Learning a bit of foreign language opens doors to photographing people.

Photography is an international language spoken by everyone, right? One picture being worth a thousand words, and all that entails. But sometimes understanding a photo is a whole lot easier than creating it, especially if you can't say a dang thing in the local tongue.

Imagine walking on a beautiful beach along the Mediterranean's famous Riviera. You spot the perfect couple frolicking in the light surf. Aim the camera and they start giving you a very bad time in French...

Streaks of silver moonlight dance on the water. The setting sun purples the sky. It's a compelling scene, made more so by the fact that the moon is rising over the Pacific.

We're camped on Third Beach. 
In the morning, the tide drains the beach. It’s as if a mischievous god has pulled the plug on the sea. We wander among boulders plastered with sea stars, anemones and barnacles. Raccoons scurry about, crunching crabs. Black-tailed deer sample the kelp. The screams of oystercatchers break...

Restlessness and patience may seem like conflicting traits, but for Nevada Wier they are driving forces behind a successful travel photography career.

"I travel to have experiences, and the photography aspect heightens that, because the camera forces me to come in closer, become involved and notice what people are doing," says Wier. "I'm trying to capture on celluloid one instant or feeling or action or moment in their lives that has to be fairly poignant."

From a 1978 Nepal trek to a 1999 river expedition on the remote Blue Nile in Ethiopia, Wier has been journeying to obscure places and soaking...