Freelancer of the fortnight: Richard Johnson, UK

Click here to see Richard Johnson's full freelance profile on Journalism.co.uk.

Why did you choose to become a freelancer?
I started my previous professional life as an actor when I was 16 - so I've spent a lot of my life on the road. I've never become tired of travelling. Rather the reverse: I've loved going to new and exciting places and getting to know people of different cultures and traditions. So when I decided that it was time to seek a change from acting, the chance to write about travel was a godsend.

I try to write the story of my travels as a personal experience, looking at the world from my point of view. One of the advantages of coming to a new profession late in life is that I learned long ago that the voice must be my own, for better or worse.

If you trained, where? If not, how did you become a freelancer?
I started to write freelance travel articles because a colleague introduced me to the travel editor of the Mail on Sunday, Frank Barrett. He suggested that I write a piece about a holiday I had just taken in Morocco, he liked the result and the Mail has commissioned all the work I have done since.

I think the best piece I have done for them is on Cambodia.

Do you specialise in any particular field and what areas do you write about?
My wife and I also run a website: www.itsagreengreenworld.com. This is a directory of green and eco-friendly holiday destinations throughout the world. Currently, we have 700 members in nearly 80 countries, and growing all the time. We are always ready to assist journalists wishing to visit our members.

What are the best and worst aspects of freelancing?
The most difficult aspect of freelancing is the problem of planning ahead. As a beginner, I have been trying to get to know as many people in the industry as I can, to try to ensure a continuous supply of work.

Incidentally, I've recently started making videos. By good fortune, my wife has discovered a talent as a camera person, so whenever we can we shoot a video. The rise of the internet has made the old adage that 'a picture's worth a thousand words' into a truism for today's generations.

More and more newspapers are illustrating articles with video. It stands to reason, in my view, that video will become particularly important for travel journalism.

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