last time I would ever hug her and I think we both knew that.

In September of 2020 I continued to travel, this time to Rio de Janeiro. When I arrived there the situation was a bit bleak but the Brazilian people and their spirit was remarkable. Again as I went around photographing and making video I started to receive messages on various social channels thanking me for the 360 virtual videos and being told things like "keep it up.." and "thank you for the escape we are on lockdown". By day I would go shopping for food and cook large pots of soups and pasta. It was very inexpensive to cook food in bulk there. In the evenings I would hand it out to the homeless in my area before heading home and working on tutorials for my YouTube channel and editing media.

My family arrived from Thailand in late October and we stayed in Rio until December 18th. We ended up stranded in CDG airport in France over the Christmas holiday when the UK variant had sprung up and we were there over Christmas. We were heading to Istanbul and Air France had made an error in selling us tickets and allowing us to board our flight in Rio. I met such an interesting variety of people while I was there and we spent a lot of time eating vending machine food but it was a great experience really. How many people can say they spent Christmas during COVID in Paris? Even if it was only the airport.

We arrived in Istanbul and stayed for a while. It was a different kind of atmosphere and again the messages would come from time to time thanking me for showing more of the world and not rubbing the pandemic in peoples faces while doing it. My following had started to grow a bit, not in a major amount but it is always nice to see the numbers increase. In Istanbul, without making and series episodes of the attractions I published close to 100 videos of walking tours and 360 VR.

When it was time to leave Istanbul my family returned to Thailand and I headed South to Egypt. Egypt had been a place I always wanted to see and being that close it seemed logical to stop there. After living through 3 lockdowns in Istanbul it seemed like it would be a bit more relaxed and I was excited to visit.

When I arrived in Cairo things got hard I will admit. My mother fell fatally ill and to return to Canada was almost impossible with the quarantine restrictions in place. She passed away about a week after I arrived in Luxor and it was on good terms. I have no regrets, but I do notice her gone every day that passes. It was at that point that I realized what it is that I like about my job.

I will be honest I have never had a huge following, on the grand scheme of online subscribers and followers its barely even a drop in the bucket. But the ones that do follow, read and watch are in fact why I love what I do. For all the places I have been, the things I have seen and the experiences I have had, the most enjoyable part of all of it is that somewhere out there, every time I make a post, someone gets a small break from whatever it is they have to deal with. It gives them a chance to think, dream and even wonder. Just thing, have you ever looked at a photograph of a place and searched for it online after, read about it, maybe watched a video? I love my job because it inspires people to dream a little more. I love my job because it leads people to look for things they may not have known about. I love my job because it helps people escape the day to day stresses. I love my job because it's me.