November 5th, 2008
Photo Gallery: The Journey of a Lifetime

View Denis Belliveau’s photographs from the journey from Venice to China and back.

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19 comments

#1

Bravo!!These photos are fabulous - the portraits are so sensitive & lifelike, you feel as if you know the people. Don’t think you can beat that view of Venice!

#2

I was fortunate to catch the film In the Footsteps of Marco Polo while visiting New Jersey. I was amazed at the journey by these two great humans. And, Mr. Belliveau’s photo’s allowed me to experience their adventure yet again. Thank you so much.

#3

I have visited several parts of the world and Asia is my favourite place. India , a land of very great contrasts, Iran, Afghanistan, Mongolia and China is very picturesque. I enjoy the very vivid pictures which evokes memory of time spent in India.I applaud the adventure of these two great individuals who displayed ingenuity in the rediscovery of Marco Polo. I would like to communicate with them.

#4

Pictures can be beautiful because they are high quality or because they tell a good story. The really magnificent photos are the ones that do both.

#5

I teach high school history and world cultures, I recently saw the documentary an dinfused it with my lessons on the Age of Exploration. I truly has opened my student’s eyes to the beautiful cultures studied in Maroco’s book. I will continue to use this resource as long as I teach and look forwward to watching it again soon. I have been to Venice and China and would sell just about anything to get to some of the places these two braves explorers dared to travel. My students were mesmorized by the journey and the stories. thank you for this, all the best!

#6

Photo #9 above is so distressing. I much preferred the authors dressed in garb, bearded, scruffy… along their journey. In this obviously post adventure photo, they look so…normal. How depressing :-)

#7

colin:our class just finished the movie and really enjoyed it.the sheep being torn apart was disgusting.

#8

Hello :D I’m 14 and in Mandy’s class. I enjoyed the seeing your love for history and travel. I liked the part when you shaved your head haha (to Francis) What made yall want to go on this journey? I liked where you saved yourselves with the cigarettes!

#9

salutations francis! I just finished your movie and i really liked it! My favorite part was when you shot the ak-47!

#10

I just finished the movie and I really enjoyed it. It was very fascinating I think my favorite part was when you were forging the visas.
I thought that was funny. I also really liked the pictures, they were very cool.: )

#11

I just finished watching the movie it was awesome:D I really thought that it was cool that Francis got a real tattoo.

#12

I really enjoyed watching the movie. I liked it when you went to Mongolia. I would like to visit there.

#13

Denny and I meet - its hard to believe but almost a quater of a century ago on an archeological dig in the south of France - with a passion for art and history we spent the next fifteen years traveling hard and close to the ground , never knowing we were but honing our skills , for the great task that still lay before us . If you put Marco Polo aside we had all ready seen and done things that most could never dream of ! All the while Denis recorded these journeys as well ( I hope these photos too will be reproduced in some type of photo book ) on one such occasion while in the Peruvian Andes , Den took a remarkable photo that won Kodaks highest award - but as it is plane to see from the images above all of Denny’s work is Remarkable ! The fact is that the photo’s above ,the images used in both the film and the book represent just a small part of the Marco Polo archive , ” the tip of the iceberg ” as it were ! Good going Mr. Belliveau - your a true artist - a good egg ! And I’m Proud to call you friend - Best Friend - Francis

#14

When the autor’s come to my school, they showed us the video and every1 loved it! I was wondering where I could get it. (P.S.- they came 0n 2/13 and to our parent teacher confrences to remind them!)(It’s in Bayside, NY.)

#15

Funny as it sounds i recorded the show because i never knew anything about Marco Polo. Of course i have heard of him, but that was about it. So I decided to watch just as a curiosity to see if it would interest me and i can honestly admit i barely blinked the whole time. What a story and what imagery. One of the greats that i have seen, very inspiring without the movie trying to make an inspiring impression. Just two guys and some camera’s not looking for fame and fortune just adventure. Thanks for opening eyes on not just the world, but in many ways in life. Q. do any of you guys have websites for your artwork, i would love to get my hands on some painting of Francis or some prints of Denis’

#16

WOW….Am blown away by your amazing trek as you followed Marco Polo’s footsteps! I’m going to order the book and rewrite lesson plans using your experiences for my World Cultures classes at Stadium H. S. in Tacoma, WA. Your down-to-earth observations about a remote part of our world will be a refreshing respite from scholarly, sanitized drivel that often passes for documentaries. Mr. Belliveau’s pictures are compelling and speak volumes. One question….Do you think your travels and the way you were received be different if you did them today, post 9/11? Thanks for sharing your contribution to humanity. Shirl

#17

I happen to have a trip to Kyrgyzstan planned for this fall. You guys are the greatest!! You are an inspiration for us all. Makes me want to walk to Kryg instead of fly.

#18

I have had the great fortune to be in attendance for a recent presentation given by francis and
Dennis at a meeting of the photo society of United Nations. First let me say as a photographer I must admit I was more than a bit jealous , Mr Belliveau’s photo’s are amazing ! Almost as amazing as the pairs accounts of their adventure following Marco Polo’s trail ! I assure
you that the room was full of well traveled , worldly and accomplished people , many of my whom are my colleagues and were overwhelmed at the international scale and nonpolitical scope of their endeavor, one which seemed to foster tolerance and understanding . We were as they say the perfect target audience and we were astounded . What really grabs you about these two , aside from their bravey , determination and great wealth of knowledge is that the are humble and don’t seem to think or take themselves to serious , an endearing quality considering their achievement !

#19

I watched the show on PBS (WNED Buffalo/Toronto) a few nights ago. I was fascinated at how they put up with the conditions and worked through the difficult issues they had. I was most amazed at how they were in Iran seeing an anti-American rally.

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"It was the best-documented journey of its time, inspiring the imaginations and ambitions of countless adventurers, including Christopher Columbus. Now we, too, can follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo, with guides as vividly exciting and engaging as Marco himself. With both their film and this book Denis and Francis have recreated what Joseph Campbell would have applauded as 'The Hero's Journey.' Come take it yourself and you'll never turn back."
- Bill Moyers