Photographing sperm whales. Image by Jean F. Dobois

It is Monday, and the new week, to a new year has officially begun. So for all of you that have kicked it off with New Year Resolutions, we wish you all the best with them - We hope you achieve them all.

For those of you that did not create any NY resolutions - good for you, for not wanting or needing to start the year out that way.

I always kick off the year with new goals. I set travel goals, business goals, personal goals, and weight goals. In my past, some goals I accomplished, some I did not, especially that weight goal of mine. That one always seems to fall short, damn it.

But, this year, I do hope to fulfill my NY goal list. It just means more fun and a much more fulfilling year once I do., and my wetsuit will fit better. lol

Diving with a blue whale. Image by Graeme Purdy

Photographing green anaconda. Image by Daniel De Granville

One of my more important goals is to stay connected with you all via newsletters, blogs, and vlogs. I seem always to start out strong, and by the time our summer season arrives, the blogs get further and further apart.

Travel life can be taxing on a storyteller's soul. Of course, travel is where we thrive and find the stories that we share. But, some days are just emotionally draining on your soul.

So sometimes when you reach the end of the day, and you are have nothing left to give, you just do not feel like document your day. I have been there so many times. Some days are just emotionally draining on your soul. But reflecting, I need to remember that this is where the heart and soul of a story lies, in those moments.

photographing humpback whales. Image by Pat Ford

However with the craziness of our new global realities, I am no longer taking our ability to travel and see the world for granted. With how regulated many places are, I will be documenting everything, everywhere we go, and I will be sharing a lot more with you all. And - I invite you to keep me in check if I start slipping. Call me out on that shit please.

But I promise I will not this year. I have been really wanting to document an entire season from start to finish, I have never done that, but this year I will make it happen.

Anyway, the year has begun and the work starts. We do not begin our travel season until January 30, so until that time, I will be sharing past stories, from previous adventures that I have yet to share.

Until then…

Wishing you guys a beautiful start to the new year. I hope it is filled with a lot of love, light, and adventures!

Photographing a spectacled caiman. Image by Juca Ygarape

I just finished up my second article for The Journal of Wildlife Photography, which I was thrilled about. My second 3000 plus word article. It is stressful but in a good way. The reason it is stressful is because I want to tell a good story; I am hoping the reader takes something from it and is entertained at the same time. That is always my hope when I write, but you never know. It could be a total lemon, as I am sure I have written many lemons throughout my career.

Thinking about that got me to looking back at my role as a storyteller. I have been writing and sharing stories for years; on paper, in newsletters, in my journal, and my blog. I began writing in a journal right out of high school, and I started a blog back in 2005 on our old website. Sadly I took down that website to divert the old traffic to our new website, and in doing so, all those years of blogging disappeared. I am sure if I wanted to, I could find them floating in cyberspace, drifting endlessly among millions of other web pages. All of them lost with nowhere to go.

Thankfully, I still have those pages and writings saved on a hard drive, so they are there for me whenever I want to look back to read my thoughts from those long-lost days.

I do enjoy writing; I enjoy the art of getting lost in a story, or taking a reader on a journey. Sharing ideas and worlds and moments, I love that about writing. As a kid, all my favorite books were from writers who would take me with them to farway places; exotic lands, exotic animals, exotic people. I wanted to be there, I wanted to see that animal, to breathe in the air, to feel the wind. Those escapes are what helped to turn me into the person I am today.

I do hope that when you read my blogs and stories, you feel the same way - That I have taken you on a journey. I know not all my stories have because sometimes they are just rants that I need to get off my mind. But hopefully, more often than not, I take you on a ride, somewhere… anywhere.

Thanks for reading.

The New Year Begins!

Storytelling... I Absolutely LOVE IT!