Explorographer

First Post!

Ok, so - a few weeks ago I had the idea that it would be pretty cool to wander down to the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico and do a training course with a group of photographers. Well, the idea has evolved! I proposed this “collective training experience” to Lizz who subsequently sent me a link to “The Mammoth Men” a group of (very talented) wedding photographers from California. They’ve taken a couple of trips around America and blogged the whole way. As it turns out they did the White Sands National Monument and oh-so much more! They also did Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, Monument Valley, and Vegas. I don’t want to rip them off, but… damn, those all seem like places that I need to see in my lifetime!

So - here’s the plan. On February the 8th, 9 of us will pile into a van and make our way West! Roswell first for the pure kitsch factor of it all. From there we’ll continue on to The White Sands National Monument.  After a day of photoshooting we’ll make our way towards Arizona where we’ll make a stop in Tombstone. After Tombstone it’s on to Pheonix and up to Nevada where we’ll do a shoot a the Neon Graveyard. Followed by a party in Vegas? From there we’ll begin the eastward leg of the trip. A stop at the Antelope Canyons followed by a Jump into Lake Powell and  then a scramble over to Monument Valley in Utah. Finally, after ten days of shenanigans and pure awesome we’ll be heading back to Chicago.

We’re expecting costs to be approximately 50 dollars a day per person for the van as well as the cost of hotel rooms. Nothing fancy… 2 beds and a couple cots/sleeping bags. One of the things that I’m most excited about is that the Van will have WiFi! We’ll be updating from the road so at any given time you’ll be able to check in and see what’s happening with the explorographers. Stay tuned as I’ll be posting member bios, photos, maps, itineraries, and plans as they we work them out.