I have not posted now for over a month’s time, but for a reason that will become evident very shortly. Also, I have not been traveling much, probably because i am pretty traveled out for this year, though in a very good way. This year, 2019, was a very remarkable one for me, as I really expanded my horizons quite a bit, making this year my greatest travel year ever. Certainly, that was one of my intentions when I retired from Medical practice—to put down the stethoscope and replace it with my camera full-time. I had always carried my camera with me as I traveled the world for medical practice and teaching, lecturing, being a visiting professor, etc. But I really wanted a period of life to do nothing but photography, at least for a few years until age caught up with me. I did not want to be one of those individuals so common in medicine who seem completely unable to divorce themselves and their identities from their involvement in medicine. Then, when they finally do retire, it is often caused by age or illness and there is little or no time at all to enjoy the rewards of a compassionate life well-lived. Although I always made sure to practice the art of medicine as intensely as possible, with many, many nights spent in the hospital to prove that point, medicine was never as meaningful to me as producing a memorable photograph. That may sound a bit callous, since as a neonatologist, few aspects of my role were more critical than saving the life of a sick newborn infant. But it was just what I did, and I did it as creatively and as well as anyone ever has. I think my former colleagues would immediately testify to that. But it was just not as personally enriching to me as creating art with my camera. One could argue that I was a very unfeeling individual to believe those words, but I don’t think that that was the case. I was very passionate and dedicated to my patients and their families, as well as my job, and I never for a moment gave anything but my very best. My very best, though, while rewarding to the patient and my students, was always less than emotionally rewarding to me.
So I retired in 2015, having just won the Fanaroff National Education Award from the Neonatal-Perinatal Section of the AAP, with plans to photograph full-time. I was very lucky, though, in that I did not have to make a living from photography. My medical career had been more than adequate to provide sufficient funds for Elaine and I to enjoy retirement. And in the 4 plus years since I did end my career, I have accumulated about $2 million more from my investments than I had in September 2015, even while taking monthly payouts from my 401K and living off our savings. Those words still amaze me, and I pray it will continue. But it has completely freed me to travel as I wish in my pursuit of fine photos. We already have trips planned to Patagonia this Fall and back to Africa the summer after.
2019, therefore, was an incredible travel year: between February and October, I traveled to Antarctica, Northern California (Redwoods NP) and Southern Oregon, Montana and Glacier National Park, Africa (Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa) , and Maine (Acadia NP). I must have exposed more than 65,000 images during that period, with some of those images being great favorites of mine. It seemed very appropriate, therefore, to gather a group of those pictures and collect them in a book, which is precisely what I have done. Chasing the Light 2019, a Year in Photography (see photo—book available at Blurb.com), is the title of that book, with 50 of my best photos (actually 51 if you include the image on the back cover). I am very pleased with how it turned out, and I hope to do it again next year. Certainly, the trip to Patagonia will make for a highlight, but I already have Death Valley on the books in three weeks. Without question, this is a life that I had always dreamed about and I’m so glad that I retired when I did to at least enjoy a few years when my health is okay, I can travel widely, and use my Nikon D850 and iPhone to the max!
