Photographer Sophia Michelen, A09, tries a new adventure—standing on the other side of the camera for a PBS documentary
Sophia Michelen, A09, pauses while kayaking along the French Broad River in North Carolina, in the travel documentary “America: The Land We Live In.” Photo: Courtesy of World Life Productions
When Sophia Michelen, A09, stepped into the raft on the French Broad River in western North Carolina, headed for Class 4 rapids, her every move was being recorded—there was a camera on the front of the raft and a drone tracking from overhead. That’s because this was no vacation—she was being filmed for a documentary.
The show, America: The Land We Live In, aired on PBS in the spring and is streaming now. It follows Michelen and her co-host, artist Scott “Doc” Varn, as they retrace journeys to striking landscapes they found in the 1870s illustrated travel book, Picturesque America.
Co-hosting a travel show was a long way from Michelen’s intentions as a pre-med major in college, but maybe not so far from a life’s natural trajectory for someone who traveled a great deal as a child visiting relatives across numerous continents, and has continued to explore the world to over 75 countries, with no stop in sight.
Near the end of her four years at Tufts, after having studied abroad in Scotland and living briefly in France, Michelen realized that medical school might not be what she wanted. She attended a campus event with celebrity chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain, and afterward spoke with him about her dilemma. It’s an easy choice, he suggested: Life is short—do what you want to do.
Like all the other 2009 graduates, Michelen came onto the job market in the depths of the worst economic recession since the 1930s. But she eventually landed a job with the UN’s World Food Program in Dubai, thanks in part to Tufts connections. That led to international public health work in Tanzania, Rwanda, and Egypt, and a master’s degree at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine seemed to seal a career in public health.
Sophia Michelen, left, exults over her catch while crabbing in Charleston, South Carolina, with her co-host, Scott “Doc” Varn, and local crabber Tia Clark. Photo: Courtesy of World Life Productions
But during the pandemic, living in New York City, Michelen leaned into freelance writing and photography, which she had been doing for several years. She met a film director and producer and began working for their company. The executive producer was starting a new project: an idea that Varn had pitched, based on that 19th-century travel book.
A small production team, including Michelen, headed to the nearby Catskills to test Varn on camera. The producer quickly realized that Michelen had a natural rapport with Varn and enthusiasm for the project—and was at ease in front of the camera.
“My interactions with Doc were very easy,” Michelen said. “I’d never been in front of the camera—I’m always behind the camera. It’s quite a different experience.”
On the Road in the Carolinas
PBS signed on for an hour-long episode, and the production team set to work. While the book covered the entire country, the show needed a narrower focus, and the Carolinas fit the bill.
The documentary follows Michelen and Varn at their first stop on the French Broad River, which flows through North Carolina and into the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. They talk to locals in Hot Springs, North Carolina, looking for clues to the exact location the artist Harry Fenn stood when drawing specific illustrations for the book.
Sophia Michelen and Scott “Doc” Varn pause in their travels to admire a river view. Photo: Courtesy of World Life Productions
One showed rapids on the French Broad, with mountains clustered in the background. This being a state forest, there weren’t roads tracking the river, so they took to the river itself, with help from a local guide. After several false starts, coming upon rapids that weren’t quite the right fit with the illustration—and paddling through those Class 4 rapids—Michelen and Varn pulled off to the riverbank for another look, and found their match. They were exactly where the artist stood more than 150 years ago when he drew the picture. Michelen took photos and Varn drew the scene.
“The cameras and photos can’t do justice to the beauty of the landscape,” Michelen said. “It is so incredible, and the excitement and adventure of it all was like nothing else I have ever done.”
Later they were in Charleston, South Carolina, hunting down sites for other illustrations, such as a garden with a huge palmetto tree—that one was especially hard to find after the passage of time. Like everywhere they went, they met and talked with residents and explored the local cultures—from basketweaving to crabbing to music.
Michelen continues to work for the production company and hopes the team can film more episodes. The big takeaway from the experience, she said, is the breadth and beauty of the U.S.—striking to her as a first-generation American. “It was all an education,” she said. “I approached it almost like a new country.”
