How the Desert Taught Me About Perspective
Perspective. It’s easy to lose it during troubled times. A drive through the desert restored my perspective. Maybe it will help you, too. #fmfparty #desert #flowers #perspective #Arizona #spring #selfcare
Improve Your Photography, Improve Your Day
This week’s Self-Care Sunday post has tips that help you improve your photography skills. So pull out your cell phone or your DSLR and get ready to make your day! How Improving Your Photography Can Improve Your Day Ok, I can’t actually promise that when you improve your photography techniques your day will magically improve as well. But I can tell you what works for me. Taking a walk with my camera—whether I lug along my DSLR or tuck my…
Photography, the Other Art
Not Everyone Can Draw Not every month has five Sundays, so I’ll take the opportunity to explore the other A in MAPS (you can find more about this series here). Last week, I shared how having a learning mindset helps us conquer things we thought we couldn’t do in our younger years. Today I’ll share some tips for upping your artistic quotient with photography. Next week, I’ll tell you about my latest physical challenge. Artistic expression baffles me at time.…
How to Rejoice in the Parched Places
The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Isaiah 35:1 Lessons from the Dry Land We moved from Bozeman, MT to Holbrook, AZ almost five years ago. I confess I still miss the snowstorms, the months of cold weather, and the luscious flowers in the spring and summer. Maybe the native Montanans call it God’s country because they, like I, always feel a little closer to God in the wide-open spaces and majestic…
Your Point of Focus Determines the Quality of Your Experience
Our Last Days Together in Alaska After our Denali adventure, we stayed at Red Eagle Lodge for a quiet weekend before bidding Sarah goodbye. I would see her one last time before driving home, but Pedro had to catch a plane in Anchorage. For the third time during our trip, we stayed at a campground—this time near the airport. Pedro had a stand-by ticket for late at night, so we thought camping nearby would make things easier. After sleeping in…
What Happens When You DON’T Buy The Lens
Close Encounters of the God Kind I faced a dilemma at the beginning of our Alaska adventure—the budget kind of dilemma that often plagues me. We had enough money to make the trip if we kept our expenses in Alaska down. But I really, really wanted a better telephoto lens for my camera. The 100-400mm lens that I already have didn’t seem adequate for capturing the wildlife we would certainly see along the way. I reasoned that since we would…
The Difference Between Cruises Might Make You Uncomfortable
Wildlife Cruises Aren’t the Same a Luxury Cruises We arrived at the dock twenty minutes early for our cruise out to Blackstone Glacier. A few shards of sunlight had poked through the clouds, and I hoped to have beautiful light for taking photos. “Think that’s our ride?” Pedro asked, pointing to an immense ship. “Naw,” I told him, “That’s a cruise ship. That’s probably our ride.” I pointed to a ship the size of the cruise ship’s lifeboats. “Or that…
The Importance of Shedding the Unnecessary Stuff
Unnecessary Stops When traveling with my camera, I find it difficult to not stop every time I see something beautiful. Just about any time I step outside, I have an urge to record the beauty with whatever photographic device I have at hand. So you can imagine my dilemma when we started our drive through Banff National Park. The fuel gauge hovering on empty dictated our first stop, and we discovered the major difference between Canadian National parks and U.S.…
