Tips From A Pro

I was fortunate enough to have a professional photographer here in Provincetown print some pictures of mine and give me a few pointers on photography.

Angela Russo was kind enough to offer to help me make the best of my "point and click" photographs. I am so glad she did!

For over 30 years, Angela has been photographing people, places, and product. Her entire adult life has been dedicated to this profession, and now she has entered into another phase of her dreams and her life; showing her personal work.

I would recommend that you take a look at her photographs on her website by clicking here. She has several amazing pictures of Cape Cod. Very inspirational.

She was kind enough to print my sunset picture on stretch canvas paper (see above), which is one of her specialties. I was amazed to see how beautiful it turned out!

Angela, along with a few others are pushing me to start selling some of my prints from this journey. I know that for now, I am enjoying taking pictures and being in nature as Max and I travel. I look forward to the leaves turning and exploring some new places soon.

Thank you Angela!

Behind the "Point and Click"

I wanted to write a note about myself and my extensive photography background so you can learn a little more about me. I would also love to learn more about you!

I grew up in Southern California and have lived in California all of my life. My mother is an artist and I remember going to her art classes as a young child and couldn't’t wait to get out. Her medium is ceramic sculpture but at the time I would rather put my fingers in the mud and play.

I took my first and only photography class in high school. It was a black and white film class where we developed our own film and pictures. I loved it. I used to drag my friends out of bed at 6am to meet me at the classroom first thing in the morning to take their portrait. I still have the photographs, but the classes ended there.

I love animals and being in nature. I camped a lot growing up and went on a 30 day outward bound class as a teenager. Perhaps that was more of a “you better straighten up” class, but it taught be a lot about living in the outdoors and being ok with being alone in the wilderness.

I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures, but I have never had the time to study it. After graduating college, my sole focus was on my career and climbing the corporate ladder. I did that for 15 years and felt I reached the top half of the steps but still wasn’t satisfied. After much thought and consideration, I decided to quit my job to travel the United States.

Last year I did it with a teardrop trailer and with my dog, Maggie. We had a great time, but I didn’t take the time to be still. Maggie has since passed and now my new dog and partner in crime, Max and I are exploring it again in a tent. This time, I am taking more pictures and documenting the trip more than I thought I ever would. It’s the best decision I have ever made.

So, to make a long story short… I am not a professional photographer. All of my pictures are taken with a “point and click” Cannon Power shot that you can buy at most large retail stores for about $150 bucks. Also, I don’t have Photoshop, so what you see is pretty much what you get. I love to learn and try new things. I tend to take pictures of things I love to look at. That is why you see a lot of birds, water, trees and sky in my pictures.

I hope you are enjoying the pictures as much as I am taking them.

Update: July 31, 2010 - Since this blog, I am using Lightroom to edit photos and I have a new camera.  I have documented this along the way although some of you may be new to this blog.  Thank you for following us on our adventure!

And the Photo Contest Winner Is...

This was a tough contest to pick a winner out of the Millions who entered! My ice bucket from Motel 6 seemed to do the trick for the drawing.

Max was also there to witness it, so there was no funny business going on.

And the winner is...Susann Walters from Little Rock, Arkansas!

Congratulations Susann(sorry Max forgot the second "n" in your name when he wrote all of the names on a paper)!

She chose the photo I took when Max and I were in Arches National Park.


A big THANK YOU to all who entered the contest!

Puffy Clouds and Rollerskating

I love puffy clouds! I love those soft billowy clouds that form close to the earth...as if they are just sitting there waiting for us to admire them. Usually the deep blue sky accompany these soft clouds so it makes it a great picture taking day!
Waking up and seeing those clouds in the sky makes me very happy. Almost giddy happy.

I get so excited thinking about going out and taking pictures. You never know what you are going to get. They come and go pretty fast and each formation is unlike the one before.

This burst of excitement started me thinking...when have I ever been this excited about a new hobby?

It took me back to the days when I was 10 or 11 and LOVED to go rollerskating. I would rollerskate after school with my mom or sometimes on the weekend, I would get lucky and go to the rink. On one occasion, I even had a birthday party there. Each morning after my rollerskating fix, I would wake up looking forward to the next time I was going to do it. It would consume my thoughts throughout the day.

Who knew that rollerskating would help me in my career once I got older. My first job out of college was managing the kids club at the local FOX TV affiliate. I had the honor of being Blinky Bill rollerskating in the 100 degree summer heat at a roller rink, waving to kids as I skated around wearing a 50 pound costume doing the hokey poky (and no, there are no photographs of this special moment in my life - I hope) with 3 or 4 kids hanging on me screaming... "Blinkyyyyyy!!!! "Over Here! Over Here!!!!!" "BLINKYYYYY!!!!"(insert high pitch scream here)

I haven't been rollerskating since.

This blog is really just to say that I am excited. I look forward to taking pictures of my travels and sharing them with you each day. I know I've said it before, but it gives me that happy giddy feeling again. Similar to the, "Before Blinky" excitement I had for rollerskating.

Self Doubt

You know that little voice...the one that gives you every reason on why you can't do something or why things will eventually fail?

The devil on your shoulder.

Is it there to protect you and keep you safe or does it magically appear to keep you from growing and become the person you really want to be?

Traveling isn't the sole reason for this journey. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying the ride, soaking up the moments and beautiful surroundings, but it goes much deeper. I was hoping to become better acquainted with myself.

I have.

In fact, I am learning more than I thought I would, however it's not always easy.

It's been a little vulnerable putting my art out there for you to see, especially when the voice of self doubt tells me not to. Believe me, I am not quitting my day job to paint...oh wait, I already did. Whoops...

The fears came again when I decided to post my 150 day blog. What if they don't like me anymore because I don't drink? What if I am seen as weak? What if...

What scares me even more is NOT taking the chance to do something.

I have always loved taking pictures. I am starting to pay attention more and really look at things. I enjoy soaking up the beauty of my travels and sharing them with you in a photograph. Although not always easy, I hope that you get the feeling of being there through my images.

I am posting many of my travel photos on a facebook fan page. If you are a member of facebook, I hope you become a fan. Sometime soon, I would like to offer the prints of select photographs for sale. I know the feeling of being in nature and enjoying all that she gives us. I am especially looking forward to being able to share that with you.

Thank you for taking this journey with me.

Click on the link below to become a fan:

Photographs by Alison Turner on Facebook

Provincetown

Max and I didn't get to the boats yet, but we toured around Provincetown and took some pictures around the beaches. I've been enjoying taking photograhps of birds (as you might have noticed) and this one single house, alone on the hill (more to come on the house soon). Instead of writing about our day, here are some snapshots to give you a sense of what it's like here. I hope you enjoy them. I enjoyed taking them.

Warning: Area may seem warmer than it actually is.

Cape Cod

This will be the longest stop on our trip across the USA. Max and I love it here. We were able to get the last bit of summer weather and now the air is crisp, the sun is out and the nights are cold and quiet. Cape Cod is an amazing place. I always looked at pictures in magazines at the beautiful scenery and knew I would make it out here some day. Sometimes when I look at a photograph from the Cape, I think, "that can't be real." I am here to tell you that the sky is not unlike a beautiful painting. The colors are richer and deeper than anywhere I have ever been.

Perhaps that is why this town if full of artists and photographers. Most of our days are spent touring around the outskirts looking at nature. I wanted to share some of the pictures that I took during our time so far. There are several boats out there that need to be seen as well. I will find them today.

CONTEST: How Well Do You Know Your States and Landscapes?

Max and I have been having a good time traveling this great country of ours, taking pictures, and sharing them with you. We thought it might be fun to put out a contest to see if you can name each state these 10 pictures were taken in(see pictures below)by the landscape shown on the photograph.


Might not be as easy as you think...


Details:
1.)Send and email to alisontravels@gmail.com with a list of states that you think match the photographs. (list them 1 - 10 with the title of "Contest" on subject line) Be sure to include your name.
2.) All correct answers will be saved and the winner will be drawn at random on Monday, September 28th
3.) Winner will be announced in an upcoming blog - or not, if they prefer to remain mysterious.

Prize:
The winner will get to choose from one 5x7 or 8x10 FRAMED professionally printed and signed photograph sent to their home. They will be able to choose from the list of 10 in the contest or they may special request a photo from the http://www.alisonslife.com/ site (pictures of either me and/or Max are excluded because that would be...um...weird).

Hints:
-Each picture was taken from a different state (there are NO duplicate states)that we have been to.
-All pictures have been featured in a blog on http://www.alisonslife.com/
-We have not been to Vermont or North Dakota

Photos 1 - 10 listed below:

#1

#2
#3
#4
#5
#6
#7
#8
#9
#10

Good Luck and Thank You For Participating!