PDN Emerging Photographer Magazine

I have to admit that most of the photographs I took last year on the road were from my iphone 4.  I struggle with the fact that they might not be considered serious images.  The resolution is lower, overall quality is poor and some pros might say, it's only an iphone photograph.  To my professional and fine art photographer friends, I would always respond to their compliment with, "well, it's just an iphone photograph."  I even considered my year on the road as a failure in some respects because my larger camera rarely saw the light of day due to my laziness. 

They always say that the best camera is the one you are carrying.  For me, I take my iphone nearly everywhere I go.  If I don't have it, there has to be some sort of reason I don't want to document something or I just want to go on a walk without it on purpose. Even then, there is a huge potential to miss an opportunity to photograph something.

If you follow me on Instagram (search Alison Turner "Alisontravels"), you'll know that I post just about everything I do through the lens of my iphone and sometimes fancied up with an Instagram filter.  It's so easy to take a photo and click a button to share.  It's also a nice collection of images from my life held in a place like a virtual scrapbook.

To hear that I was the winner in PDN's "Go Indie" photography contest in the Instagram/Hipstamatic category was a bit unbelievable. Thousands of images are uploaded every minute on social networks and because of the iphone, almost every corner of the world is being photographed.  Six image from my iphone 4 "On the Road" series were picked and they chose four of those images to publish on a full page in the Spring 2013 edition of Emerging Photographer Magazine.  

I still feel strange taking portraits with my iphone (scroll down my blog and you will see several), but it's what I have on me at all times so it will have to do.  I'm even working on a new project that I will eventually share that's only taken with my iphone.  

I am thankful to judge, Matthew Jordan Smith who chose my series as the winner and for PDN Emerging Photographer magazine who published it.  I am starting to warm up to the idea that the tools you use for an image shouldn't matter.  No matter what, I will continue to use the camera I have on my iphone.  It's always with me and a part of me (ok, a BIG part)  can't imaging going through life without taking photos.

Spring 2013 Edition of Airstream Life Magazine

I was so thrilled to hear that the portrait I took of Robert at Alumapalooza 2012 made the current cover of Airstream Life Magazine.  This image was one of my favorites from the event. Robert and his pups were such great sports to pose for me!

This will be my 3rd cover image for Airstream Life Magazine.  Looking back, I noticed that all three covers have a dog in the photo.  There must be something about traveling with pets that is so appealing.  I know that I can't even imaging traveling without Max.  The article in this issue is all about traveling with your pet...something Max and I know a little something about.  

Thank you, Airstream Life!

Death Valley National Park

Lowest Point In America - Badwater Basin

It's hard to believe that I've never been to Death Valley National Park until last week.  I grew up in Southern California and have lived here (when I'm not on the road) most of my life.  The weather was perfect so I thought I would go for a visit.

There is something about a National Park that gets me so excited inside.  I love driving up to the gate and showing my annual pass and getting a map and guide.  It's like an adventure is about to begin, and it does.  This is the first National Park that I've experienced that doesn't have a guard gate.  Perhaps because it gets so hot in the summer.  In any case, I arrived late so I went to the visitor center to get a pass the following day.

I woke up early to drive to Badwater Basin to find that I was the only person there!  As much as I love our National Parks, so does most everyone else.  Getting a private spot at an overlook is pretty rare so I soaked up the moment. Badwater Basin is the lowest point in United States so it was a treat to be able to visit the spot.  After that, I went on a hike to see a natural bridge, met Korean nun friends at the visitor center, ran the dunes with Max, then found a free camping site with a wild Burro watching over us.  It really was a magical trip.  In fact, I don't have anything bad to say about our National Parks.  I love them so much that I wanted to visit another one the following day!  We got up early and drove to Sequoia National Park to see the big trees.  Unfortunately for us, we needed chains to do so and we didn't have any so Ranger Dave sent us on our way.  I did get a nice portrait of him before we left so all was not lost.  

I hope you get to one of our National Parks soon.  It connects you in ways that the internet will never be able to and that's a good thing. Which is your favorite park?  Here are some iphone images from our few days at the park.

Koren Nuns Visiting Death Valley

Shut Down Motel near the park

Do you see our Burro friend?

Max loves running in the dunes

More happy dune running

Nothing for miles... 

Full Timers planning their next move, a la Risk style

Crow flying from a Palm Tree

Morning Ritual

Sunrise

One of the most beautiful roads just outside of the park

An old Sign outside of the park

Max refused to leave the comfort of his warm bed in the morning.

Gas Station outside of park

Jumping on Salt in Badwater Basin

Ranger Dave denying entrance to the Sequoia National Park without chains

Open Show, Photo LA And Saying Yes

I am a loner for most of the year and a very shy person so the thought of standing in front of a large group of people to talk about my work is terrifying to me.  A week ago, I took the chance and stood in front of an audience to do just that.

I am at ease with a small group and even better at one-on-one conversations but standing in front of a crowd full of eyes isn't something I jump at the chance to do. I was asked to talk about my work at Open Show Los Angeles and after saying no in my head, my fingers typed "yes" in an email.  I am glad I did the opposite of what my fear told me to do. 

It would be easy to tell you that I am a pro at public speaking and that I feel it's a piece of cake.  That would be...in my mother's words, "a fib." 

Even though I minored in Speech in college, It doesn't come naturally to me. It's easier and more comfortable for me to be alone on the road for months or approach a stranger in an alley at night to take their photograph, than it is to enter the safety of a room full of people staring at me waiting for me to speak.  I am telling you all of this to let you know that it's ok to say yes to something that scares you to death. I promise you that you will feel on top of the world once it's over.  Chances are great that you won't actually die.

At Open Show Los Angeles with fellow speakers (L to R) Chang Kyun Kim, Clay Lipsky, Elizabeth Preger and Benjo Arwas

A few days later, I attended Photo LA for the third year in a row.  Just three years ago, I attended Photo LA for the first time and didn't know a soul. Last year, I knew a handful of people and this year, I was fortunate to be one of the top 20 finalists in the Emerging Focus competition.  They had a reception for all of the finalists on Friday to announce the winners.  All the judges were on hand to announce the winner, including David Schonauer, David Vincent Wolf, Gerd Ludwig, Joe Schmelzer and Scarlet Cheng.  I was thrilled to hear my named called as the 3rd place winner.

At Photo LA with Emerging Focus winners, Gina Cholick, Andy Lerner, Elizabeth Preger and myself.

Thank you to Dan Shepherd for asking me to do something that terrifies me and for all of the judges at Emerging Focus that chose "Brothers" for the 3rd place prize.  I would recommend doing things that scare the hell out of you.  The feeling you get after it's over is so well worth the stress from the fear.  Remember, the good feeling comes AFTER the task is completed.

All of the top 20 images will be on display at ICON, Los Angeles now until the closing reception on March 10th.

Reflecting on 2012

iphone Instagram Photos from 2012

At the end of each year, I like to reflect on what I accomplished throughout the year and then set intentions for the year to come.  One of the good things about blogging is you can look back at posts and remember what you did.  There was a lot of "oh yeah's" as I reviewed posts from the year.

Resolutions have never been successful for me.  It seems like too much pressure to change something about yourself at the beginning of the year just because the calendar changes.  However, I like to set goals and intentions for the year to come.  It's a good practice to look back and remember the things you've done and appreciate those accomplishments instead of beating yourself up if you didn't complete something you set out to do.  I admit that I can do a better job of writing down things I want to do and review it every now and then, rather than expecting a major change to happen overnight.  I plan to write a list of goals for 2013 and once I do, I will share it with you.  

Ralph Lewis getting kisses in Maine

Beating myself up is a "not-so-favorite" pastime of mine.  I admit that I am hard on myself instead of looking at a situation in a different, positive light.  Pushing myself is a good thing, but dwelling on something I didn't do (or didn't do perfect) is not particulary a good thing.  At first thought, I would consider my year of traveling a failure in respect to photography and doing what I set out to do.  In my mind, I didn't take enough "big camera" shots and instead, took hundreds of iphone photographs (collage above includes photos from the road taken with my iphone) and posted them on instagram or facebook.  Was that a failure?  Maybe so in my mind in some respects, but what I did do instead was enjoying where I went and what I saw.  I suppose you could argue the fact that the iphone had a camera and it's still a tool to capture a moment in time even though the quality is poor and the only control you have is holding it steady and pointing in the direction you want to capture.  Did I mention my not so favorite pastime?

To focus on the positive, here are some of my personal favorite accomplishments and moments of 2012:

-Juror Henry Horenstein chose "Brothers" as Juror's Choice at the Kiernan Gallery

-Max and I took another trip to Bombay Beach on the Salton Sea

-Started a new project of taking portraits of my neighbors that I came across by chance.

-Todd Hido selected "The Wedding Guest" for Onward Compe� in Philadelphia 

-PDN (Photo District News) selected me as the emerging photographer of the month

-F8magazine featured my series, "Bingo Culture" 

-I got out of my comfort zone of photographing American strangers on the street to photographing beautiful models in a studio setting

-Took a trip to Big Sur to be on the other side of the lens (which is a challenge in itself for me) to be photographed and featured with my friend, Kristiana for the August edition of the French version of Marie Claire magazine.

-Took Portraits of strangers and trailers at the Palm Springs Modernism Week Vintage Trailer Show

-Featured in the MOPLA (Month of Photography, Los Angeles) group show.

-Selected for the 3rd Annual Julia Margaret Cameron Award by the Worldwide Photography Gala Awards to be shown in Paris this year.

-Photographed Alumapalooza for the 3rd year in a row for Airstream and Airstream Life Magazine

-Headed out to live on the road for the fourth year. This was the third year with my dog, Max

-Went to Yosemite the first day on the road

-Selected for shows at the Center for Fine Art Photography, Center for Photographic Arts, The Kiernan Gallery, Photo Place Gallery, Black Box Gallery and the Guatamala Photo Festival in Guatamala.

-Wrote a Feature Article for Women's Adventure Magazine about living in a Van for the Winter Issue

-Was artist of the week for Resource Magazine and Visual Overture Magazine

-Featured on fototazo, Feature Shoot, F Stop Magazine, 591 Photography Blog, Lenscratch and Photographer's Forum "Best of 2012" book

-Spent the day at the Topsfield Fair

-Wrote about Being Lonely on the road

-Talked my way into spending a day on a Lobster Boat in Maine

-Finally traveled to Marfa, Texas.  Love it there.

-Drove along the coast of Oregon

-Visited my all time favorite National Park, Yellowstone

...just to name a few

I am so fortunate to be able to travel with my dog in any direction I decide to go.  Even though I didn't take as many photographs of strangers as I had hoped for or blogged about my experiences as much as I thought I would...I consider 2012 to be a good year.  I am healthy, have loving friends and family, and the best traveling partner, Max.  

Most of all, I am thankful for another year of sobriety.  Without that, all of the activities and accomplishments listed above wouldn't have been possible. 

I look forward to writing intentions for 2013 and am hoping that it will be even better than 2012, as I'm sure most of us hope for the same.  Thank you for following Max and I on this journey through this blog, facebook and instagram.  I wish you all of the best in the new year and I hope you too are reflecting on the good things in 2012 in order to set goals and intentions for the new year. Happy 2013!

"Living Life Unleashed" - My Feature Article And Photographs Published In Women's Adventure Magazine

For years, I have been blogging about my adventures on the road and how to "Live Life Unleashed." I am happy to have the article I wrote for Women's Adventure Magazine published (the feature in the magazine is different from the online version) in their winter 2012 edition...on newsstands now!

Most of all, I am thrilled that women are searching for more in their life and I'm happy that there is an interest to hit the road and live a nomadic life. It's the best thing I could have done for myself. I have learned more about my myself during these past few years, then I did in all the years in my corporate job.  I recommend this life for anyone that has interest in it.  Our time is so precious, that it's important to go out and live life the way you want, do things you want to do and make a difference in your life as well as lives around you. 

I blog a lot about where I've been and what I've seen, through photographs.  It was nice to be asked to dig deeper and talk about my experience in an emotional way and list things to think about if others have a desire to live on the road.  I will continue to write about my adventures and will not be shy about what I have been though.  I think it's important to take the leap to do what you want, even if there are doubts.  As you will read in the article, I had plenty of doubts at the beginning.  

How will you ever find out if it's right for you if you don't take the leap and do it?

The article includes my photographs including a portrait I took of the talented, Charon Henning.  Above is a photo of me (courtesy of Sheryl Vickers) on the job, taking Charon's portrait during Alumapalooza in Ohio this past June.  It also mentions my photo series, "Bingo Culture."  Most of all, I am just thrilled to share my story with you in the hopes that you will also follow your dream, no matter what it is.

Marfa, Texas

Marfa has been on my "must visit" list for a long time.  When I tell people that I want to visit Marfa, it is always followed by a confused look on their face. "Muurrfa? Huh?, Where's that?"

Marfa is a small town in West Texas.  Founded in the early 1880's as a Railroad Water stop, now it's a tourist destination for people to come and see the mystery lights, Chinati Foundation and many galleries in town.

I was mostly interested in visiting El Cosmico.   Although I admire all of the trailers they have on their property, I was so delighted to learn that I could park campy overnight and use their facilities (for a small fee).  Max and I were the only overnight guests in the lot outside of their trailers during the week and that was fine by us!  I spent the day on my bike, "Lucy" to tour the town and snap photographs along the way.  With each block I peddled through, I kept telling myself, "I could live here!" I could picture myself living in a trailer and making art all day long.  However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I don't think I could do it full time.

I asked each person I came across that wasn't a tourist, "how do you like living here?"  It's a question most people get all day long.  The answer was the same... "it has its up's and down's like any other small town."  I suppose I am always fascinated in how people live.  Perhaps that's why I enjoy taking the back road to travel.  Everyday is a surprise and the people who live far away from the major highways are the most interesting to me.

During my stay in Marfa, I spent the day on my bike riding around, enjoyed the museums, relaxed at El Cosmico, and toured the outskirts where the Prada Marfa art installation is located.  This town has captured my heart and I know I will be back.  Here are some images I took during the visit: