Death Valley

Photo by Larry Schectman

In December I participated in a photo workshop in Death Valley given by Brenda Tharp.  (That's her on the left in the photo above. I'm on the right.)

This was a wonderful experience.  Brenda is a natural born teacher and the half dozen other participants were intelligent and interesting. They were also darned good photographers.  I was stretched and challenged to look at things a new way.

At the end of the workshop, I made a list of 9 specific new things I learned.  Since I have been taking photographs since 1947, it's either that I'm stupid or Brenda's a good teacher.  I prefer to think the latter.

You can see a small portfolio of my work here.

Galápagos

We are back from ten days in the Galápagos Islands with our children and grandchildren.  It was an ideal trip that captivated the interest of all of us, particularly the grandchildren.  We snorkeled, we hiked, we cruised on zodiak boats, and we canoed.  We were busy every minute and never bored.  Combining the fact that our family likes to be together with all the interesting experiences, it was an ideal trip.

A few impressions:  The non-inhabited islands are pristine.  We never saw as much as a scrap of paper. The beaches were clear of any footprints when we landed.  The Ecuadorian government is doing an excellent job of preserving the islands.  They put our National Park system to shame.

Like Antarctica, humans never inhabited these islands.  The animals have no fear of them.  Lizards, sea lions, birds, every living thing ignores us.  This came home when a dozen of us were looking at a male land iguana from about 6 feet away.  He ignored us.  Then he suddenly bristled and made threatening noises when he saw another male iguana approaching about 30 feet away.

You can view my nature photos here.