BEST PLACE TO BE ON WASHINGTON STATE’S SOUTH SOUND!
Sunrise this morning.
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8-5-24
OVER-TOURISM IS AFFECTING RESIDENTS ADVERSELY
It’s been going on since I can remember, but the increase in tourists and snap shooters in the past ten years has become unbearable in certain locales. Just last summer, I saw it happening in the National Parks, Paris and London, and this year it has reached a breaking point as many flock to the Olympic Games in Europe. From idyllic settings like Santorini, Greece to Hallstatt, Austria, residents are protesting, occupying roads of entry, barricading “selfie” spots, and taking over the beaches. I don’t really blame them. It’s part of the reason I switched from being a travel photographer for a dozen years to an automotive filmmaker in 2004. I was seeing the changes and realized that I was part of the problem.
(Photographer: Unknown)
LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER
Wherever you are, now is the time to relax and let all your concerns drift away. For me, that means being on the water of Puget Sound in Washington state. Exploring the environment on a boat has been a part of my life from the time I was a child in Alaska. I hope you are enjoying what you love today.
WESTERN WASHINGTON TRAVEL STORY
PCA does it again with my newly published travel story for those looking to explore western Washington state this summer. It’s no secret that now is the best time of year to come to Seattle. Rather than hanging around the city, my advice is to hop on a ferry and head to Bainbridge Island. From there you can explore some of the best attractions this NW state has to offer, including more destinations like Whidbey and the San Juan Islands. Another option is to head to the Okanogan via roads north and east of the Puget Sound. I’d avoid the more touristed areas like Mt. Rainier and the like. Too many people.
3-20-24
STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM SOUTH TO EAST
Travels With Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck is a good read. so much so that I felt compelled to document my own journey across America at the end of the 20th Century on analog film. I traveled in my camper van over 150K miles in four years, mostly alone, shooting from dawn to dusk. I wore out that van, so I bought another one and photographed for another three years, ending my travels along Steinbeck’s route in 1999.
The first printing of my Steinbeck’s America book is a very limited edition, which is numbered and autographed. The book is 7”x7” softcover with deluxe gloss cover and 156 heavyweight pearl pages with 121 full color photographs.
For information on how to order my photo book Steinbeck’s America, please contact me HERE.
Here are my notes from the third part of my trip.
STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM WEST TO SOUTH
John Steinbeck’s 1962 book Travels With Charley: In Search of America was so inspiring that I was compelled to interpret my own journey in photos across America at the end of the 20th Century. Here are my notes from the second part of multiple trips.
For information on how to order my photo book Steinbeck’s America, please contact us HERE.
From West to South
At the time John Steinbeck undertook his journey across America he had been confirmed as one of the most significant figures in 20th century American literature. His work included a dozen celebrated novels, a collection of short stories, and several screenplays (Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, East of Eden). His keen sense of the environment and nature, and how man interacted with it, was unique – and in many ways he was a writer of the people. When he accepted the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 he spoke these words: “The ancient commission of the writer has not changed. He is charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement.” Continue reading “”
STEINBECK’S AMERICA – FROM EAST TO WEST
Reading John Steinbeck’s 1962 book Travels With Charley: In Search of America in 1992 was so amazing to me that I felt compelled to photograph my own journey across America from 1992-1999 on analog film. Here are my notes from the first part of my trip.
For information on how to order my new photo book Steinbeck’s America, contact us HERE.
From East to West
When John Steinbeck left the safe haven of his Sag Harbor home on Long Island in the autumn of 1960 with his French poodle, Charley, he was embarking on a three month journey to rediscover the land he had championed and loved. He drove north to New England in his self-contained camper truck, which he named “Rocinante” after Don Quixote’s horse. There he visited his youngest son in Deerfield, Massachusetts and a literary friend on Maine’s Deer Island. He then turned west in what could be described as a hero’s journey. He had suffered episodes of numb fingers and slurred speech the previous winter, and at age 58 was contemplating his own mortality. With the vastness of a continent before him, he likened his self-appointed mission to the overwhelming task of beginning a new novel. Undeterred, he undertook his last epic road trip with Charley by his side. Continue reading “”
HOME AFTER MY OFF-SEASON SOUTHWEST ADVENTURE
I was fortunate to have wonderful weather in Arizona, Nevada and Utah this past week. I also made sure my route avoided popular destinations, with the exception of Forrest Gump Point at Monument Valley (it’s far less crowded at sunrise as seen above).
Ten locations in seven days, getting up at sunrise, driving 5 hours, then somewhere else at sunset for the whole week. There were many great opportunities for photos, and my trip went without a hitch, except when an eagle hit the windshield of my rental car – shattering it on the last evening of my trip – two days after a teenager fell to his death trying to make a photograph from a cliff four miles from my accident.
I’m fine and will be returning to the SW USA later this year for more photography, trying my best to avoid bird and deer strikes, and remaining safe on location.
Be Careful Out There. No photograph is worth your life:
THANK YOU PORSCHE 356 REGISTRY MAGAZINE
Editor Peter Bodensteiner was kind enough to approve an assignment for a feature published this month prior to my attending the 2023 Goodwood Revival in southern England. The group I traveled with were Sacramento area 356 Registry participants guided by original Goodwood member Stephen Childs.
You can imagine how much fun it was to dress in period costume while photographing and hanging out with these folks and all the illuminate attending this amazing historic racing event! This is one trip I would do again!
PERSONAL WORK 2023
Personal work is vital for feeding the artist’s soul. Followers of my blog know that at the end of each year I post a series of three personal photographs made at a non-assignment single location.
This year was full of assignments, so my personal work was made on the road between jobs. Part of that travel time was spent in Paris. Here are some pics I made on the run – just another tourist in the city of light.
CROSSROADS
John Van Dyke is a successful designer in Seattle who worked with my photos on occasion in the 90’s. He’s also an architect and brand creator. Now he travels across the country, filming and recording conversations. I think he is on to something.
“Crossroads – We are all on a journey, sometimes we cross the road.” – Words and Illustration courtesy of John Van Dyke
Here are his thoughts on selfies, avatars, emojis, memes, and memories:
JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT STOCK PHOTOS WERE DEAD
A long-time client of mine is National Geographic Books. That relationship is based on all the travel and nature photography I did in the ’80s and ’90s. Recently they asked for a photo of mine to be published in their most recent release “Atlas of Wild America”. They were kind enough to include a copy that I received yesterday. It is a great gift for all those who want to venture outside the national parks into the less traveled areas.
What an honor it is to be included with so many great photographers who I know from the past!
9-19-23
BACK FROM GOODWOOD REVIVAL, HEADING TO RENNSPORT REUNION
This year has been all about car meets and motorsports for me. Checking off bucket list items has been a pleasure, and I feel grateful to have been able to do it on assignment. Along the way I’ve also been able to do some studio work and on location storytelling. I’ll need some time this winter just to catch up on all the jobs I’ve taken on!