My First Two Weeks on the Road as a Full Time Photographer!

In January I finally left my day job and if you’ve been following my journey on social media, or even previous blog posts then you’ll know I have been loving life! Back in December with my good friends Jesse and Duane we set out to Death Valley to explore and scout for a workshop Jesse and I were to lead in April. We only had a few days but it was enough to get me really psyched to get back and lead a big group of students around the park and teach them everything I know about photography! Since January I have had a snowball of clients and students here in Moab and all over the southwest that have helped take away the anxiety I had initially about making the plunge. Its been amazing traveling for a few days at a time here and there but I was really excited about leaving for California for a couple of weeks straight, but also anxious about leaving my little family for so long.

The first leg of the trip was originally set for Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada just outside of Vegas, but after a chat with my buddy Dustin, who’s an incredibly talented Time-lapse Film maker and photographer, that plan changed and took me to a much more obscure and interesting place also outside of Vegas. The rock formations were amazing, like waves of sandstone that had been frozen in place. Luckily we had a great sunset, and clear skies for the early morning milky way!

The next day I set out on the long and graded road back to I15 and onto Vegas to hang out with Ikan, Nisi Filters and Gnarbox at the NAB Expo where I was to present on my creative use of filters. I must’ve walked 7-8 miles in two days there, so much that my feet were badly blistered. I could not wait to get out to Death Valley and away from the crowds and eccentricity of Las Vegas.

Zabriskie point is one of those places that doesn’t require a dramatic sky to make a captivating image, and the alpenglow that creeps down the mountains beyond the valley and Manley peak really add a great element to the more abstract landscape. After sunrise we had set back to camp where we all tried to grab a couple hours of shuteye and then an afternoon processing session at Stovepipe. Luckily they had the generator improved and we had power for the session and for everyone to recharge their camera batteries, and electronics.