Amazingly Beautiful

Vacation photography has been a hobby of mine since age 9 when my parents took my brother and I on a driving trip to Yellowstone gave us 110mm point-and-shoots to document the family vacation.

We each shot at least an entire role of Old Faithful. They turned out as bad as you might imagine. I remember flipping through picture after picture of the steaming spot on the ground. Disappointing. The photos didn't capture the energy or the excitement or even what I remember it looking like. In 3X5, the geyser looked puny.

But some part of me was hooked and my parents must have recognized it. For the next vacation, they upgraded my gear to a real 35mm point-and-shoot. And ever since it's been kind of a side quest to make photos that look at least half as beautiful as the places I visit.

So I was excited this week to learn that one of my more recent vacation photos was selected for inclusion in the Amazingly Beautiful World Gallery. It's the photo below of the Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley. If you look closely you can see a speck on one of the far off dunes. It's another photographer hunched over a tripod.


I encourage you to visit ABW Gallery. Its name says it all. The photos are inspiring. And I'm so pleased to have a photo residing among such gorgeous images.