My Next Big Adventure

My dad died April 10, 2017 after a protracted illness. My mom died unexpectedly November 9, 2018. We all know the time will come, but it’s hard to be ready, no matter the circumstances. It’s odd how death tends to make one think more about life. Not only the life or lives that have ended, but about our own lives and what we want them to be.

Like most people (I imagine), I get caught up in the day to day existence — work, kids, shopping, cooking, cleaning, paying bills, the latest political outrage — and lose sight of the fact that my life is happening in every second of every day, and I can either make something meaningful of it, or like most of us, keep thinking about a future than might never come. As the saying goes, it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.

As my kids are nearly grown up and on their own, it’s time that I start spending more time focusing on the journey. Toward that end, I have decided to walk the Camino de Santiago. It’s a pilgrimage that follows St. James’s path to the city and cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, in northwest Spain. There are many routes to Santiago. The original route, which takes approximately two weeks to complete, is the Primitivo route, which starts in Oviedo. It’s not as heavily traveled as some of the others and is reportedly a quieter, more rural route. It sounds wonderful, and I’d like to do it someday, but the route I really want to do is the Frances, or French, Way, which runs from St. Jean Pied du Port, in southern France. It crosses the Pyrennes and goes through Pamplona and Leon, among many other cities/towns. This is, apparently, the most popular route, and one which takes approximately 30 days to complete.

Although the Primitivo route makes more sense from a time perspective (14 days as opposed to 30), I feel I might regret not doing the French route. I would miss not seeing Pamploma and Leon and who knows what else. I also feel being on the Camino for a month and really giving myself a chance to “reboot” from the stresses of daily living, as well as a greater opportunity to make lasting connections with other pilgrims and people who live along the route, is what the Camino is really about, and the reason I want to do it. The Primitivo route would be more of a “dipping my toe in,” as opposed to the more immersive experience of the French route. Taking a month off of work is obviously more of a challenge, but that’s what I really want.

Stay tuned to this space.

I'm Going To Thailand! (Welp ... didn't happen after all)

Yes, I'm really going to Thailand, and I can't wait.

I'm ashamed to say I haven't left the U.S. in 20 years. Or more. My last "real" international travel was when I was in college and spent a summer at Trinity College, Oxford University. It was an amazing experience, one I think about often. I toured England and Edinburgh, and got to Paris for a weekend. Yes, a weekend. But it was a very full weekend. I've been meaning to travel, but I got sidetracked by law school, and then my job and the demands of a young family. Well, the kids are nearly grown, and I have a fresh passport just itching to be used. So now it's time. Finally.

The plan is to go for two weeks, staying in Chiang Mai. And that's about the only plan so far. I haven't even bought my ticket yet. But I am going, in early January 2018. And I'll be using this blog to chronicle my preparations and the trip itself. I'm so excited to get out of the U.S. and see someplace completely different. I'm excited to explore and take as many pictures as I can. And I'm excited about the opportunity this trip will afford me to start living the life I've been meaning to live. The only part that doesn't excite me is the plane ride there and back. I generally love to fly, but I'm itching to get off the plane after a five or six hour coast-to-coast flight. Being in the air for an entire day is going to be a whole new experience for me. Ideally I'll sleep, or pass out. But that's the price we have to pay to see the places we want to see.

So, stay tuned!

Simple Is Almost Always Better

I have a nice Micro 4/3 camera, an amazing compact camera with an APS-C sized sensor, two old film cameras -- a Nikon FM2n and an Olympus OM-1, two Polaroids, and a Holga. So what am I using most lately? My iPhone 7 Plus.

I always have it with me, it's small enough to fit in any pocket, takes great pictures, and I have Snapseed for editing and posting right from the phone. In a word -- it's simple. It has some limitations, but that's true of nearly every camera. The big thing, for me, is that I always have it with me, and I can take a picture, process it, and post it, all from the same device. That's a real time-saver.

I'm not getting rid of any of my cameras, which I love. And I'm not saying I don't want to add more to my stable -- I do. But I don't really need anything else.

Driving is Hard ...

... when you're a photographer.

The problem, for me anyway, is I'm always on the lookout for an interesting shot, and I will often see something amazing when I'm driving. If I'm on a surface road, and it's not too busy, and I'm not on my way to an appointment or anything, I can pull over the try to get the shot. More than a few times I've turned around and gone back for the shot. But you can't do that when you're on the freeway, or if you need to be somewhere at a specific time and stopping would make you late. I've made a mental note and gone back days or even weeks later, but it's never the same.

It's not a bad problem to have, actually. It means I'm paying attention (hopefully to my driving as well) and thinking about subjects and composition. And who knows -- maybe I'll happen upon something better around that next bend.

"The camera is an instrument that teaches a person how to see without a camera"

This is a quote from the great photographer, Dorothea Lange, and I couldn't agree more. Since I've become more serious about photography, I find that I'm always looking around me for some interesting moment, detail, or light. I am paying more attention to my surroundings, even without my camera, and makes photography a zen-like experience for me. I'm "present" in the moment and not living in my head as much. Of course, the downside is, whenever I see something of interest, I feel the need to stop or turn around to try to capture whatever it is I saw. And on those few occasions where I don't have my camera with me, I want to kick myself.

Anything that gets us to slow down and pay attention is a good thing, in my opinion. And that's what photography does for me.

It's Not The Tool, It's The Fool

Sometimes photography seems to be more about the latest gear and accessories, rather than the pictures themselves. Reviewers obsess over the number of megapixels, the processor used, and the speed of lenses. Consumers debate the relative merits of their favorite camera and lens. Arguments and even name-calling are common online. Why? Because one person prefers a different camera than the other person does. But what about the pictures? You know, the whole point of photography?

My grandfather was an avid golfer well into his 80s. He'd golf several times a week and got to be pretty good. He had nice clubs, but didn't chase the latest and greatest equipment. I remember saying something to him once about some club and how great it was supposed to be. His response -- "It's not the tool, it's the fool." He was right. Let's face it, Tiger Woods -- injured or not -- could whip most amateurs with equipment found at a local garage sale.

I think this applies to photography as well. What good is the greatest camera ever made if the person using it doesn't have an eye for photography? Sure, he or she might have the clearest pictures of a plate of meatloaf on Instagram, but is the picture any good? I know, you're thinking "good" is entirely subjective. And you're right. But if you're like me, you respond to certain pictures over others, and the reason likely has nothing to do with the equipment the photographer used to capture it. Think about it -- the most famous pictures in history -- the little girl running from the napalm in Vietnam, or Muhammad Ali taunting Sonny Liston, who he had just knocked to the canvas -- were taken using gear that is technically obsolete compared to the best cameras and lenses on the market today. Does that diminish any of those pictures? Of course not.

I'm not saying we should abandon attempts to make photographic equipment better. In fact, I love it all and lust after some of it myself. But some people seem to spend more time talking about and debating what's "best" than they do actually getting out of the house and taking pictures. So maybe it makes more sense to spend more time using what we already have and working to become a better photographer.

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Hello Film, My Old Friend

I'm of an age where I learned to take pictures on film. I had a number of Polaroids and a little Olympus my grandfather bought me for a summer in Europe. Film wasn't exotic or the latest trend. It was all we had. I shoot mostly digital now, like most of the rest of the civilized world, but I still have -- and use -- several cameras, and I'll never get rid of them.

For me, there's just something about the analog experience of shooting film. My primary film cameras -- a Nikon FM2n and an Olympus OM-1 -- are solid, made of metal, and work without needing batteries, except for the light meters. They feel substantial in the hand, and every setting (at least on mine) is mechanical, which means I'm in control of everything, for good or bad. Because I only have a finite number of exposures on each roll, and film isn't cheap to buy, process and scan, I find that I'm more deliberative and selective about each. Many times I'll start to compose a shot and then decide against it, choosing instead to save the exposure for (hopefully) something better. I'm not so selective when shooting digital.

At a time when instant gratification is the norm, I like that I have to wait to finish a roll, and then wait some more while it's being developed and scanned, before I know if I captured anything interesting or even good. But film ... I have to wait to finish the roll and then have it developed before I know if I got anything interesting.

Then there's the look and feel of film, the imperfections, the natural grain. There's a reason, I believe, why most digital cameras and processing software provide options for emulating the look and feel of film. Call it nostalgia, or a fad or trend, or even a marketing gimmick, but there is something about film that is magic and can only be approximated by modern technology. Think of the iconic photographs we all know and love. Fujifilm has taken it a step further by producing a line of amazing, advanced cameras designed and built to look and feel like an old film camera.

I'm not giving up my any of digital cameras, but I'm not giving up any of my film cameras either, and will likely add more to my collection over time. As long as film is available, I'll be shooting it, right alongside digital.

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Soccer on a foggy morning. (Shot on an Olympus OM-1)