It’s hard to grasp just how many people there are in China. Cities of 6 million are practically considered small towns. This is the morning rush in Suzhou. Bicycles and scooters zipping everywhere — challenging cars and buses. It’s quite a sight and a whole lot of fun to shoot.
I apologize for another gap in my posts but I’ve been in China for the past week and have been unable to access my blog server. As of 2:00 a.m. this morning, I’m back and have plenty of catching up to do — sleep and otherwise. I’ll let this shot of a kite-flier in Shanghai suffice for now but be sure there is more coming over the next few days.
I’ve been off the grid for awhile so let’s catch up…
I spent Tuesday night (election night) in a great little log cabin in northwest Arkansas. This was my driveway. Yes, there was a TV. No there was not an antenna or cable — just a DVD player. Happily, there was a wifi network at the nearby lodge so I spent some time down there, watching returns and downloading email. One of the emails I received was an application for a visa for an upcoming trip to China.
Backing up a little further… I had received an invitation to a press trip in China on Friday and was asked to provide some information. I emailed that off and waited for the visa application to be sent to me. Sunday, I left for Arkansas but I took my passport along — just in case I needed to reference my passport number while I was away. Lucky I did, because I needed to send my passport to LA along with the application. I also needed to send a passport-style photo. A photo that I did not possess. This was Tuesday night. The package needed to be in LA on Thursday.
Thanks to a PR person I was traveling with, I was able to get directions off of his GPS to the nearest Post Office in Harrison, AR, where I could get a passport photo taken. I figured I could mail the package from there, too. I had already picked up an overnight envelope and postage when I was in Fayetteville earlier on Tuesday.
But wait… I also have to print out the application that I had received by email so that I could fill it out and include it in my package. Again the PR folks came to the rescue, arranging for me to gain access to the lodge’s office early the next morning to use their printer. Sweet.
The next morning I printed the document and excused myself from the press trip to make a run east, over to Harrison. It was fortunate that I had driven on this trip and not flown as I had my own car. Once at the Post Office, I had my photo taken and assembled the rest of the package. As the postal worker filled out his paperwork, he said, “Okay. This is guaranteed to arrive by 3:00 on Saturday.”
Saturday?
Turns out Harrison doesn’t have an airport so their “overnight” packages have to be driven to Little Rock. Time for plan B. Where’s the nearest Post Office that CAN deliver a package overnight? Fayetteville. The same Post Office where I had purchased the postage. Well west of my beginning point on Wednesday morning.
A call to my press group to let them know what was up and it was off to Fayetteville. I dropped off the package and headed back east to catch up with my tour. I finally arrived at Eureka Springs around 1:45, fifteen minutes before the next item on the itinerary and about 7 hours after leaving the cabin that morning. Whew!
And the trip to China? It begins next Saturday. Just seven days away now.
And I forgot to mention that I did manage to hear the election results on an AM oldies station in the cabin Wednesday morning. Obama’s win was announced right after they played a Carpenters’ song.
Chasing the last of this year’s Fall color, I’m in northwest Arkansas for the week. It kills me to be away during tomorrow’s election but, rest assured, I voted early before leaving town.
I returned from the Southwest on Tuesday after nearly two solid days of driving in the rain. Ever since, I’ve been trying to keep my head above water. Not from the rains, but from the mounds of work that accumulated while I was away. Some things I can keep up with while I’m on the road. Others have to pile up and wait for my return.
This is a shot from Sunday in Albuquerque. I had hoped to catch the last day of the balloon festival but high winds forced the cancellation of Sunday morning’s launch. You win some, you lose some. I’ll have to make a trip back some Fall when I can spend the whole week catching the night illuminations, etc. That’s the way to do it anyway.
Monday saw a brief tour of Santa Fe before the long drive back. That half-full CF card is still in the Nikon — I haven’t even had the time to download it yet. Very unlike me. Anyway, some fun stuff is on the way. Stay tuned…
Yesterday was spent shooting at Chaco Culture National Historical Park. My favorite view was from the mesa above Pueblo Bonito seen at top. This shot will need a little cropping, though. My Nikon D200 doesn’t have a 100% viewfinder so I missed the guy checking email on his Blackberry wandering into the left side of the frame.
Last year I rode the Durango & Silverton train with my Photodude’s buddies. It was a great trip and we got lots of shots from the open-air cars of the front of the train as it snaked around bends in the Animas River canyon. Yesterday, I got to shoot the train again but not as a rider.
I met the train at the station as the locomotive was being positioned. It was a cool morning and the steam was belching into the sky backlit by the early morning sun. I shot until the train pulled out and then hopped in the car to race ahead to a spot I had remembered from last year’s ride where the train would pass a lake surrounded by pastures of horses. Mapquest was a huge help in finding places where the roads and tracks would intersect. I don’t think I would have ever found the spot without it.
It was fun to get another chance to photograph this great train. I understand they have some special excursions for photographers where they will actually stop the train and allow you to photograph it as it steams past, then it comes back to pick you up again. Maybe I’ll get a chance to do that some day.
I’ll be trekking through Colorado and New Mexico for the next few days. As usual, I’ll post photos when possible. It will be a driving trip this time which feels good. I’m ready for a break from airports, baggage weight restrictions, and cramped seating. Gas around here has even dropped below $3 so it’s all good. I love driving, too. Seeing the gradual changes in landscape and having a real feeling of distance is much preferable in my mind to being plopped down in a new place with no bearings or feeling of relationship between where you came from and where you find yourself. No, a long drive can be a very good thing.
Oh, and this shot is from a trip I made to the Four Corners area last year with my Photodudes buddies. Guys — we need to hit the road again together soon!
Since getting back from Texas earlier this week, I’ve been trying to get caught up from my backlog of post-processing. I usually try to be no more than one trip behind (finish processing one trip before leaving on another) but with the move this summer, I’ve fallen uncomfortably behind. Thus I have just finished going through my Arkansas shoot from May, including this shot from Eureka Springs. If you’ve never been, this is a crazy neat little town. I’ll be happily revisiting it in November so you can expect to see moreHopefully I’ll have that trip — and all my 2008 travels — processed before New Years. It’s good to have goals.
I spent yesterday morning exploring the Trois Estate near Fredericksburg, TX. I’m not even sure what to call the place. Part private home, part B&B, part restaurant, part museum — it’s truly amazing. The architecture utilizes everything from weathered doors salvaged from around the world to wine bottles to create a surreal Spanish-esque village. I hope to get a chance to see this place again when it’s completed. I can’t even imagine what surprises are still in store.