I've been out of the Photography biz for well over 10 years now. Sometimes it seems like just yesterday when I was agonizing over the decision to walk away from a job I loved and plunged into Corporate America. For those 10 years I've satisfied my Photography Jones by taking "photo" trips 2 or 3 times every year. I've been to some wonderful places...Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada, Vancouver Island, also in Canada. I've made several trips to Utah and Arizona, to Yellowstone twice, and the Grand Canyon. And don't forget the trips to New Mexico when Heather was in school at Roswell. Every time I've come away with some wonderful images and some fantastic memories of the travels.
In the fall of 2010 Judy and I signed up for a cruise to Alaska in May and June of 2011. The added bonus is that Rick Sammon, a photographer friend of mine, was conducting a photo workshop on the cruise. We signed up, sent in our deposit, and started planning shore excursions. I got the appropriate vacation time booked on the calendar at work and the wait began. In November, it all fell apart. First the workshop was cancelled due to lack of interest. Then the entire cruise was cancelled by the cruise line. This all left me wondering where I could go for a photo trip in lieu of the cruise so my mind started churning.
I've wanted to photograph the Palouse region of Washington State for a long time and the dates we had reserved for the cruise fell into the proper time frame for a trip there so I started the usual research I do before every trip. I found a decent hotel in Colfax, WA, saw that I have Wells Fargo Rewards to make car rental nearly free, and looked into some websites of other photographers for information on locations and techniques for photographing the region. Things were looking really good for a May trip to the Palouse and I was just a couple days away from pushing the button and making non-refundable reservations.
But wait! Not so fast camera boy! When Erin, Sean, and Katrina visited for Christmas the rumors that had been floating around were solidified. Erin and Sean are planning their wedding in the fall, probably September, and while the budget for said event will be pretty sparse as weddings go, my discretionary funds for the year have pretty much been accounted for. In short, no airlines, no hotels, no rental cars for photo trips. Fortunately for me the news came before I'd committed to any trips and the subsequent reservations. Whew! Recently we learned that Erin has chosen Sedona, AZ as the venue for her nuptuals. If you haven't been to Sedona, you can see my gallery of images from a trip there last November. Sedona gallery
So now I'm left with a bad news/great news situation. The bad news is I won't be flying all over the western United States creating images this year. The great news is I'll be attending my wonderful daughter's wedding inn a positively amazing location in September. 9-10-11 to be specific. Some consolation prize, eh?
And this doesn't mean I won't be taking any photo trips at all. Heck, I've been lamenting for years that I live in one of the most photogenic states in the country yet my photo files contain precious few images of Colorado. I see some car camping weekend trips in my future for 2011. Great Sand Dunes anyone? How about Rocky Mountain National Park? And don't forget Crested Butte for wildflowers in July. Who knows, I may still be able to swing a trip to the Palouse in May. But instead of a "fly to Spokane, rent a car, drive to Pullman, and stay in a hotel" kind of trip it may morph into a "add a couple extra days of vacation, drive the Murano up there, and camp in the car" trip. I'm working on logistics.
So if any of you happen to be in the vicinity of Sedona on September 10, 2011, give me a call, shoot me an e-mail, or communicate some way and I'll buy you a cuppa coffee.
No comments:
Post a Comment