The desert & some amazing athletes

I had the opportunity this month to head out to Nevada & Arizona to photo document 12, 4 person teams navigating, trekking, kayaking, mountain biking and climbing 300 miles through the desert.  When the word athlete is spoken it's this kind of person that fits the bill.  Every team member had all the ingredients that make up a true champion, perseverance, attitude, mental strength, physical strength and a caring and passionate attitude towards their teammates.  Take this kind of person out of the Adventure Race and put them in any other facet of life and they will succeed beyond all  expectations.

A big thank you to Robert Finlay for giving me this opportunity and exposing me to such an awesome group of amazing people.

 

  

In to the unknown - Desert Wind Adventure Race

Tomorrow I set out on a 5 day journey doing something that 3 years ago I would of found every reason why I logically shouldn't be doing this. Today I can find many reasons why I should be doing this. I'll be flying to Las Vegas, renting a car and driving to Arizona to meet my friend and world class adventure racer Robert Finlay to photograph his upcoming 300 mile Desert Wind Adventure Race through some of the most remote parts of the Mohave Desert in Arizona and around Lake Mead as well as near the Grand Canyon. Although I'm prepared; I have clothing packed for all kinds of weather, sleeping bag, laptop and of course all my camera equipment, I still am feeling that nervous feeling knowing I'm stepping into the unknown. I'll be photographing some of the best adventure racers in the country through some of the most amazing landscape in the southwest.  I have total confidence in my skills as a photographer and an outdoors person being able to deal with the many different kinds of elements but there's always the "what if" in the back of the head.  This is where I'll have to go with the mind set of "luck is when preparation meets opportunity". I'm prepared and the opportunity is in front of me, therefore I'll be very lucky this coming week.

Not sure what kind of cell reception I'll be getting but I'll try to post facebook status updates as well as some photos along the way.  When I get home I'll be writing a trip report with many photographs documenting the weeks adventure.  Stay tuned for updates. 

We are all born with the tools. Some use the tools while others complain that their tools don't work.

I'm reading the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho right now and am realizing that most of society is in such a hurry or always wanting to be in control that if someone randomly waved a lottery ticket in their face they would probably push the hand out of their way saying "get that out of my way I have to be somewhere!!!". Most never see the lottery ticket or their dream being presented to them because they're either too closed minded or are truly afraid of achieving what they set out to do. With the achievement of the dream comes a life change and the thought of "now what?" or "what will others think?" Most don't want to reach their dream, so instead they defeat themselves and use outside elements as the excuse of failure. I can say with confidence that I used to be one of those people, but, had my eyes opened a couple of years ago and will never defeat myself, therefore, no one or anything else can defeat me. 

Life is what one makes of it. There's NEVER anyone or anything holding a person back other than their own demons. Wake up everyday and face that fear, know it's there and that it will try to consume your every breathing moment but overcome it and use it to push forward toward the goal.  Once one opens up and can look past that fear they will see that the opportunities are endless. All you have to do is go along for the ride.  We are all born with the tools. Some use the tools while others complain that their tools don't work. Who do you want to be?

True happiness doesn't come from financial gain or materialistic status it comes from knowing that a person is not in fear of conquering their internal demon and can now be at peace with whatever choices they make.  When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.