An Unexpected Outdoor Opportunity

by | Mar 17, 2023 | Stories & Expeditions | 2 comments

After a fairly disappointing morning (as described in the last blog post, Better Than Nothing!), all I wanted to do was get some sleep. I knew I had an inbox full of emails begging for my attention, but after pushing through an almost-all-nighter, sleep was higher priority. So I took a nap. And boy did it feel good! I came downstairs rejuvinated a few hours later, and got to work reacquainting myself with the world and checking in on what deadlines were brewing. Right away, I spotted Amy’s email, the homeschool mom hosting the Indiana photography workshops in April.

Today, she was sending me a link to Spotify. It was in follow up to an email she had written to me a few days earlier: “I wanted to let you know that I just recorded with Ginny Yurich for her podcast, 1000 Hours Outside.… We were talking about Indiana State Parks [and] an ebook I wrote about them…. I had told her before recording that you two were coming out to do Photography workshops in two of the parks and she brought it up. So I got to share about that and I think she will link to your website in the Show Notes.”

And she did! Here’s the Spotify link to the podcast episode. Lenspiration and the photography workshops are mentioned about two thirds the way through the episode.

I first heard about Ginny when I stopped by her booth at the 2021 FPEA Homeschool Convention in Orlando. As one who loves to explore, the concept of encouraging parents to help their kids spend 1000 hours in a year in the great outdoors is really neat! In fact, I still have the sticker I was given at their booth. 🙂

But getting Amy’s email wasn’t the last exciting thing that happened that day!

That night, we were sitting around the table playing a game with the Neely family who was hosting us for the week. Sam walked in and asked if we were interested in an airplane ride.

“A what?”

“You know, a ride in an airplane; like, while you guys are in town.”

Needing to log more flying time, Sam was looking for a good excuse.

“No way! When?”

“Whenever you’d like!”

“Sweet! How about tomorrow morning?!”

The last time I had an opportunity like this was 13 years ago. I couldn’t wait to do some aerial photography again! Now, if I had truly wanted to make the most of the opportunity, I would have requested to go up at sunrise; for pictures, that would have been the best time. But for practical reasons, we settled on 8am for take off.

We were at the airport right on time the next morning. Sam got us buckled in and soon we were whizzing down the runway. We watched the earth shrink beneath us. The ridges of the North Carolina mountains were breathtaking to behold, and roads were like ribbons winding through the valleys below us. I was the first time I had ever seen, at this time of year, how the bare, brown trees looked like soft, combed fur clothing the mountains.

Thank you, Sam, for the incredible opportunity! And thank you, God, for making incredible opportunities possible. We trust in You, the Creator and living God Who gives us richly all things to enjoy (I Timothy 6:17).

230308_James Staddon_8777 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 200230308_James Staddon_8795 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 23 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 200230308_James Staddon_8806 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 200230308_James Staddon_8814 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16 mm, 1-200 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 200230308_James Staddon_8819 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 32 mm, 1-250 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 200230308_James Staddon_8827 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-400 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 200230308_James Staddon_8842 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-400 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 100230308_James Staddon_8849 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 52 mm, 1-250 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 100230308_James Staddon_8851 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 67 mm, 1-250 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 100230308_James Staddon_8859 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-250 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 100230308_James Staddon_8880 Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 70 mm, 1-400 sec at f - 5.6, ISO 100

Get each article as soon as it goes live!

Recommended Ebook

2 Comments

  1. Warrior Princess

    Oh my goodness, what a lovely opportunity!!! I dream of doing that someday (aerial photography AND flying a plane). God willing, I will realize those dreams.

    Reply
  2. James Staddon

    Yes, it was a complete surprise! The older you get and the more you get to know people, the more surprises you’ll run into.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Send the next blog post straight to your email inbox!

Thank you for subscribing!