traveling
With two trips coming up in the next few weeks, I wanted to break out of my comfortable daily routine and get out to make some images. I visit Lake Michigan and the Indiana Dunes, where I find much better conditions than I was expecting.
This image is a perfect example of what I talked about in "Images only you can make".
I made it from the balcony, on a beautifully white morning. This scene would have never worked if it wasn't for the snow: there's water, aquatic plants, cement, grass and so many other elements - too busy. But this morning, all of that had been erased by the snow.
There it stood the pier, alone. Something belonging to a very different, remote time. Almost out of place.
You don't have to go to faraway lands to find beauty. Just don't forget to look for it.
We are moving again, leaving Colorado and heading towards Utah. In this video, we talk about how we travel, why we do it this way, what we carry with us, and I make some images in Salt Lake City.
Hello, friend, from somewhere in Iowa.
I’m typing this on my iPad from the passenger seat of our truck. Today, we left Indiana after being there for a couple of months, as we head West in the search of new adventures.
We’ve “moved” several times in the last few years. It doesn’t get any easier. Leaving behind a place and a routine, the comfort and safety they provide, and the people you shared your life with even if only for a few weeks, is always hard. And in some ways, the uncertainty of a road trip can be a bit scary.
I’ve come to realize that all of this is a good reminder, though: nothing lasts forever. Memento mori, some say. This is a fact we all are aware of, but it can get lost in the everyday, automatic behaviors we engage in.
Knowing that we only have a few weeks left of whatever we are doing, of wherever we are, and of whoever we are with, makes me enjoy all of it a bit more. It makes everyone around us that way.
It wasn’t too long ago when we were saying good bye to everyone in Spain over meals and drinks, or when we were celebrating being back with our loved ones in Indiana. This week, it was time to enjoy the last few days with them.
Even though I always try to keep in mind how lucky I am to even be alive, this approach to life has made me even more aware. Every day is special in a different way.
Take it all in today. Because we aren’t going to be here tomorrow.
We are back in the US. This was our experience traveling during a pandemic.
I had big plans for 2020. Like everyone, I suppose.
As fate would have it, we were supposed to leave for Ireland the same day the lockdown happened in Spain. That trip to Iceland and the UK got cancelled, as did the trips to the Alps and all the hiking I was planning on doing in the American West.
Life goes on, though, and after spending months of lockdowns and big restrictions in Spain, it was time for us to come back to the US. Officially, we live here, so we had to. Also, we hadn't seen our family here in months. Airports opened again and we were able to book a flight - who knows how long this window will remain open, if things get worse it might have been our only chance to come back.
Traveling felt weird, very weird. Our first flight was packed, and being around so many people for the first time in months was an experience. Seeing Heathrow so empty was chilling. But boarding a big Boeing 787 on an intercontinental flight with just other 20 passengers was something else.
Anyway, we are back.
Planning the rest of the year is challenging. We will stick to the US and there will be no flying involved. We are looking for a used car that we can take on a trip to the West in a few weeks. I'm hoping to be back in Oregon / Washington for a couple months during hiking season, then down to Southern California / Arizona in the fall, and back to the Midwest by late fall or early winter. I do look forward to photographing the snow and frozen lakes.
All of this can change overnight if the pandemic goes out of control again and states start to restrict movement. That's why I will need to be even more flexible this time around and plan only a few weeks ahead of time.
I'm excited, though. I miss my family, the dogs and farm life, of course, but I can't wait to hit the road again.
When I wrote about my upcoming trip a few days ago, I knew the situation could get worse. I could not, though, expect how fast everything has unfolded here in Spain in the last few days: from planning my trip to country-wide mandatory quarantine.
I will be working from home for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, I have a lot of photos to go through and many things to talk about, here and on my YouTube channel.
Before focusing on photography again, I wanted to repeat what every expert in this matter is saying: stay home as much as you can. If you are already taking this seriously, then please keep doing so. And if you still believe this is like the flu, take a look at this.
Stay healthy, my friends.
In just a few days, if the coronavirus situation doesn't get even worse, I'll be taking a plane to Ireland. That will be my first stop on a 2.5-month-long trip to Ireland, Iceland and the UK.
The way I travel makes every trip a bit uncertain, but this time, I'll be embracing the unknown from day 1. Other than the flights and a few hotels in Ireland and Iceland, I have nothing else booked or planned.
On one hand, there's the virus: Italy is in lockdown and other countries are starting to require foreigners to self-quarantine for a couple of weeks. These measures could extend to other parts of the world -including the countries I'll be visiting- at any moment, so I don't want to book anything too far ahead.
There's also the issue with the weather: it's been a mild winter here in Spain, but it looks like Iceland is still getting its fair share of snow and ice these days. My hope is to travel along the southern coast, weather permitting.
I'm very excited about this trip. I've never been to Ireland, and I've been wanting to go to Iceland for a long time. And while I did visit London before, I've never been anywhere else in the UK. I'm especially excited about spending a few weeks up in Scotland.
Hopefully I get to visit all of those places as "planned", and to share many images and videos with you all. If that's not the case, it'll be fine, I'll do my photography from somewhere else. After all, those beautiful landscapes are not going anywhere and they'll be there once this virus is under control. What matters the most now is to keep everyone safe.
I'll keep you updated. Stay healthy.
For the last 2+ years, we've been living nomadically across several countries. Before that, I'd moved from Spain to the US where I lived for 5+ years. All these travels have changed me and my art in very profound ways -and it could change you, as well. Let's see how.
Read MoreHello from Arco, Italy,
Sadly, we had to leave Austria one week earlier than anticipated due to bad weather. Snow and ice prevented me from doing many of the things I wanted to do there, but it was those same conditions that gifted me with a magical day that made me miss the mountains.
I lived in Portland, OR, for 5 years. While the city might not get snow every winter (we got one big snowstorm in all of those years), the mountains around it are covered in white powder for several months a year. It's easy to find snow even during the summer, if you hike high enough. I absolutely loved it.
I find snow fascinating. I grew up in a place that barely gets any: flurries are scarce, seeing the snow stick on the ground is a once-in-a-lifetime-event. The nearby mountains do get snow but it's short-lived as the warmer temperatures melt it away rather quickly.
Innsbruck got pummeled with snow last Wednesday. The locals might have found it annoying for their commutes, but it was a gift for me: unable to reach the snowy mountains, they came to me.
Placed among giants, it was easy for me to reach high altitudes by simply walking from our place near downtown Innsbruck. I walked in the snow for hours, going as high on the mountain as I could. I knew it wasn't going to last (it's still November, after all) and I wanted to take it all in.
When I left the city behind and reached the forest, it was like being back in the mountains of Oregon. I was once again walking into magical scenes from a fairy tale.
I loved my time in Innsbruck, definitely on top of my list of places to go back to. Next time, hopefully, better prepared for the winter.
I need to photograph everyday.
A day without taking pictures is a sad day for me. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I always bring my camera with me and shoot, a lot. Most of these photographs never become an image.
Don't forget: motivation comes after action. When we do something, we get motivated and the wheel starts moving. Even on days when I can’t get out as much as I want, I still try to photograph: taking photos of myself, documenting what I do and what I have around me.
There doesn’t have to be a grandiose purpose or a life changing project, these are images for our inner artist, because we need to create.
These are some tips and ideas to help you stay motivated to shoot everyday:
Hello from Innsbruck, Austria.
I was thinking about the crazy last few weeks we've had: it was only two months ago when we were arriving in New York City. It feels like it happened a long time ago, it's been a lot of traveling since then. Even though things get easier over time, I still find it difficult to leave.
We spent two months in Indiana this summer. A month in Spain this last October. Sounds like very short periods of time -they were- and still, I got used to it. I had a routine.
Leaving for this trip was, as usual, hard at first. Don't get me wrong, I love to travel and see new places, but if I lose the momentum it's not easy to get it back. It's a resistance I encounter very often -it's not hard to beat, but it does require some effort.
I'm sure many other photographers feel the same way before a backpacking trip or boarding a plane on their way to a new place: that mix of excitement for the new images you are about to make and the uncertainty, the fear of the unknown, being out of your comfort zone. Maybe that's why so many keep returning to photograph the same places over and over.
This resistance we might face is short-lived, though. The way to beat it is by taking action, by doing. In my case I'd forgotten about the routine and comfort as soon as I reached Zumaia. There's nothing like some beautiful nature to put you in the present.
Photography can be a bit messy. It's not just cameras, but all that comes with them: lenses, batteries, memory cards, cables, tripod, computer, hard drives... These are some tips to keep your gear under control and always ready to go.
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The chances of finding a fast and reliable connection to back all your photos and videos up on the road are slim at best.
AirBnBs and hotels usually offer a very slow WiFi, enough to send a few messages and images to family and friends, but not good enough for almost anything else.
Coffee shops are a better bet, but they can get really expensive and good WiFis aren't as common as one might think.
I've found that public libraries are the best option by far. They are quiet, free, and offer good speeds (at least in big cities): 100mbps download and 50mbps upload as I write this from the one I'm at. A great place to work and upload all those photos and videos.
They are also full of, you know, books. So if you are taking a break, consider putting your phone away and grab a book instead.
It's been 558 days since we left our tiny studio apartment in Portland, the last time I had a permanent home.
Being constantly on the move has made me very aware of all my possessions. I always thought I had few things, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
After getting rid of what felt like most of my stuff, I still had enough to fill two big suitcases, a few backpacks and two camera bags (see picture above).
I've been trying to reduce my possessions ever since, one thing at a time. Not because I wanted to become a minimalist but because I had to: for most of the year, I move to a new place every week, and having to carry your things from place to place makes you instantly regret all of those you don't really need.
It's been a lot of trial and error, but during my most recent road trip I was finally able to fit all I need in one carry-on size bag and one small camera bag:
some clothes (not a lot of them!), shoes and very basic toiletries to stay clean and look decent,
a phone and a computer to work from anywhere and communicate with anyone, and
a camera to capture all of this
This new approach has changed the way I think in many ways.
Read MoreThis is going to be my couch for the next few weeks, here in Portland, Oregon.
I've lost count of how many different couches I've had during the last year and a half. How many places where I've had my morning coffee. How many homes.
Tomorrow, I might not be here. Today, this is home.
