Matt is Back! Do You Know Where Matt Is?

In case you've never heard of this guy, Matt Harding, he's a former video game programmer from Washington state that a few years back saved up enough $$ to take a small trip around the world. He decided that dancing around the world sounded like a great idea and so he began video taping himself dancing at different locations around the globe. When he finally made it home, he put together a video (click here to see the original). If I am a recovering Golf-A-Holic, then my wife and I are both Travel-A-Holics as well. We found Matt back in 2006 when his original viral video hit the airways. After his first trip, Stride Gum decided it would be a great idea to sponsor his next trip and paid for his second worldwide adventure. He recently completed the video below by visiting 42 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES! So here's your assignment - if you were to take a trip around the world, what would it look like? Where would you go, how long would you stay? What's your itinerary? I recently read a book that stated, "nothing happens, but first a dream". What's your dream trip? Enjoy...

A September Trip...Have You Been Here?

Though we are in the later part of September, I thought this newsletter would be an appropriate beginning to the fall season we are now entering. What do most people want in a photographer? Great photographs right? Especially of places you haven't visited. While I can't be sure whether you've visited the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, they provided a great 7 day trip of the beginnings of fall foliage. This was our first trek into the "Porkies" and we hiked into a rustic cabin built in the 1960s by Michigan's DNR that had the following (see if this excites you...) -- NO Running Water, NO Toilet and NO Electricity! Sound like a good time to you? It really was great cooking on a traditional cookstove and seeing the world as God intended it - IN PEACE AND QUIET! So we set off with our Fuji FinePix A700 (everyone always asks what kind of point and shoot camera they should buy. This one was small and user friendly and I would highly recommend it!) Some of the places we hiked to were the Presque Isle River and Falls, Lake of the Clouds, Summit Peak and the Little Carp River.


I have so much respect for travel and outdoor photographers - they rise at 4 or 5 AM to photograph a sunrise or hike through feet of snow or downpouring rain to capture that one AMAZING IMAGE! One person that I learned about and love his work is Dan Urbanski. Dan was an outdoor photographer based in Silver City, MI, just east of the Porkies. He was a former "Photographer in Residence" of Isle Royale National Park where he was paid to spend 2 weeks on the island photographing every living thing there. Let's just say he knew what he was doing! Unfortunately he passed away in 2004 due to bone marrow cancer, but his amazing images live on at his website, www.quietlywild.com. I would definately suggest a visit to the site, as I can only capture so much in 7 days, but this man had a lifetime with the park!

So in closing of this late newsletter, take a few moments to enjoy the great outdoors - even if you are stuck prairie doggin' it all day....If you don't know what prairie doggin' is, email me and I can let you know. The fall is just beginning and just remember that anyone can capture great outdoor images. As long as the photo brings back great memories, it doesn't matter what the photo looks like! :)

-- Russ