Jeff Shea

This website illuminates my life and adventures. My longing for freedom has led me to over 2600 of the world’s 3978 provinces, to every country on earth and to the summit of the highest peak on each continent (thank heaven for good weather!). In my travels, I learned to respect the intelligence and ingenuity of people of all races and callings both past and present. Come see the world as I see it: as a peaceful place, full of nature and beauty. With the right spirit and intent, we can make our world a virtual Garden of Eden.

DISTINCTIONS: BBC 2017 Travel Pioneer • Journal Articles • Explorer’s Club Flag Expeditions
World Parks Project • Walk Across South America • Jeff Shea Travel Map

Tanzania, Wildebeest Migration, 1990 - Every year the wildebeest migrate back and forth across the Serengeti plains in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya. They run twice a year. It is a spectacle worth beholding.
Vietnam, Can Tho Prov, Boat Vendor
Myanmar, Unknown Prov, Bicycle Vendor Scene
Myanmar, Bago Prov, Woman Farmer
Slovenia, Skofja Loka Prov, Bee Houses
UK, Bexley (London) Prov, Raising A Glass
A woman in a typical British Pub in the evening.
Nepal, Looking Through My Legs on Island Peak, 1983 - This photograph was taken on Island Peak, my first snow and ice climb. It is an easy climb, but this photograph, taken between my legs looking upside down, gives some sensation of what it is like to be climbing on a snow slope. I have noticed many mountaineering photographs are deceiving. Places that are tricky can look easy and vice versa. I was asked at an Everest presentation why it didn't look so difficult. Later I realized that in the more difficult sections, I was less likely to take out my camera.
Namibia, Himba Portrait, 2000 - This beautiful Himba woman came walking out of the forest to bring her child for medical care. She wore ornamentation typical to the Himba women. I was told that the Himba are the last truly nomadic tribe left in Africa. They live between northern Namibia and southern Angola. Now their way of life is threatened by a proposed dam that would flood their homeland. I was told that if a Himba woman gives birth to twins, she chooses the strongest and leaves the other to die. They make dolls of the lost child as a remembrance. This custom is necessary, for they cannot carry two children as they move from place to place. Himba women were beautiful and gentle. (8x10 format)
Turkey, Samsun Prov, Bicycle Wheel