Travelin' About

How do I let so much time go by between Blogs? Perhaps it's because I get very little feedback. Is anyone reading???? I started writing this blog when I was working at The Poughkeepsie Journal and I wanted to see if I could share some traveling experiences and tip as well as photographic knowledge with peers on a regular basis. Somewhere along the way I fell off the wagon and would like to try and come back.  So, if you are reading this and find it valuable in any way, PLEASE comment!!! This past weekend I had the joy of participating in a Milky Way shoot in Pocontoc, Texas.  I always love going out with my fellow photographers to try and overcome the challenges of space, settings, weather, bugs, atmosphere, and the unknown.  We had all of the above to contend with on Saturday night and I don't feel like I got the very best images, but I had a blast! First of all, we had to meet early and stop off for good barbeque.  Coopers in Llano had the very bes...

  My husband is terrific with wood - he has made many fun things from cradles to a puppet theatre to a giant tractor that now lives on our front lawn - and he recently discovered the art of making wooden pens.  He's enjoying the variety of woods that he can craft the pens from as well as the varied looks that he turns out.  I recently posted some of his pens on Facebook and he immediately got a few sales, so I thought it would be fun to document the process of pen making and let folks know how they might purchase one. It's interesting to see all the pieces and parts and the effort that goes into forming the tubes that become the pens. He has to select the exact drill bit (and he has MANY to select from)    Here he is positioning the drill on a tiny X It's a delicate maneuver. He actually has to go up and down several times so the sawdust doesn't accumulate and mess up his work.   The smoothing process is interesting to see. I know I'd...

I was speaking to an author friend, Susan Nelson , this morning at yoga, and realized that I used to be a regular blogger but I have fallen behind rather badly.   So, let me tell you about an inspiring day I got to experience recently with the famous photographer, Art Wolfe . If you don't know who he is or what he has photographed, do yourself a favor and check out his website or watch one of his classes at CreativeLive . Years ago, a photographer and conservationist who I was fortunate enough to a student of and then  friends with, Robert Rodriguez, Jr. , told me that Art Wolfe was someone who he followed and admired. I checked out Art's website at the time and got on his mailing list and purchased some of his books and have been a huge fan ever since. I even based a Landscape workshop that I prepared (and will be giving at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center this May 15th) using some of his images to show concepts like line, form, design, etc. Six months ago I saw...