Hey Everyone! I hope everyone is doing well and is healthy.  In my last blog I told you to look for that silver lining in being home because of the coronavirus, but I didn't tell you about one of the most important ways to do this.  It's Routine!  Now that we are home from work or school, we don't have to get up and take showers and do this or do that to get ready for work or school, and we just lay around wasting time.  I have two examples that I will tell you about that will hopefully encourage you to make a routine and stick to it.

During the first Gulf war "Desert Shield and Desert Storm,"  I was deployed to the desert very early on just a few days after the invasion of Kuwait.  When we arrived everything was chaotic and unorganized.  Our routine had been interrupted.  And in a big way!  Nowhere to sleep, eating MRE's, and trying to set up operations in a foreign land  in the middle of nowhere.  While doing our jobs fueling jets, we did away with our paperwork, safety checks, and a lot of other routines.  Guess what happened?  We started having accidents.  People were doing dumb stuff that they normally wouldn't do back here in the States at our base.  I don't know if it was that there were no rules or what was in the back of our minds or what, but we were making mistakes that we normally wouldn't make.  So our boss put his foot down and said operations would be just like at home.  We had to go through all of the motions, safety checks, and paperwork that we would have to do in the States even though it wasn't needed in a war time situation.  Guess what happened?  Suddenly no more accidents, no more mistakes.  We became very efficient.  Other sections on base started doing the same, and before long the whole base was working like well-oiled machinery just as we had been in the States.   So what is the lesson?  Try to keep the routine that you may have had before all of this Coronavirus stuff.  It will help you stay focused and be more productive.  Set hours to get up and go to bed just as you would if you had to go to work in the morning.  Take a shower and get dressed in the morning just as you would if you were going to work.  You don't have to dress in your dress clothes, but get out of those PJ's.  Make a list of things to do or things that you want to do, and everyday at home you can work on those during working hours.  After your daily working hours, then you can relax and get into those PJ's.

My second example was when I got laid off a couple of years ago.  When I was first let go, I freaked out!  I had never been without a job before.  I have worked since I was 15 and now I had nothing.  I went into emergency mode and started doing resumes and emailing and all of the stuff you do when you're out of work.  But after a week or so of pure panic and working on my problem all of my waking hours, I found that I could do the job hunting in a hour or two a day and then what?  I remembered the story above and set myself some goals and routine things that I wanted to do.  So I set wake-up times and go-to-bed times.  I got up, showered, got dressed, and did my hour or so of job hunting.  I made a list of things to do.  I decided to teach myself Photoshop, so I set aside so many hours a day to do that.  I also set aside time to do some hiking at my local State Park, and my dog and I would take a hike.  I had to live as cheaply as I could (no money coming in) and look for ways to be productive.  This was a five-month ordeal that worked out great.  I did finally get a job without too much of a pay cut.  I learned more about Photoshop (still lots to learn), enough that in a few weeks I'll be giving a talk to my Camera Club on Composite Photography, and we'll be social distancing with an online meeting.  So my big advice is to set a routine and stick to it.  Set goals and write them down and don't forget exercise.

As I'm watching the news, most of it is not good.  So turn this Coronavirus bad news around and use the time that it has given you to the fullest by setting routines and goals.  There are lots of things that you can do at home.  So stay safe, and when this is over get out and shoot!

Hi Everyone!  I hope that all of my friends and followers are safe and healthy.  The last week or so the Coronavirus has been on everyone's minds and in the news with things happening very quickly and changing every day.  As of now 16 states are on some sort of lockdown.  Many Americans are at home, and if you look at social media, people are bored and it's only been a week or so.  I say find the silver lining in being in self-quarantine. Use this time to work on your photography, your editing skills, and of course getting honey do's done while you have the time to. LOL These are some of the things that I will be doing.

First of all I am very lucky that I can do some of my work remotely, at least for a while until that work runs Red Heart out.  I usually commute 1 to 1-1/2 hours one way each day, so even working from home gives me 2 to 3 extra hours a day to get stuff done.  Now the first couple of days you're probably going to just veg out in front of the TV, and I understand everyone needs a break.  But after that's done we need to set goals and use this time well.  As you may know, a few years ago I got laid off and had lots of time on my hands.  Besides looking for a job, I decided to teach myself how to work in Photoshop, well at least a little.  I learned how to composite a little and found out how hard it really was to do and how much time it takes to do one image.  I've got some new software now, Luminar 4.2, and maybe I can play with it and learn some new stuff.  My advice to you is to get started if you're self-quarantined.  Get online and find some kind of program to help you learn whatever software you're trying to learn.  A good program to follow for Photoshop is by Aaron Nace.  It's a 30-day tutorial, and you can find it free on Youtube.  Just google "Phlearn 30 days of Photoshop."  This is a great place to start.

Blue Water Splash Right now there is not a travel restriction in my state "YET," but I'm sure it's coming before too long.  But when it does, or if you're just scared to go out and about, do photography in your backyard. The spring flowers are starting to bloom, and I have a ring flash that I haven't used hardly at all.  I think I will get out in the backyard and do some Macro work.  Or maybe you can take some shots of your kids or pets.  I'm in the process of watching a tutorial of pet photography, so maybe I'll get out and take some photos of my dog Forrest.  Maybe you can learn how to use that flash that you have but only know how to use it in TTL mode.  Learn how to use it in manual mode.  And the same with your camera.  If you only know how to use your camera in auto mode, learn how to use it in manual.  It will make you a better photographer understanding how your camera works.  After you're good at manual, then you can go to some of the auto modes, but you'll be a much better photographer for doing the manual first.

Start new projects.  For me I have many projects.  One is getting my truck and camper ready for camping, customizing  my truck or making tarps and hammocks to meet any situation I can.  I'm really a gear head whether its camping, hiking, or photography, so I can stay busy all day working on these projects.  I also like writing these blogs.  So maybe I'll get writing and get ahead of the curve.  I was just about two weeks ahead on my writing, but now I'm writing the week that I post them and feel like I'm being rushed.  I like to put out a blog every week or so.

Honey Do's!  There are so many projects that I need to do around the house.  Some of them require money, which if you're not working we can't do.  But some of them don't take any money.  My big one is to clean out my garage.  It has become so cluttered that when my small camper is in it you can barley walk around.  So I need to organize my garage and get rid of old stuff that I don't need.  That is my biggest project, and I'm sure your spouse can find lots of projects for you to do. LOL  My biggest point is to do all these things around your house so when the all clear is sounded we can get out and take photos, go camping , hiking, and get outside and keep shooting.  Until next week please keep safe and healthy.

Callaway Peak Hey Everyone!  This week I want to talk about my favorite social distancing technique.  Backpacking!  No, not the kind of backpacking that college students do in Europe.  But the kind where you pack all of your gear on your back and go into the woods.  You have your tent, sleeping bag, food, and everything else with you.  I love traveling at the speed of what your feet can take you.  It gives you time to see nature and experience all that is around you.  I am a late bloomer and didn't start hiking until I was 50,  My camera brought me outside.  I was taking studio shots, then to my backyard, and eventually to a state park that is near me.  Then exploring other state parks.  My travel companion then was my son, and we started hiking the trails of the parks we were going to.  Then we got interested in backpacking, but it's a big leap from day hiking to a multiple-day hike.  So we started training moving our miles up and up until we could hike 10 miles with a full pack and do it in about three-and-a-half hours.  We had a trip all planned out in the mountains at Doughton Park, a national park.  The trip was about 10 miles in and out.  We took smaller trips trying to work up to the Doughton trip.  Then we did it!  We started doing more trips, and our longest was a 3-day trip in the Smoky Mountains that we hiked 12+ miles a day and crossed waist-high rushing water many times.  It was an epic trip, getting out in nature and away from hustle and bustle and screens.  Most of the places we go there is no cell service, so phones can really only be used for GPS.

This is a story about my first solo backpacking trip all by myself, in the woods, with no one else to depend on.  It sounds kind of scary, but it really isn't.  My first solo backpacking trip was to Grandfather Mountain State Park in North Carolina.  I packed up the car and drove to Grandfather Mountain.  I left very early and got to the parking spot at the trail head as the sun was coming up.  I had my maps, backpack, camera, and everything else so I headed out.  After about 15 minutes I figured I was going the wrong way and had to backtrack. LOL Today's hiking was going to be all uphill!  A very big workout.  But even more of a workout than I expected.  There were ladders involved and rock scrambling, which I had done none of.  On the way up there was a landmark of a wrecked airplane which I stopped and took some photos of.  I only saw one group of people all day, and they were day hikers on the way down as I was going up.  I had lunch on the top of the mountain with a fantastic view as I ate my tuna wrap. Then it was down the other side of the mountain to my camp site.  It was a very rocky and uneven site, and they had built a platform for tents.  But since I was using my hammock, terrain didn't mater.  I used the platform to cook my food on and make a video on how I cook in the wild. YouTube Link  After setting up camp and fetching some more water (which was a 1/2 mile away), I did the cooking as you can see in the video.  After that, it was just relaxing and waiting for the sun to go down.  Now there are no lights and no electricity, so if you want to get around at night you need a flashlight or a head lamp of some sort.  But usually after a day of struggling and working hard, when the sun goes down you're ready for sleep.  Hikers, midnight comes right after the sun goes down and a great  night sleep happens.  Or should.  In the middle of the night I had to get up and go to the bathroom as most men my age have to.  So I stumbled out of the hammock and went to a tree out of the way.  While I was doing my business, I noticed some eyes looking at me.  It startled me at first, but as I kept looking I noticed it was a big rabbit. Not a bunny, a big rabbit, and it was watching me pee.  After I was through it scurried off, and I went back to the hammock.  Then in the distance I started hearing some chanting or singing, I couldn't really tell, and it kept getting closer and closer.  Something or someone was coming up the trail.  I don't know who they were, but it was after 12 midnight and these guys were hiking along the trail singing.  I don't know if it was a college fraternity or what, but it was strange.  I could barely hike the trail in daytime, and they were doing it at night and singing.  After they had left I went back to sleep and I slept well. When I got up in the morning, I noticed that one of my trekking poles that I had leaned against a tree had fallen over.  When I picked it up, I noticed that the cork grip on it had been chewed and gnawed on.  By that pesky rabbit I suspect!  I still use the trekking poles, and the grip always reminds me of the rabbit.  After a breakfast and cleaning up my campsite, I was ready to head back to my car.  Today should be easer than yesterday, right?  I'm going mostly downhill.  Well, I've learned that, for someone of my age and worn knees, downhill is worse than uphill.  Going uphill makes your chest beat hard, and going downhill makes your knees throb.  And the places that I had to scramble up the first day I had to go down today.  So basically I had to sit on my butt and slide down, which of course made my pants rip.  Well, I finally made it down the mountain and back to my car and was pretty worn out.  Now only a four-hour drive home. LOL  

This trip was only a small out-and-back trip, but as you can tell it has left an impression on me.  I had great views, a brush with wildlife (rabbit), saw a wrecked plane, and really got a workout.  But most of all I got away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  So I really was doing social distancing five years ago.   Just me my backpack and a map traveling at the speed of walking, taking in the scenes, smells, and sounds of the forest and mountain.  I hope everyone stays healthy.  While I'm writing this blog, I'm also watching the news and it's all about the virus that is affecting the world with sickness and death.  I'm hoping that you and your family can get through this with no big changes to your life.  And hopefully you can get back outside and enjoy some social distancing of the outdoors and wilderness.  Until next time be safe, get outside, and keep shooting.