Back from Midway

After about nine months of excitement leading up to the trip, from when I pitched my editors about the trip and hounded them for an answer ("Yes" being the only one I'd accept) to when I rented my lenses and packed my bags, I finally headed out to Midway on March 11. And boy was it an experience. If you can't tell by the photo above, taken by fellow traveler and conservation photographer Rebecca Jackrel, then let me just say it was one of the most joyful weeks of my life.

When I told Rebecca months ago that I was worried about getting good shots on Midway, she replied, "It's like shooting fish in a barrel." Well apparently my weapon of choice is a machine gun... you know, just to be sure. I took thousands of photos on this (my first!) photojournalism trip and I was/am exuberant about it, that Midway is incredibly photogenic, and that getting just the right shot of an albatross making a mad dash across the beach to take wing is a lot harder than might first appear. Of my edited images, there are maybe 100 that I think are really lovely and express the atoll the way I saw it, and the way I felt it.

I'm about to post a whole lot of short ponderings on the ideas, experiences, and we'll-work-on-thats that happened during the trip, as well as highlighting some of those 100-ish shots that are my personal favorites from the trip. For now, here are two take-aways that sit most prominently in my mind.

First: One week is not enough time to get all the shots you dream up. Forever isn't enough time, really. Every day there is something new and interesting happening, and the amazing personalities of the various species is impossible to capture in such a short time. But, a week was enough time for Midway to get under my skin and into my heart.

Second: If you think you won't fall madly in love with Midway if you are lucky enough to visit, you're being ridiculous.