When I was in my late teens/early 20s, I spent some time in Southwestern Colorado and Northeastern Arizona. Life happens, I moved to Oregon, started a family, was diagnosed with ALS, and nearly 20 years went. I have lots of great memories from those times I spent there… going to Mesa Verde, visiting Four Corners, see the Grand Canyon… and for a long time I wanted to go back and see it all while I was still able. I mentioned this to my wife earlier this year, and we talked about it awhile, and came up with a plan that we were both really excited about.

On June 20th 2016, we loaded up the wheelchair van with all our gear, and myself along with my wife Tiffany, our daughter Etta, and my brother Jason, and we headed out. Over the next nine days, we would cover 2800 miles, through 6 different states, visit 5 National Parks, and eventually wind up back home.

When I first spent time in that area, I was just barely becoming interested in photography. On one trip from Colorado to the Grand Canyon when I was 18, I borrowed my dad’s Minolta SLR and shot 2 rolls of film and I think that’s when I first got interested in taking photos. It wasn’t until 10 years later that I actually got serious about properly learning photography. In planning this year’s adventure, it only makes sense that photography would be a major part of it for me. The American Southwest is a mecca for photographers, and I was really excited to be going back there with some proper knowledge of image making. Of course, I had visions of finding never before seen vistas, and getting off the beaten path and making images that no other photographer has ever done, but when you’re confined to a wheelchair, the reality is much different. As good as the National Park Service is about accessibility, the National Parks are still primarily massive areas of wilderness. Most of the time I was really lucky if I could get my powerchair more than 10 feet from the road or parking lot. Considering all that, I think I did pretty good.

My camera gear:

I chose (after much internal debate) to bring 4 cameras (all film) with me on the trip. For big tripod landscape work, I borrowed my friend’s 1949 4×5 Speed Graphic with a Kodak Ektar 127/4.7 lens. For more general photography and telephoto landscapes, I brought my Bronica ETRSI with a 40mm, 75mm, and 150mm lenses. Another big reason I decided to bring the ETRSI is that I have a special panoramic film back that allows me to shoot 35mm film and get a 24mm X 54mm frame. After much debate, I decided to bring my 1955 Rolleiflex 2.8C Planar, mainly in case I wanted to make any triptychs. Finally, brought my Contax G2 with its 35/2 Planar, basically as my glorified P&S, for snapshots in towns and such.

For film, I brought 10 sheets of 4×5 Ektar, 10 sheets of 4×5 Kodak Portra 160VC (expired), 4 sheets of 4×5 Ilford FP4+, 3 rolls of 120 Kodak Ektar, 4 rolls of 35mm Kodak Ektar, and finally 3/4 of a roll of expired Ektachrome 64X that was previously loaded in my Rolleiflex.

In the end, I only ended up shooting the 10 sheets of Ektar, 1 sheet of FP4+, 1 1/2 rolls of 120 Ektar, 2 rolls of 35mm Ektar, and I finished the roll of Ektachrome 64X.

Here are some of the photos from the first 2 days of the trip. Day 1 we spent driving to Bishop, California. Day 2 we spent in and around Bishop.



Mt. Lassen, California.

Zenza Bronica ETRSi w 135W back

Zenzanon MC 150/4

B+W Circular Polarizer

Kodak Ektar 100



Somewhere In Nevada

Zenza Bronica ETRSi

Zenzanon EII 75/2.8

Kodak Ektar 100



Mono Lake, California

Zenza Bronica ETRSi w 135W back

Zenzanon MC 150/4

B+W Circular Polarizer

Kodak Ektar 100



Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains

Zenza Bronica ETRSi w 135W back

Zenzanon EII 75/2.8

B+W Circular Polarizer

Kodak Ektar 100



Sagebrush and Sierras

Rolleiflex 2.8C

Carl Zeiss Planar 80/2.8

Kodak Ektachrome 64X



Lake Sabrina, California

Pacemaker Speed Graphic 4×5

Kodak Ektar 127/4.7

Kodak Ektar 100

Mountains and Clouds

Zenza Bronica ETRSi w 135W back

Zenzanon EII 75/2.8

B+W Circular Polarizer

Kodak Ektar 100



Town House Motel. Bishop, California

Rolleiflex 2.8C

Carl Zeiss Planar 80/2.8

Kodak Ektachrome 64X

In the coming days I will be posting more photos from the rest of the trip, so stay tuned!