Happy New Year Everybody,
I hope everyone had a fantastic 2017, wonderful holiday season, and a great welcome to our brand new year - 2018. I've got three things I want to share with you in this quick newsletter. First, a few exciting personal notes - at least for LaDawn and I; secondly, my "once in a lifetime" event - don't miss this read; and finally, details of our 2019 Photo Safari to the Galapagos Islands. Here we go...
_____________________________________________________
World Travels - 50,000 Miles, 8 Countries, and 34,000 Photos!
Since I last visited with you LaDawn and I have been around the world, well, not all the way around, but half-way at least. It's been quite a series of Fall adventures for us to say the least.
We started with a 5-day visit to Vancouver, Canada, then crossed the Pacific on a cruise ship hanging out in Hawaii, the lava was really flowing as we circumvented the Big Island around midnight and even with a rocking ship and misty rains I was able to capture some amazing images. Check out my favorite below.
Then it was on to Tahiti, Bora Bora, and New Zealand finally completing our 4 weeks on water in Sydney, Australia. Below is a photo from the aft of the ship as we departed Auckland - pretty cool!!!
After our quick arrival in Sydney we flew back to Auckland, NZ where I discovered my driver's license expired two days before we were to pick up our rental car - WHOOPS!!! You guessed it - LaDawn had to rent the car with the steering wheel on the right side of the car and had to drive on the left side of the highway, which she had never experienced - YIKES!!! 1400 beautiful miles later we returned the car safe and sound to Queenstown, NZ. Actually…. she really did a great job driving!! Here's a photo of a stunning sunset on our first evening in Rotorua, NZ.
After 14 days of adventures in New Zealand we flew to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and spent two weeks traveling up the Mekong River through Vietnam and Cambodia - our most astounding two weeks travel EVER!!! Check out the Angkor Wat sunrise below. Sadly it required waking-up at 5:00 a.m. to capture this image. But… well worth it!!
Our next city of adventure included a 5-day stop in Seoul, South Korea stopping off at the DMZ or Demilitarized Zone which USA Today called the most dangerous places on earth [link] – hey, who knew;~) It was just for a little additional excitement. That’s a photo of North Korea below. Our family was "freaking" out when we told them we planned to visit the DMZ. Hey, you only go around once;~)
It was home for Thanksgiving with family and then off to Cabo, Mexico for 3 more weeks and returning home a week before Christmas. Thus completing our three months of travels.
On top of that LaDawn has become a grandmother for the third time on Christmas Eve - her best Christmas present ever!
Here is a quick photo of handsome Sam about 6 hours after he was born - Wow, just look at all that hair!
Speaking of our travels, we are looking forward to our African Photo Safari [link] in just a few weeks. If interested we had two people that had to cancel so we still have one room (1-2 people) left at the main lodge for either safaris.
______________________________________________
Announcing My 2019 Photo Safari To the Galapagos Islands!
That's right everybody, we're heading to the Galapagos Islands in mid-May, 2019. Join me as we follow in the footsteps of Charles Darwin. The Galapagos Islands are considered one of the world's foremost destinations for wildlife viewing. It should be a photographer's paradise. I’ve spent some time talking with other photographers and travel enthusiasts who have been there, they say that it truly is amazing!
Space is super-duper limited - only 12 seats total! If you are interested please drop and email to me at david@ziser.com or Kevin at idubephotosafaris@yahoo.com.
Kevin tells me that he is also planning another two Safaris to Africa next year. This time he’s going to be doing one in February and one in March. One will go to Zambia [link] and the other to Namibia [link], both locations are home to utterly beautiful scenery, interesting history, and amazing African culture. It sounds like a great trip, too. I'll keep you posted when I have more details.
Anyway, if you have even the slightest interest in the Galapagos trip drop myself or Kevin a line at our emails addresses above and let us know so we can at least get you on the waiting list. It's going to be a first-come-first-served booking opportunity with only 12 seats available.
______________________________________________________
Oh, I Almost Forgot!!! PhotoPro Expo 2018 Is Right Around The Corner
That's right PhotoPro Expo is coming up next month, February 8 - 12, 2018 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center located just across the river from Cincinnati OH. This year the Expo is being planned by my good friends Bert and Al Behnke. Bert has been extremely active with the Professional Photographers of America Imaging convention for years and was a natural fit to take over the reigns of PhotoPro Expo.
Click the banner above for all the details. It's shaping up to be a great show with a fantastic 24 person/speaker line-up, the best in the industry and BIG trade show. I plan to be there - I hope you will too. See ya' there!______________________________________________________
Hey Gang,
That's it for today - I've got to get "scooting" out of here. I hope you enjoyed the images and the article links in the newsletter this time around.
I'm heading up to Whistler Mountain in beautiful British Columbia, Canada tomorrow morning to join 21 of my photography buddies for a guys week of skiing, fine wine, and good food (I'm the guest chef on Monday evening's dinner). It should be a blast!
Cheers, David
