In 2006, I set off for a month-long travel adventure. Not only had I never done this type of traveling before, but I was doing it on my own. I distinctly remember getting off the plane in Denver (from DC) and bursting into tears, asking myself, “What the heck am I doing?!!” I considered turning around and going home. Instead, I pressed on and got on the next flight to Cody, Wyoming. It was a life-changing decision.
After 4 days of herding cattle, I drove to Yellowstone. I skidded the car to a stop when I saw the first bison. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. Little did I know that I would see hundreds of bison within the next few hours.
“Oh, it’s just another bison.”
I went forth to the Tetons and found out where a moose was hanging out. There was a crowd of people in the vicinity. I did everything you’re not supposed to do: I got out of my car. I got closer than I should have. I kept moving around to get a better angle. I was lucky that the moose wasn’t bothered and didn’t charge me, nor anyone else, for that matter!
I spent a week in Ecuador, and then headed to New Zealand for two weeks. I had no itinerary for exploring the two islands, so I made it up as I went along. In my second week, I stopped in a little town called Dunedin. I loved it and decided to stay a few days. There was an advertisement to go see penguins so I quickly signed up. It was a small group – maybe 5 or 6 people. We walked down to the beach and watched sea lions playing (and sleeping). And then we watched the penguins waddle down to the water and around the sea grass. I was mesmerized. I couldn’t stop watching, or taking pictures. I felt so lucky to see their activity in their natural environment. It was not a tourist trap. It was beautiful and exhilarating and I wanted to share this experience with the world. I took as many pictures as I could to capture the moment.
It would take several years to come to fruition, but little did I know that a photographer was “born” that day.