Driving across southern Africa

February 14, 2019

Amy and I get stir crazy. We can’t go a couple weeks without thinking of some place exotic to go and explore. Such was the case when we thought of renting a desert modified Land Rover and driving it across southern Africa. This was the kind of trip we knew would be hard work. No piña coladas on the beach with this trip. This was going to be rough roads, sketchy boarder crossings and lots of language barriers. This is the type if travel we dream of.

Within a period of a month we had bought maps, plane tickets and booked the reservation for the Land Rover. We were on our way.

Why do I do this to myself: thoughts on Kilimanjaro

April 08, 2018

It has now been several weeks since I have returned from photographing a trip to summit the world's highest freestanding mountain, Kilimanjaro. Standing 19,341 feet above the surrounding Tanzanian plains, Kili is a towering beacon, daring adventurous travelers to climb it's snow covered flanks.

I've had several weeks to think and rethink about the trip, why did I go, what did I get from it? For seven days my eight companions and I slept in the pouring rain, endured thin high altitude air, sizzling hot jungle and bitterly cold alpine tundra for a chance to stand on the highest point in Africa. Many of my friends thought I was crazy for going. "Why would you want to go to Africa and catch Malaria and shit in a bucket?" they asked. We spent thousands of dollars on a goal that we weren't 100% sure was achievable but we knew would be extremely painful both mentally and physically. Now that we're back we can't wait for the next self flagellating adventure.

Notes from the road: Part 1

January 17, 2018

Between the fall of 2015 and the fall of 2016 I drove across the country five times. Leading up to those five trips, my life, more specifically my mind had been in a state of limbo and uncertainty. In 2012 I was married at the age of 27, by 2015 that had ended in divorce and I was struggling to make sense of what had happened the previous three years. It was an odd situation because my photography business was doing well and financially I was better off than I had ever been... a perfect example of money not buying happiness. I did not feel grounded. I didn't feel like I had a purpose. I had been through four different therapists and was finally seeing someone whose methods I liked and felt like we were getting somewhere.

Then I saw the craigslist ad. It was for a Little Guy teardrop trailer. $3000. Barely used. I did a little research, made sure my car could tow the 8oo pound camper, and then went to check it out. I ended up coming home with a new trailer and a new idea. A road trip.