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
Dalai Lama Speaking in front of Seven Summits Banner, 1996
USA, California Province (State) - This flag was designed for me by John Dugger of Banner Arts. (Photo by others. Name un- known.) For my project, Seven Summits for a Free Tibet, banner maker John Dugger designed a flag. (Glen Gilbert suggested I do the project.) The symbol in the middle is the Sanskrit letter A, which symbolizes Ahimsa, representing the Dalai Lama’s dream of Tibet as a World Zone of Peace. The flag also depicts seven mountains, symbolizing the Seven Summits - the highest mountain on each continent. In the likeness of the flag, John made a banner that was used a backdrop for the Dalai Lama’s speech at the August 1, 1996 American Himalayan Foundation dinner in Beverly Hills. My dream of World Parks, vast natural reserves on each continent, embraces Tibet as a candidate area. See www.worldparksinc.com.
Myanmar, Ayeyarwady Prov, Tea Shop Kitchen
Chengdu Market, 1991 - I took this photo on my first trip to China with my new 4x5 Woodfield view camera using a time exposure.
Venezuela, Mesa Area, 1993 - In the area around Angle Falls in the south of Venezuela, there are enormous mesas (tables in Spanish) and an expansive geography.
Atlantic Ocean, Iceberg, 2006 - This trip was the first time I had been in a ship in waters where icebergs were a daily sight. They often were spectacular, offering photographic opportunities, and, more importantly, a chance for the imagination to run, as a child imagines castles in ice cream.
Turkey, Usak Prov, Minaret
Peru, Gary Cappa In Back Of Wool Truck En Route To Arequipa, 1979 - In 1979, my buddy Gary Cappa and I set off for a six month adventure through Central and South America overland. Here Cappa sits in the back of a truck full of bales of wool, where we rode for over a day down the coast of Peru towards Arequipa. This photo was taken on little 110 film.
Thailand, Mae Hong Son Prov, Stuck Fly
Azerbaijan, Lankaran (AZ-LAN) Prov, Car With Oranges
Papua New Guinea, Jeff Shea With Wig, 1983 - I put on a Cassowary hair wig with a spring and a propeller on top. Others looked on, delighted.