John Douglas: Photographer

Europe is a photographer's paradise, which means it is both a pleasure and a challenge—pleasure because there is so much material to work with, and challenge because there is so much material to work with. I am not always a happy flyer, and when my work requires me to be in multiple places in Europe, my preference by far is to go by train. I haven't had to cover Finland, Greece, and Portugal in the same trip yet, but knowing that such a spread-out combination is feasible with a Eurail Pass takes some of the anxiety away from the possibility.

You can't open windows in airplanes, so I enjoy being able to capture images with no glass between us. Sometimes, Eurail can even take the walls away. On my recent trip to Switzerland, I used Eurail to travel by boat from Lausanne to Evian, and the sudden storm that kicked up while the boat was in the middle of the lake brought some unexpected excitement. Great shots! Storms are among my favourite subjects. Most people want a perfect blue sky as their background, but give me dramatic clouds and I am in my element(s).

Being the artistic type, I prefer to focus on my work rather than on the logistical details of my trip, which is another reason why I find Eurail Passes to be such handy tools of the trade. I don't have the time or the inclination to go to the train station just to buy the ticket, and online purchases for point-to-point tickets are not always as smooth as they could be, so knowing in my backpack I have a ticket to virtually the entire continent is a great asset. I value convenience very highly and nothing beats Eurail in this respect.