Monday, April 20, 2009

6 month trip update



Laughing Gull pair courting
EOS 50D; 500/4 IS & 1.4x TC
ISO 200; 1/500 @ f/8

As of today, I've been on the road for 6 months. What a blast the trip has been with many extraordinary experiences, interesting people, and some of the best photos I’ve ever shot. I thought you might like to hear some stats and stories from along the way.

Before I get into it, let me say a huge thanks to all of you for checking out the blog…. and especially those who've taken time to post or send a comment. THANKS!

Stats since I started the trip on October 20, 2008:

  • 40,190 km driven
  • 45,500 photos taken
  • 558 km walked carrying my camera gear
  • 2-3 days – average time between showers
  • 6 days - longest time wearing the same t-shirt
  • 358 species of birds seen
  • 8,174 different blog visitors
  • climbing a landslide: most dangerous thing I've done (aside from driving)
  • $141/gallon – cheapest gas I found (Tucson in December)
  • favorite towns: Portal, Arizona and Mendocino, California
  • favorite spots: giant redwood forests of northern California & Death Valley, California
  • top trip songs: The Unforgettable Fire (U2), Big Casino (Jimmy Eat World)
  • trip album: Viva la Vida (Coldplay)
  • worst sleep: Radisson Hotel, Phoenix (domestic dispute outside my room; they set off the fire alarm at 2:30am)
  • best park staff: South Llano River State Park, Texas
  • cheapest bottle of wine consumed: Charles Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon ($2)
  • celebrity encounters: Hulk Hogan passed me while driving
  • 1 camera destroyed to get Canvasback duck photo (Canon G9)
  • Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - best beer

I'll be back in Ontario in just over a week and look forward to touching bases with friends and family, as well as shooting on my home turf, as the journey continues.

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous7:12 AM

    How many photos deleted?

    Anita

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  2. How many friends did you have while wearing a 6 day old T shirt LOL? Great adventure. Keep the photos and stories coming.

    Dave L

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  3. Anonymous12:15 PM

    Your photography is truly amazing! I always look forward to opening your blog to see what new fab pictures you've taken. Nice work. :)

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  4. Interesting stats! I've been reading you since the beginning of your trip...im always triled to read you stories and see your wonderfull images!

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  5. Anonymous11:59 PM

    $2 wine? YIKES!
    ...sounds like you are having a great time, Ethan. The stats you have kept are quite interesting - I may have to do the same for my pending trip overseas.

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  6. Thanks everybody!

    Anita, I have probably kept about 10-20% of those photos. And once I get back to a decent desktop computer, I'll delete many more!

    Amelia, that $2 wine is surprisingly good!

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  7. Anonymous8:29 PM

    Ummmm....passed by Hulk Hogan? Too easy. Glad to hear all's still well and love the stats, great images as always. Safe trip home, I suspect the shower and t-shirt stats will significantly improve here...

    Cheers,
    Rob L.

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  8. Anonymous3:20 PM

    E,

    Love the pics, can't wait to catch up as we have lots of news for you...Amanda had a baby boy!

    Love Pamela aka Dean Ware's wife

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  9. I have really been enjoying your posts. Keep up the good work (and the dream alive).
    If you ever come around the Ottawa area, we should try and meet.

    Younes
    http://younesbounhar.com

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  10. Just wanted to say thanks for taking us along the journey Ethan. I like your taste in music! :-)

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