Happy Birthday Chuck and Bob!

A WW II veteran –he was a bombardier on B-24s in the European theatre– he has many stories to share and is always willing to do so! But it was his post-war professional experience that influenced me. Uncle Bob was a professional photographer/photo journalist. When I was six years old, my brother gave me his old 35mm rangefinder, a Minolta A5, and showed me the basics of using it. Uncle Bob took over the training from there. He taught me more about shutter speeds and apertures, and shared many hours in his darkroom teaching me to develop and print my photos. For my birthday one year he took me to a nature photography workshop weekend with John Shaw and Larry West… a great experience that influenced how I teach my own workshops today.

My professional photography career began by covering local sports and events for several regional newspapers. But my passion, like Charles Darwin, was nature. I needed to be outside watching birds and other creatures. I grew up playing in and around our creek, hiking the woods around our cabin in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania and traveling around the country with my family. The professional jobs, especially the sports photography, helped hone my skills and technical proficiency, but I was most joyful when photographing the natural world. This is where the creative juices flowed.

At age 8, I saw a TV special about the Galapagos Islands. Wow, what wonderful new creatures! Just as Charles Darwin was amazed at what he found in the Enchanted Isles, so was I. I wanted to go! I had no idea where they were located, but I needed to see and photograph them! Well, it didn’t happen right away. In fact, it was more than 30 years before I was able to visit the Galapagos.

After thirty years of build up, some would wonder if the pedestal I erected would be too high. I realized half way into that trip the the pedestal was not high enough! I have been to the Galapagos eight times now. More visits and more islands than Darwin! Every time is fresh… it never gets old. I discover new things and new places and witness new behaviors. My last trip I finally saw the Espanola Racer–a very rare snake, and I saw a Galapagos Hawk with a chick. The trip before that we witnessed a Blue-footed Booby chick kill his sibling. Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” in action.

In this year of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday, I will be back in the Galapagos exploring and discovering. I am looking forward to photographing the wildlife in new ways. I can’t wait to show the people in our group the incredible geology and fascinating wildlife. Unique wildlife found no where else in the world. It’s an ecosystem in precarious balance. Scary to think it could be gone in a few decades… or even a few years.

I will keep going back to soak in the magnificence for as long as I can. Hopefully you will join me… we still have a few spaces left on our Galapagos Islands Family Adventure July 25-August 4, 2009. Bring the kids… bring the grand kids! This will be an experience they will cherish the rest of their lives!