It was thirteen years ago…. I sat at a crappy, college-student computer, playing around on a new website called “Priceline”.

Back then, all you could do was bid on flights.

And so it was, a 19 year old aspiring photographer and travel junkie, bidding (really low) on random flights.

Well, I didn’t realize that if they accepted my bid, that I would have actually purchased my first solo trip.

And they did.

I think the winning bid of Austin, TX to West Palm Beach, FL, round trip was around $120.

I was going to the Everglades.

The next few months were marked with frustrating phone calls, trial and error planning, and no luck finding a reputable rental car company to rent an out-of-state nineteen year old a car.

But eventually I found a shady car company, and I was on my way.

With only a hand-me-down Canon AE-1, two lenses, and about 35 rolls of film (Fujichrome Provia 100F and hand-rolled Kodak T-max 100/ 400 b+w), I set off on my first solo photo adventure.

I know that I have already attached several of these Everglades images to earlier posts, but I thought it would be fun to see them again in light of the flashback…

I have SO many more images from this trip, tucked away in dark closets, nested within box after box, like Russian dolls.

Perhaps someday I’ll dig them back up and share them. But until then, these will suffice, as will the new ones I bring home in just a few weeks…

I’m getting really excited!

— andrew

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If you are interested in learning more about photography, taking your art to a new level, and/ or Big Bend photography tours and workshops, please check out my new workshop dates:

Big Bend Photographic Tour/ Workshops 2013-2014

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