Inside Tracks: Alone Across the Outback | Rick Smolan | TEDxBeaconStreet

Once upon a time, a striking 27-year-old Australian named Robyn Davidson embarked with her dog Digitty and four camels on a quixotic 1700 mile solo expedition across the island continent through the barren, unforgiving terrain of the outback. Without fanfare or publicity, Davidson’s trek seemed just an odd personal adventure until a young photographer named Rick Smolan crossed her path, and their story captured the world’s imagination. Now retold in TRACKS, an acclaimed new film from the Oscar winning producers of “The Kings Speech” (and in Smolan’s new "smartphone enabled" coffee table book INSIDE TRACKS), Davidson’s unlikely journey is inspiring a new generation. Smolan will share behind the scenes stories and images never seen before at his TEDxBeaconStreet talk.

Rick Smolan is a former Time, Life, and National Geographic photographer best known as the co-creator of the "Day in the Life" book series. His global photography projects feature the work of hundreds of the world's leading photographers, and combine creative storytelling with state-of-the-art technology. In September 2014, the Oscar Winning Producers of "The Kings Speech" released TRACKS, a feature film based on Smolan's National Geographic story about Robyn Davidson's 2000 mile camel trek across the Australian outback. In the movie Robyn is portrayed by Mia Wasikowska ("Alice in Wonderland". Smolan will be portrayed by Adam Driver, of HBO’s "Girls”).

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx