A look at some of the web’s best travel photography

With the recent growth of affordable digital cameras and photo sharing websites like Flickr, the world of travel photography has expanded to an endless online collection – from both professional and amateurs alike – of incredible pictures spanning the globe (and beyond).

From the breathtaking to the bizarre, I’ve set out to find the web’s most intriguing travel photography. They aren’t your typical travel photos – you won’t find many stunning landscapes or picturesque sunsets. Rather, I’ve chosen the sites below because they delve a bit deeper into the identity of a place, and the people who live there.

Michael Wolf – 100 x 100
German photographer Michael Wolf has been living and working in China for the past ten years. Most recently, he’s been documenting cultural identity in Hong Kong. His 100 x 100 project is 100 photos of different 100 square foot rooms in Hong Kong’s oldest public housing estate.

Steve McCurry – Multiple galleries
Steve McCurry is perhaps best known for his “Afghan Girl” photo for the June ’85 issue of National Geographic. If you haven’t had a chance to see some of his less famous work, here’s your chance.

Zoriah – Thailand Tsunami Then and Now
Zoriah is a photojournalist based in Asia, and this gripping set of photos shows the photographer’s journey back to Thailand just after the tsunami, where he re-shot the same photos – from the same angle – that he’d shot the previous year.

I’ve featured only three sets of photographs this week, but I’d really like to make this a regular thing. If you’ve run across a photographer whose work captures a time and place in a unique or interesting way, please send it our way.