Experience Central America with Paradise Panama Photo Adventures

You may have read my older posts regarding my photography adventures with Jay Mills in the past, both in Utah in '06 and here in Colorado in '07. Jay is now a resident photographer in Volcan, Chiriqui Province, Panama, and is providing one-of-a-kind photography expeditions in Panama.

The Digital Photography Workshop
"Photo Adventures in
Western Panama"

Experience this unique photography expedition in the Western Panama Highlands. Whether you are an experienced amateur or seasoned travel photographer, this week long photography workshop will introduce you to the unique rainforests, geology, flora, fauna, and people of the Chiriqui province in the beautiful mountains of Western Panama. Led by resident professional and accomplished photographer, Jay D. Mills, in conjunction with Green Mountain Adventures for local guide service.

Open Sessions:
- July 17th - 24th, 2008
- January, 2009 - date to be determined
(I will be assisting Jay for this session)

Paradise Panama Workshops are adventures in small group settings, limited to eight photographers per workshop. Each workshop is tailored to the specific interests and needs of the group. Daily van excursions to diverse destinations will end with group photo reviews, relaxed conversation and leisure in comfortable accommodations in the evenings. Computers for downloading, viewing, editing and burning CD/DVDs will be provided. Internet access will also be available. Lodging options range from staying with a local host family and learning some of the culture and ways of Panamanian people, to tourist hotel, resort hotel, or Bed and Breakfast accommodations in Volcan, Panama.

Volcan, Panama is in the Chiriqui province in the western-most region of Panama, just ten miles from the border of Costa Rica and on the slopes of Volcan Baru, the highest point in Panama at 11,400 feet. This region is highlighted by mountain villages, rainforests, waterfalls, lush foliage, surreal canyons, flower gardens, and exotic wildlife in a warm, tropical climate. There are also pre-Columbian archeological sites nearby.



About Jay D. Mills:
In addition to his extensive photographic experience, Jay has formal training and several years of experience as an instructor working with adults. He says that the most memorable other photo workshop that he has participated in was the Pecos River Workshop of Bruce Dale, retired career photographer for National Geographic Magazine. Jay recalls, "I learned many new techniques and was reminded of several things that I had forgotten or neglected over the years. Bruce re-energized my interest in photography. Another of my great inspirations is Farrell Eaves, a great photographer and friend who, when his Nikon digital was 'ruined' in the Pecos River, made 'lemonade from lemons' by taking over 10,000 very unique and beautiful pictures with the 'ruined' camera."

For more information about Paradise Panama Photo Adventures,
visit the website here, or Contact Jay by email for more details.

Guarana and Me

Once in a while I like to drink those vitamin water bottles from the gas station. You know, the ones with the neon labels neatly wrapped around contoured plastic bottles, lined up in a perfect rainbow of freezer-case goodness; each color competing against the next for my attention and adoption, as if to say, "pick me, pick me"! Today yellow (Tropical Citrus) won over orange (some Mango nonsense) and some very unnatural looking cloudy-pink syrup.

I drank it at about 1:00 in the afternoon. I had a busy day about halfway taken care of, and it seemed to me that it was all smooth sailing from here on out. This morning I had completed a photo shoot of some construction products, met with a client, and then picked up the ill-fated jet-fuel on the way back to the studio.

I got back to my computer, did a couple website updates, checked my email, and made some phone calls. I was talking to a client when I noticed I was talking fast. Really fast. And wait, why is my right leg twitching? I looked up to see it was about 3:00. I awoke this morning at about 5:00 am, and the afternoon is normally the time of day when my eyelids start to feel a bit heavy, but today I was still going strong. I looked down at the plastic bottle of death next to my keyboard and saw, printed in trendy little letters running up the side of the empty bottle,
"ENERGY (B + GUARANA)".

It is now currently 11:00 pm, exactly 10 hours after drinking 20 ounces of this liquid-crack in a lemonade costume, and I'm still twitching like a frightened poodle.

I wish I knew yoga or something.

I know many of you are saying, "You shouldn't use those plastic bottles anyway, they don't break down for something like eight-bazillion years." I know, I know. I saw on Discovery Channel the other day that a company in Ouray, CO is using plastic bottles out of corn starch, so maybe we're not completely doomed just yet. I (all joking aside) am concerned about our environment. Earth Hour is in less than two days, and I've just destroyed my "green" image with this post. I try to justify it to my conscience by re-filling the bottle with water from the tap a few times, but I haven't really fooled anyone - this bottle will still be resting on the surface of the earth long after even the cockroaches have been wiped out. Maybe through my consumption of this uninvited stimulant, I've learned a lesson. As far as the contents of the bottle, I'm fairly sure you could convert any automobile to run on this ridiculous concoction without too much trouble at all.

Energy crisis solved.


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"Earth Hour 2008" Event brings Global Awareness to Global Warming

Earth Hour is a grassroots event that started in Sydney, Australia on March 31, 2007, to bring about awareness about energy conservation and global warming. Everyone participating is asked to turn off all un-necessary appliances, lights, and other consumers of electricity for one measly hour, to make a statement about how we, as global citizens, can help reduce our environmental challenges.

The 2007 event resulted in 2.2 million Sydney residents and 2,100 businesses participating. Although this may at first seem like somewhat of a trivial activity, the event resulted in a 10.2% decrease in energy consumption for Sydney that day.

Earth Hour is March 29th, 2008 8:00 PM

For 2008, this event has become a global movement, sponsored by the World Wildlife Federation, with close to a quarter million registered participants across the world. Several other organizations have formed events revolving around this main one, including the National Dark Sky Association, who has designated March 29-April 4, 2008 for the 2008 National Dark-Sky Week Celebration.

To take part in the Earth Hour event, no action is necessary, other than turning off electricity on March 29th, 2008 at 8:00 pm (in your local time zone), although if you would like to be official, simple registration is available at http://www.earthhour.org.

You can read much more at http://www.earthhour.org, and read about the National Dark-sky Week Celebration at http://www.spaceref.com/calendar/calendar.html?pid=4848

Help make a significant global statement this year by participating!

The Center for Fine Art Photography Opens New Gallery

Photo Credit: The Center for Fine Art Photography

After many months of hard work, long hours, and coordinated efforts, The Center for Fine Art Photography opened it's doors for the Grand Opening of the new facility in The Poudre River Arts Center in Fort Collins, CO, on Friday, March 7th, 2008.

The opening was done in conjunction with the Artist's and Public Reception for the 2008 Macro World Exhibition. The First-Friday Opening event was met with great enthusiasm, with over 400 visitors as well as eleven exhibiting artists in attendance.

The new facility has a coffee shop, classroom, digital and wet darkrooms, an outdoor courtyard, and a larger gallery. Read more about it here.

The Art of Photography - Cole Thompson

I just came across another video of
the photography of Cole Thompson.


Enjoy!