A photographer trades his pictures for a place to sleep — and travels the world

Australian Shantanu Starick wanted to quit his day job and do photography full-time. He also wanted to travel the world. But, as a practical matter, he couldn’t figure out how to make either of those dreams work.

Taking inspiration from the “sharing economy,” Starick decided to offer his skills as a photographer, for free, to anyone who was willing to provide room and board — and a ticket to his next destination.

Starick has taken that formula around the world and back again in a bartering project he calls Pixel Trade. The people Starick trades with get professional-quality photographs — Starick has photographed weddings, hotels, coffee shops, app developers and lots more. In return, Starick receives food, lodging, transportation, clothing and anything else he needs.

He hasn't spent a dollar since he started on the road in June 2012, and since then he's gone to places like Ireland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, India and around the US. 

Along the way, Starick has had the chance to take some extraordinary photos on his own, outside of the photos he's taken in trade for his lodging.

For many of us, following an artistic passion full-time seems like an impossibly remote dream, but Starick has found a way to make it work. Still, it’s not all fun: he’s had some awkward trades over the past two years, mostly with people who don’t have a very clear idea of what they want to get out of his photography.

“The result is maybe some bad food, awkward conversations and a few reluctant clicks of the camera," he explains. "Nothing too painful.”

Traveling for more than two years, living exclusively with strangers, probably requires a particularly laid-back philosophy. And Starick has one: “Give a little, and you get a lot back.”

This story is from Sideshow, a new podcast from PRI's SoundWorks network hosted by Sean Rameswaram that looks at the intersection of culture and technology