I was sitting around my dinning room table with a couple of large sheets of paper trying to plan out my workshops and teaching for the next two years. Teaching in Austin, and around the US while living in California adds significant complexity.

It’s hard to beat a couple of big sheets of paper for planning.

How much time am I willing to spend away from the wife and cats, from my shop and other projects? Where do I stay when I’m on the road? When will I find time to scout new locations? What else will I need to sacrifice to make this work?

And then it hit me: This is the thing I’ve I wanted to do since I picked up a camera. This exact situation is, in fact, the goal. I want to travel to beautiful natural places, explore them, photograph them and then share that experience with other photographers.

This is not the “I made it” moment (there is no such thing). I’m just starting out. Rather, it is a reminder that success is not a single moment, not a score at the end of a game. It’s about creating a life of meaning doing something fulfilling.

I’m just starting down this path, but the next two years are exciting. I not only get to teach in some pretty cool places, but I also “have to” go and scout them.

As a teaser, on the list is Joshua Tree, Arches, Bosque del Apache and the Olympic Peninsula (i.e. coastal Washington). See more photo workshops here.  If things go to plan, I will hopefully add at least one workshop with an underwater component as well.