Life Is A Road Trip » photography

Buh-Bye New Orleans

Matt — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:33:04 +0000

Here’s a few parting shots of New Orleans. You treated us well.

I finally got a non-foggy shot of Pat O’Brien’s VooDoo Fountain.

Austin next…

Phaux’s Closing Thoughts, Part 1

Matt — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:15:48 +0000

I am sitting in seatac airport with five’ish hours to go until I liftoff for home, and want to record some thoughts while they are fresh and juicy.

First off, Zoo is a GREAT road mate. Words cannot express his huge contribution to the road trips being extraordinary, but I’ll give it a shot..

He is unflinching about being alive and living life his way. I have great respect for him, even when I disagree. His travel is experience is deep, so having him along adds a layer of comfort, especially when he says, “Can we drive down on that iced over river?” (unnamed rental car company, please do not read this). His encouragement of me and other people to go outside their boundaries and live a little makes life interesting and fun. There’s so much more, but my point is sincerely that I appreciate you, Zoo. Thanks for the miles and the smiles, dude.

Places
#1 Portland
#2 Banff
#3 Vancouver

I could move to Portland tomorrow and be a very happy man. I will visit Banff many times in the future. And Vancouver is a damn cool city.

Highlights
Kennedy School – just plain awesome
The Doug Fir and Rontoms are great bars with fun people. Always wanted to drink at the Doug Fir and I learned that the Indie Music scene in Portland is great at Rontoms.
My beautiful skull
Banff, the beautiful
Best Road
Biggest Unanswered Question
Whistler Village, BC

Panoramas

Favorite People Photo

Best Breakfast – Voula’s (Sorry, Portland!)
Best Lunch – St. James Gate Gangers and Mash
Best Dinner – Tie between Slo Bar (burger) in Portland and Grizzly House (fondue) in Banff

Growth
Every single road trip we make includes opportunities taken to plant seeds, leave room for gestation and let the new rear its head. On this trip, I was a lot more emotionally stable than prior trips, so instead my personal growth included being a bit more “one of the guys.” My life prior to this didn’t really have opportunity to ever be a wingman, play in bars, flirt outrageously, etc. It was a fairly “normal” path towards the American Dream of having the house, marriage and kids. Now I am living a new bachelor life and finding out that not only do I like being alone, but I also like learning more about what I may like in a relationship with each new gal with whom I spend a little time.

The result? I still believe in love and fidelity in a committed relationship. But it’s not something I’ll die over if I don’t get it now… In the meantime I’m having fun.

As for Zoo, I know he had his own thoughts gestating during the trip. I won’t presume to comment on them, but I do think they are going to stay underground for some more nutrients and water in the dark.

On another topic, I have some more thoughts about authenticity. It is a slight paradox that I choose to use a pseudonym on this site, but firmly believe in transparency and authenticity. This is brought into relief by one of Zoo’s posts where during that evening I gave out personal information, but not info about this site. It turned out for the best, because the fun-poking from Zoo could be hurtful should the site be found. Nothing terrible, just not entirely nice. And here is the crux of the matter… What Zoo posts is not my responsibility, but I do share the site with him. Do I reveal what he posts by revealing the site, or do I let it pass? That question lies unanswered at present. So I also have something that needs more time to grow before I can make a decision.

It’s also apparent that I am still learning the fine art (snicker) of being a wingman. It’s foreign to me, and my beliefs. In parallel, I also believe that it’s far easier to condemn something without every trying it. Greater understanding comes with experience. Easier said, I’ll try anything once. In this case, if everyone is out to have a good time then it’s a part of the “game.” My gut feeling is that I am far too sincere to be a wingman. ;)

Compare to before RT4

Biggest personal disappointment: Ummm… being a little naive about ’signals’

2nd biggest personal disappointment: Not actually engaging in deliberate Sentography, only holistic.

Biggest personal success: Frankly, enjoying myself with unfamiliar women on short notice. I’ve been removed from that world for a long time… I usually work into relationships over a long period of time. Bars and dating are almost a foreign language to me.

Wrapup
Every road trip is a potent reminder that we have to choose to enjoy our days, not wait for enjoyment to find you. Make the things you want happen, but don’t expect to be able to plan every road between here and what you want, leave that to chance – it’s more fun that way.

And finally, get yourself a mohawk. It’s the tits.

Columbia Icefield Tongue Panoramic

Matt — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:10:50 +0000

Download a hi-res here.

Link to Google Map

Mount Kitchener Panoramic

Matt — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:03:19 +0000

Download a hi-res here.

Link to Google Map

Furry Creek Panoramic

Matt — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:46:47 +0000

Download a larger JPG here.

False Creek Panoramic, Vancouver

Matt — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:29:29 +0000

It was a dark, stormy night…. I was soaked, and had just fell on my ass jumping down onto the river stones by the water. But it’s ALWAYS worth it.

Download a larger version to see it bigger.

Black and white photos from RT3

Matt — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:46:54 +0000

I just realized that I never posted the black and white panos from RT3! So, for your viewing enjoyment…

High Desert, eastern NV

Canyon, southern Idaho

Salt Lake City, UT

24 more photos after the break – click on!

Idaho Highway

Idaho Railway

Badlands, SD

Great Salt Lake, UT

High Desert, eastern NV

Canyon, southern Idaho

Desert, southern Idaho

Zoo on the Road

Desert road and dappled clouds, southern Idaho

Desert, southern Idaho

Reservoir, southern Idaho

Continental Divide Rd, WY

Western Wyoming

Salt Flats, UT

Badlands, SD

The Corn Palace, South Dakota

Day Shots: Cheyenne to Denver

Matt — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 20:47:07 +0000

After having morning coffee and blog time, I made my way over to The Wrangler. I was itchin’ for some cowboy boots. Having never owner a pair, or even gonne into a western wear store, I was floored. Lookit all them boots!

More pics and stories after the break:
I found just the right pair and a super-friendly Cheyenne-ite (whose sister live 7 miles from me in New York), rang me up and gave me some greta advice on driving to Denver.

See, it’s Saturday and by Wyoming standards, there are lots of Saturday road-ragers on the highway, so she gave me a tip. We took a lesser-known highway.

It was like deja-vu. 65 mph, slow down to 50, then to 45, then 35, then a small town less than a mile long with a railroad and grain towers on the left, some seedy bar ond general store on the right, done and repeat.

There was this interesting creature, though. Methinks it’s Zoo’s id.

Today was a very short drive (by our standards), only 2 1/2 hours. So, we’rte back in Colorado and Denver again. Wow… Now to tear up this town for 2 or so days before flying to our homes. I’m certain we’ll make some more indelible marks on this city, and perhaps visit Croc’s again…

Day Shots: Roaming in Wyoming

Matt — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:39:47 +0000

We had no side trips today, except for a little celebration we’ll post separately. So, this is a small collection of photos that can be taken from Route 80. I gotta say, I had no idea that Wyoming had such diverse terrain, and a humongous canyon (that we did not visit – we would have missed our steaks tonight!)

So, without further ado… photos after the break:

Rapid City, South Dakota to Big Timber, Montana in Nine Minutes

Matt — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:06:54 +0000

Rapid City, SD to Big Timber, MT from Sir Arthur SpamZalot on Vimeo.

Nightshots: Big timber, Montana Star Shoot

Matt — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 08:08:07 +0000

Wow… The Milky Way was in full effect tonight on the New Moon. We stopped off on our way to Bozeman in Big Timber, Montana to get some sky without light pollution. There was a lots of particulate in the air, though.

This first shot is 6 minutes @ 400 ISO, f/4. Milky Way behind star arcs:

Next off we have Zoo Broker and the horizon:

And then me with the horizon:

And then we pulled out some Kung Fu to finish off the cold (and warm up):

(I won…)

Last three shots were 10 min @ ISO 400, f/4. Can’t wait for tomorrow night!

Photo Gallery: LODO (Denver)

Matt — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:45:59 +0000

LODO is shortspeak for Lower Downtown. It’s like SOMA, EDO, SOHO, SODO, etc., only Denver style.

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