Friends:
While we are just about to leave for six weeks in South America, I thought I'd share some pictures from our recent trip, beginning just before Thanksgiving to Texas, through December 10th, when we returned from Mexico (the latter a gift from Ashley to me for my 70th birthday). Finally, I'd like to invite your feedback on directions I am considering for how I present my pictures on the web.
TEXAS
We started by our trip by overnighting in Fort Worth with cousins and leaving right after breakfast to drive to San Antonio. I will not impose on you any pictures of the gargantuan Tesla factory (covering 2,500 acres) or the Temple Buc-ee's where we stopped for lunch, with its 15 yard beef jerky counter!
We stayed at the Hotel Emma in San Antonio for a splurge; quite lovely.
From there we drove to Port Aransas, outside of Corpus Christi, to meet Ashley's family for Thanksgiving. We stayed in a tony development, complete with mega-golf carts that could drive on the hard-packed beach. The grounds and the beach were lovely. We were thankful to have time to deepen those familial bounds that we hold dear.
We then returned to DFW, with an overnight in Austin that included a trip to the LBJ Library, reminding me of what a transformative progressive President LBJ was.
MERIDA
I have long been quite taken by the contortions flamingos make, so Ashley's gift allowed me time to obseve them more closely. We had never heard anyone speak of Merida, a surprise since it is reputed to be the safest city in Mexico. For us, it was the closest city to two wildlife preserves, where flocks of flamingos winter.
Ashley's first gift was a private tour in Celestun. Our guide had scouted that morning so we saw most of the groups in the area. We traveled both by boat and, later, by car into the mangroves.
Merida was dressed up for the holidays. Our hotel was very local, though also comfortable with some interesting art. We looked at local crafts and ate some good food.
Ashley's second gift was a sunrise expedition into El Palmar Nature Preserve in Sisal, also to see flamingos. She found a guide who was both local and a National Geographic wildlife photographer (she now focuses on aquatic projects). As a Nikon Ambassador, she had access to many lenses and loaned me her 300-500mm lens (a good thing because it was almost too heavy to hold, never mind pack for travel). We arrived just before dawn and had about 90 minutes there to observe them as they woke and started their day.
Finally, we managed to squeeze in a trip to Uxmal, an extensive Mayan complex about an hour outside Merida before we left.
We arrived back in Philadelphia at 2 am on December 10th. We leave again for six weeks in for South America, starting December 25th.
WEBSITE
As many of you know, I enjoy sending reports of our travels, and I will continue to do so (unless you unsubscribe). When not traveling, though, I will still focus on macro images, but I will focus increasingly on form, texture, line, color and volume.
Some folks have suggested that there is a difference between botanical photography (more representational, like the first three images below) and fine art photography (more focused on compositional elements, like the second three), one person even suggesting I jettison purely botanical images and focus exclusively on the fine art side. I doubt I will do anything quite that extreme, but I am thinking about how to develop my practice and show my current work more effectively.
As my "community," what do you think, if you have a point of view? Is there a difference? If so, are you drawn more to one than the other? No pressure, no obligation. I am open to reading your thoughts.
*****
In any case, I hope you had time recently to offer your own thanks for the good things in your lives, and I wish you a happy holiday season and a joy-filled new year.
Looking forward.
m
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