December 29, 2016
I remember a few years ago when I wanted to be a world class landscape photographer; a lot of the Popular Photography magazine articles were directed at landscape photography, I needed a polarizing filter and a tripod that wasn't all plastic, Peter Lik was becoming a household name, and hearing the name Ansel was equivalent to hearing Prince, Michael, or Bono. Then I realized that I didn't want to wake up hours before sunrise to hike to up a mountain while lugging a heavy tripod, a heavy full frame camera, heavy L-lenses, multiple filters, multiple batteries, and a bottle of water. I highly respect the adventurous landscape photographers, but I also respect my sleep and my fragile back. At the time, Horseshoe Bend in Arizona was on my bucket list of places to photograph and now it is officially crossed off the list. Now that I've transitioned to being a street photographer, Horseshoe Bend was a surprisingly fitting place for my photography; the hustle and bustle of the hundreds of people trying to get a good view, grazing litter that was left behind, and illuminated faces looking down not at the path, but at their cell phones. This scenic destination was an urban landscape at the time of my visit. Not what I hoped for, but I made the best of my visit. (Google "Horseshoe Bend" to see actual photos of the bend)