Travelin' About

As the year winds down, I can't help but look back and note that it was a very good one. I had my photographs shown in several exhibits, I got to practice my creativity a lot and I got a great deal of travel to new and fun places.  The year began with a fun macro workshop with Doug Box and Randy Kerr where they had several stations set up to challenge our macro endeavors. The rose on the top row, middle photo was taken there as well as several others that I treasure.  That one was in a fish tank and Doug was splashing the water to make the ripples.   The one on top left was taken in January after coming home from NYC where I attended my grandson's 5th birthday. The sky welcomed me home here in Texas with a brilliant array of colors and my husband encouraged me to hike closer to that old barn.  There are a few from a jaunt with friends in March to Brenham, Tx. in search of a great background for the fabulous Bluebonnet crop we had this year....

I've been going through the images I took this past year, trying to come up with a "Best of 2018" and finding it really difficult.  I was fortunate enough to have had trips to Charleston, cross country to NY, Colorado and Wyoming, not to mention the adventures I engage in with local photography friends. I got a lot of good pictures this year.  And, I have been actively practicing things to make me more creative, so, I am STILL trying to cull my selection down to a more manageable "Best of".  Meanwhile, I did have fun putting aside some of my favorites (more emotional choices than compositionally and technically accurate ones). OK, so many of the top favorites are family - I am blessed to have a family that allows me to photograph them more than they'd like. They let me practice new techniques and oftentimes they will play along, allowing me to get something unusual. Then there was the time they actually enjoyed the process - when I used my u...

I have advocated for Landscape Workshops for some time. I went on one in 2008 to Vermont (with Moose Peterson ), one in 2009 to Acadia National Park (with Robert Rodriguez, Jr. ), one in 2015 to West Virginia (with Ed Heaton ) and this year I choose to go to Rocky Mountain National Park with Kevin Gourley . Kevin was thorough - he had us meet at his studio three times in advance - once just to socialize and see images of his that we were likely to shoot.  We met closer to the actual dates of the workshop to get information on the geography, receive a packet of info that included discounts and perks, and got a review of the exposure triangle, what we'd need to bring and reminders of the importance of settings, schedules and just about anything you could possibly need for preparation. When we finally arrived, he provided us with another packet, this one filled with power bars, chocolate, packets of bug repellent and an official map of Rocky Mountain National Park.  I...

Our leader, McKenzie was professional, fun and full of tips to enjoy our stay in Jackson Hole. We recently went for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and Grand Teton National Park, largely for me to enjoy my landscape photography. And I did. Tremendously.  But I noticed that White Water Rafting Trips were being offered by a few vendors. We chose to give it a try with "Dave Hansen Whitewater Trips".   It was definitely the hit of our vacation!  Especially since I brought my water-sealed case and enjoyed photography as well as bouncing in the beautiful water of the Snake River.  The day was PERFECT with 75 degree temperatures and beautiful Fall colors all around us. Right off we saw an eagle.  Can you spot him? Try capturing him from a bouncing, splashing raft filled with 10 other people!  While my husband and several others paddled madly, I just sat there feeling like I'd discovered heaven.  We had never met our fellow passen...