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Contents:
“Looking Out My Back Door” &
“On The Road Again”
Upcoming Tour Plans for 2010
Upcoming Events
PART II
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During my numerous travels trotting around
the globe, I’ve gone down many, many back roads. Some good, some not so
good. However, all have had a story to tell. One very powerful
observation I have made is the extent of the sense of humor that seems
sewn into the fabric of the American culture or character…. more than in
any other country I have been to. It shows up time and time again in the
most subtle of ways, but one way that has attracted my attention
consistently is the subtle humor through mailboxes and signs. An example
that I couldn’t photograph but will try to describe as it is a favorite
of mine. I believe it was somewhere in Wisconsin (or maybe it was
Michigan), there was a standard, conventional-type mailbox by the side of
a rather desolate road & marked on this mailbox was the word
“Letters” and right next to it was a tall, tall brightly colored
pole--maybe twenty-five feet in the air--with a mailbox on top marked in
large letters “BILLS”!! Chugging along another back road somewhere in
Tennessee we came across this very unique mailbox of a woman’s hand &
brightly painted nails holding a cigarette, which doubled as the mailbox.
There was no sign advertising this, but I’ve always assumed it was for a
nail salon or a cigarette sales woman who lived there!!
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Most of us remember our dating days and the
drive-in movies. This was Tad’s favorite sign for this trip. We were
driving through Idaho when he saw this setup. I was snoozing and missed
it, so he went to great effort to turn our big rig around to go back and
present ‘his find’ so I could add it to my collection of “road side
humor”. Here we have a huge Idaho potato sitting on a rickety old truck announcing
the entrance of THE SPUD, a drive-in movie theater. I loved it!!!
Picture a Saturday night with all the gang
hanging out, or you are hoping to go out with your favorite “hot” date.
Where to? Well, of course to “The Spud”!! Or… “wanna go to The Spud
tonight?”
Then there is the scene of ‘toilets on
parade’ or the dancing mailboxes.
Obviously the tire store owner had much too
much time on his hands, OR, the winters are just too unbearably long out
there in that part of the great USA!!
Whatever it is, the good wholesome spirit
and sense of humor I came across was extraordinarily refreshing,
especially these days. Made me feel very optimistic about the future,
which is why I had to share them in this newsletter.
UPCOMING TOURS:
I’m excited with the reports I am receiving
back from past clients, fellow photographers and various friends who have
made wonderful trips to far-off lands – a few of the destinations being my
old ‘haunts’. Not to be ‘out of the loop’ or left behind for long, I have
started finalizing the tours to Pantanal, Brazil for June 2010, Kenya,
Africa, for August 2010 and the Galapagos Islands early in October 2010.
You can easily visit my website and click on the Safari Tours button
& see what may interest you and/or hit on Galleries to see many
images that you, too, can add to your library, or scroll down the front
page for more detailed descriptions of each tour: www.joannewilliamsphoto.com
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I’ve left exact dates off the calendar for
the moment to wait and see the response for different days, as no one
seems to be shy about expressing their preferred dates. Because of that,
two years ago I ran two ‘back-to- back’ tours to Brazil so I could
accommodate everyone, and did a similar arrangement on trips to Kenya. Be
aware, though, that I will have to make a commitment to definite dates in
the near future, and it is on a ‘first come first serve’ basis.
The Pantanal,
Brazil
During the month of June (or even the middle
to end of May) is my favorite time to visit this vast in-land wetland
(largest on the planet), because, unlike it’s name, it is pretty dry as
the rainy season is over, the floods have subsided, and it is cooler (no
bugs). The animals gather around nearby ponds, watering holes and streams
making “photo-opps” (or just viewing) them very easy. We spend most of
the time on privately-owned cattle ranches and areas that harvest rice
which attract hundreds & hundreds of species of birds & other
wildlife…. capybaras, caymans, fox, giant anteaters, otters, howler
monkeys to name just a few. All the detailed information (other than the
exact dates) and many pictures are on the website: www.joannewilliamsphoto.com under Safari
Tours.
Kenya , Africa
Dates & other details for this tour have
not been finalized, however we will be visiting the Masai Mara Game
Reserve, Lake Nakuru National Park, Samburu Game Reserve areas and more.
Again, pictures and verbiage giving some details about your adventure
(and it is an adventure!) are on the website: www.joannewilliamsphoto.com
The Galapagos
Islands
Following Charles Darwin’s route to this unique
area of the world is a once-in-a-lifetime stupendous experience. There is
no place on earth that duplicates the Galapagos Islands and words hardly
do ‘justice’ to what you will see and experience. This adventure will
take place in October, and all the details of where you will travel, what
you will see and costs are available on my website: www.joannewilliamsphoto.com
Please note, that I have not added the exact
dates at this moment as I have special requests for certain dates, but I
also must have a total of 15 people to ‘set sail’ and want to try and
accommodate everyone.
NOTE TO ALL PARTICIPANTS or “WANNA BE’S”,
regarding any of the tours, please do not hesitate to contact me
regarding your personal choices of dates etc. If I can accommodate you,
or work around your time frames, I will certainly try.
Local TOURS
For Fun, Great Photography, or ‘rubbing
elbows’ with the local wildlife, scenics and all the fabulous nature
we have right here In Our Own Backyard, don’t forget about my
personalized, customized-tours; “STROLL WITH THE PRO”, “THE PONTOON PUTT”
or my instructional (if you want) photo tours on my beautifully,
customized-by-me FOTOBOAT. See website: www.joannewilliamsphoto.com
Upcoming Events!!!
I had entered the 2009 International Juried
Photography Competition for the Artists' Haven Gallery and won the Best
of Category - Animals/Wildlife for my "Golden Eyes" Leopard
photograph.
The Meet the Artists & Awards
Presentation is on Saturday, September 5th from 6-9 pm. It is a great
honor to be chosen from among over 300 photographers worldwide and I am
excited to meet the other artists who will also be exhibited and view
their work. Please join me for an enjoyable evening (did I mention it
was free?)
The Artists' Haven Gallery is located at
2757 East Oakland Park Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
If you are interested in any of my tours, click on
their corresponding link below:
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Photo Researchers, Editors, and Publishers:
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As stated in previous newsletters, at no
obligation to you, send me a “want list” of images you are looking for
that may coincide with a trip I’m about to take, or have recently taken,
and I’ll do my very best to seek out that subject and shoot it with your
request in mind. This may save you some expense, give me a specific
mission and possibly a sale of that image. It’s a ‘win, win situation’!
A quick reminder that my library of 35mm
original slides houses approximately 75,000 images, and my digital
library presently holds over 100,000 (and growing-hourly)!
My website holds an in-depth Stock Shop for your quick review: www.joannewilliamsphoto.com
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