Hearing Good Things About Tamron's 35-150mm f/2-2.8

 

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” 

– Anais Nin

Tamron has been a dabbling in optical manufacturing for 70 years and their technologies have improved through superb R&D, Acquisitions, and Strategic Partnerships. They've made lenses not just for cameras, but optics for binoculars, cell phones, telescopes, CCTV and surveillance cameras, and lenses for automobile applications (does that mean Tesla? Not sure.) You name it, they got glass for it.

But let's stick to photography. That's what I'm familiar with. Tamron is known for their affordable 3rd party lens options. Fifteen years ago, you could get a comparable alterative to some of your brand selections. If you bought a Canon Camera but bristled at expensive lens options, then you could find a quality Tamron equivalent to get the job done for half the cost, especially for crop-sensor cameras.

Then Tamron upped the ante and began competing for the full-frame market. I can tell you that when I switched to Nikon, their 24-70mm lens did not resolve well enough for their new high resolution D800e DSLR. I tried different copies of the lens and was not satisfied. I can't say what made me try the Tamron, but it was an instant improvement. It beat Nikon's own lens!

So when I heard about Tamron's new 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD Lens, it definitely got me curious. An f/2 wide-angle zooming out to 150mm telephoto and only losing one stop? Really? Granted 35mm is on the cusp of being called wide angle. But 150mm is definitely telephoto. And Tamron is known for their odd focal length zooms. 

The reviews are great on this thing. I'd be anxious to try it! But even so, a few things hold me back on it being a definite buy for me:

1. I've been strictly prime for 4 years! I've been served well using a 24mm prime and a 55mm prime. All I'm truly missing is my 90mm macro.

2. I've hardly ever done telephoto work in all my years shooting. Most everything has been up close preferring to shoot normal to wide-angle, or macro.

3. The weight! This thing is every bit of 2 and a half pounds (1165g)! I don't know if I can swing that as a traveler who has to carry everything I own on my back or in a camera bag slung across my shoulder. It's not the heaviest lens I've ever owned. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II was 3 and a quarter pounds but I carried it in a Pelican hard case that had rollers and a handle which I put in the pack seat of my car! 

4. That hefty price! The lens is $1,900. It's not much for what you are asking it to do. That's about $600 more than I've paid for any Tamron lens I've owned, however. 

Why even consider it? I mean... DANG! My travel plans have become far different from what I imagined when I initially set out. When I set out, I imagined 18 months. That's it. It's been 52 months! And I'm not even done in Vietnam yet! And in that time, YES... I have run across a FEW situations when I wished I had some longer reach! Not often, but enough to where my imaginations took me to the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS... or Tamron 28-200mm f/2.8-5.6.

I wish I could just put it behind me! But it seems like every dog gone week, there's another review about how surprisingly impressive the Tamron 35-150mm is. But I may as well dispense with any notion of this lens until I get back stateside. When will that be? I'm working on it! 

Traveling Abroad Part 1- It All Starts with a Passport

 

Art Model, Faerie

The new year is about to begin in just a few days. 100% of you will make some resolutions that only 99.3% of you will keep. 2021 has proven to be a travel restricted year, so I'm going to guess many of you will make New Years Resolutions that involve traveling abroad. Well, let's see if I can give you some pointers. I have been continuously traveling since January 8th, 2018. But I've been backpacking abroad purposes for 10 years, (not including military service.)

If you desire to see the places you read about or learn about from TV, then as the title says, It all Starts with a Passport! That's where you begin. There will be special cases for some people, but most everyone can simply call ahead to make an appointment with their local post office and tell them you want to apply for a passport.

I wish I had her original files with me.
I'd be fun to play with some new edits on them.

Give yourself PLENTY of time! This is not a quick process! Start your application at least 3 months before you think you will need it. Better still, start it now, even if you are not considering traveling in the next year. That way you have it on hand when the travel bug bites!

First, get certified copy of your birth certificate or proof of citizenship. For the certified copy, you can order it online or go to your state/county Vital Records Department. Bring this and some form of government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's license to the post office. AND your Social Security Card. Have that with you. They'll have you fill out a form DS-11 for an application for a NEW passport. If you like, you can >>click here<< to download a printout of the DS-11 form and then print it your self. If you need to renew an old one, it's a form DS-82. 

Art Model, Faerie during one of my drawing sessions

Many post offices have services for passport photos for $15. If they don't offer this service, you can get that done anywhere. You'll just have to google possible locations. As of 27 December, prices have gone up recently by $20. Don't trip about this. A new passport is now $165. Renewals are now $130. Just pay it and look forward to enjoying your trip.

This process can take up to 14 weeks! So don't go booking your ticket for next month and then get stressed hoping your passport comes in on time. Don't book a thing until you have a valid passport in your hands! Keep in mind, there are several factors that can keep you from being eligible to have a passport. If you're behind on child payments, don't expect a passport approval. Some criminal records, especially felony or even misdemeanor drug charges will stop you cold. Federal loan defaults can do this too. Check out your particular situation and see if you are affected. 

Stay tuned for Part II where I get into planning your trip!

Everybody loves a happy Faerie!

Recalling My Trip to Argentina: Adventures in Ushuaia 2019

 

Back in January, I said I would revisit and share some more of my experiences in Argentina with you guys. I didn't talk about this part of my trip much, but I had 3 main hardships to contend with while I was there. However, I want you to understand that the bulk of my experiences were positive and my overall impression about Ushuaia is that I must do this again!

I spent two months in Argentina, October and November of 2019, flying there from Peru. Only 3 days were spent in Buenos Aires, after which I flew down to Ushuaia at the southern most tip of Argentina, in the region most commonly referred to as Patagonia. 

Though I had initially tried to avoid it, I arrived just before a late season snowstorm blanketed the area. I stayed in a bed and breakfast owned by my new friend, Javier. His place is located on the outskirts of town in the woods at the foot of the mountain. Beautiful place! It was a unique experience to boots deep in snow one day and then to have spring pop out as if it was spring-loaded the next week. One week, it's all white and the next week was luscious green. 

Problem 1- Currency Exchange Rate and ATM fees

As soon as I got to Ushuaia, I became rudely aware of one major thing. I'll put it this way. I went to an ATM in Buenos Aires to withdraw $260 in Argentine Pesos. The exchange rate and fee was so outrageous, I was certain I had just did the math wrong in my head. I accepted the fact that it might be expensive, BUT, I had to get the money. Peru was charging me $7 at the ATM for each transaction. Surely, this could not be as bad as that. 

I was wrong. Sooo WRONG! To get $260 out of the ATM, it cost me $50! I realized this the next day when I checked my bank account. Crazy!! I knew I had a problem on my hands, but then again... this is Argentina. I'll just use my card.

Problem 2 - Bank Account Hack

Upon arriving in Ushuaia, I saw 2 charges on my account for about $800. Damn. Okay. I called the bank and let them know. Instead of shutting down just the one account, they shut them all down. They apologized afterwards and got me fixed back up again. The problem came when they tried to send me new cards. It took THREE weeks. WHY? Mainly due to some misunderstandings in customs. The shipping fees should have been covered, but I never got any notices that my envelop packages with my cards were being held for the sake of $1. When I never arrived, the envelops got returned to the sender. At the end of October, my situation was finally resolved and I got my cards. 

Problem 3 - Severe Knee Injury

The Vinciguerra Glacier is a beautiful hike. I had never been on a glacier before. A few days earlier, I had taken a boat tour that dropped us off at a Harberton Ranch about 40 miles to the east. We toured the property, explored a trail, and visited the Acatushun Marine Museum showcasing several whale skeletons and that of other marine life in the area.

I've had two surgeries on my left knee from a military injury and I've been told I will eventually need a replacement. I was told to take it easy. Maybe the YOLO in me kicked in and I couldn't help myself. My knee held up fine, although much of this was easy walking, no heavy packs, and gentle slopes. This was not the case for Vinciguerra. We're talking only 700 meters of elevation, but it's STEEP! I hiked this as the temps were rising. The snow melt made the way up pretty darn muddy and quite taxing. I was a champ on the flat ground. Once we started the ascent, I was a lame billy goat ready to be put to pasture. 

Nonetheless, I was determined to make it... and that cost me. I was so weak on the way back down, there was one point near the top I had to descend on steep rocky scree. I asked God for his assistance, let everyone else go ahead of me, made my peace with my life and did my best. Oh, I forgot to mention there was a sheer cliff to my immediate left. One slip and it'd be over. All that concentration for each step to make deliberate controlled motions was also mentally taxing. My knee screamed with each step, but I had to eventually give in and just do it. 

Thank God it gave out on me when we were on the flat land near the vans and not at the top near the glacier. It just gave out without warning and without any pain. It just quit. At this point, I'm pretty sure I am done with my Around the World adventure. I had already booked a flight home for Thanksgiving. I was pretty sure I'd be staying put for the next few years to come. However, after just staying off of it, I regained some strength. I was home for the holidays and then came to Vietnam early February. I spent one month doing absolutely nothing. No tours. No walks around town. Nothing. And then Covid happened and I got even more time to chill and rest my knee. 

On a brighter note, I got to explore Tierra del Fuego National Park. The trails were beautiful! I'm pretty sure it's impossible to have air cleaner than what I experienced in this part of the world. All over the place, on anything that isn't moving, you'll see the growth of lichen. This lichen can only grow in the purest air environments. 

I spoke to a local university photography class! These guys were prepared! They had already seen my website and I was there to talk for 3 hours about my photography and give a them a foreigner's perspective on cameras, technique, and photographic art. I was unprepared. I thought I was going there for a totally different purpose. When I entered and saw the room full of students, I apologized for interrupting before I realized all those students were there for me. My next surprise was that half my time would be answering questions about my macro vulva art. They were not malicious or mean, and no one maligned me for my art. They asked questions! They wanted to know "why", what influence did I feel it had on women, and even tougher... how it reconciled with my faith (because they read my bio). I spent 90 minutes talking about vaginas to photo art students. THAT was a first. 

Javier taught me so much about Ushuaia. I saw a lot of white people that I thought were European tourists. Nope. They spoke Spanish! 3000 Italians immigrated to the other side of the mountains into Ushuaia on two boats and settled that area late 1940's. But while that is part of the history, 60% of all Argentinians nationwide also have Italian ancestry. I was privileged to have dinner with a film crew that was doing a documentary on the last living inhabitants that arrived there on the ships. 

Two other things I learned about is first, how bad the North American beaver population has exploded there and wrecking havoc over the entire region. Beavers are not native to this area and they have no natural predators to keep their population in check. They were brought in in the mid 1940's hoping to profit from fur trapping. That didn't happen. These bad boys are devastating Tiera del Fuego. Not only do they fell trees to eat the leaves and build dams, but they also kill of trees and vegetation by flooding huge areas with their dams. 

I also got a chance to try Mate, "...a is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink. It is made by soaking dried leaves of the holly species Ilex paraguariensis in hot water and is served with a metal straw in a container typically made from a calabash gourd." - wikipedia. I liked that it was something I could drink that did make me want to put sugar in it. I didn't feel the need to. I'm a country boy from Texas. Our tea is cold, iced, and sweeter than raw honey. 

I hope to return to Ushuaia and also see more of Argentina. 

TEN Reasons Solo Travel Sucks

 

Athena and I after trying the poop coffee in Peru, near Cusco.

"One day you will wake up and there will be no more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now."

~ Paulo Coelho

Yes, of course I talked about the reasons why SOLO travel is a MUST-DO in my last blog post. Well, there are two sides to every coin and story. The idea is that, like many things in life, you have to take the good with the bad and keep things in perspective. It's not always about a brighter side or sunny days. There is magic in the storms as well. Solo travel is indeed a must-do, but when you do it, keep these ten things in mind, too:

My friends, Osmany, Jader and his son. We traveled around Esteli and Somoto in Nicaragua. I got some of my best shots of Nica with them. And a new nickname... Mecha Corta or Short Fuse from my first experience with Nicaraguan police who wanted my camera. Not happening. 

1. You have to do EVERYTHING yourself

There are definitely advantages to doing it yourself, but after a while, it gets old. When you are doing extended travel, like I am, it's easy to get frustrated when you have to find the next hotel to book, select your route to the next destination, or even just figure out where to eat. Sometimes you just want to look over to your imaginary friend and say, "You take this one."

2. We all need somebody to lean on sometimes

This is no joke... and it's inevitable. You can bet your bananas there will come a time when the best thing for you is human companionship, camaraderie, and contact. You will be the lesser for the lack of it, but that doesn't mean you can't overcome what ails you. You might sink into a state of depression, for whatever reason or maybe you are just homesick. Nothing goes as planned all the time and that doesn't change when you are traveling. Why should it? How perfect is your life at home? Why would you expect it to be any different on the road. You just deal with it. But shouldering the burden by yourself can really suck.

Cascades Siete jungle tour, El Salvador. I traveled with Tracie through 5 countries in Central America for 3 months. 20 minutes after this shot is when I had my thumb incident.

3. Second Pair of Eyes

All your stuff has to come into the bathroom with you! Okay, you got that one solved. But what happens when you go to the beach. You can't bring all your stuff with you in the water! And as a photographer, it's good to have someone watching your back while you get those late evening shots or those urban scenes. You never know who else has eyes on YOU! Besides that, I guarantee you that you'll try to follow directions looking for street numbers or landmarks. Having a second pair of eyes to help find the right corner where your bus lets you off might be the crucial element between you getting to your hostel or winding up across town. 

4. Who takes great pics of YOU? (Particularly when you're doing something stupid.)

Self-explanatory. Get used to those handheld selfies!

The Black Souls of Esteli, Nicaragua asked if I wanted to take a ride. I couldn't see a reason not to run off with a biker group I just met.

5. When you absolutely MUST get up in the morning

You know there are those moments when you cannot depend on yourself to get up early in the morning. You need that other person to say, "Hey! We got a plane to catch. Get your ass up!"

6. You can read only so many books

I'd call myself an avid reader

. When you travel long term like I do, books go only so far. There will be some boring ass days when all you have on your to-do list is... NOT A DAMN THING! Well, I guess you could write that book. HA! Right...

"Some beautiful paths cannot be discovered without getting lost.'

~ Erol Ozan

Art Model Kristi and I catching a ride on a fishing boat to Little Corn Island during bad weather. A 30-minute fast boat trip turned into 3 hours on this sea crawler!

7. When you REALLY need that 2nd opinion

Can't tell you how many times I've been in this situation. You don't know what you're missing, not seeing, or forgetting about the directions on where you are supposed to go, which bus to take, or what that sign says. Having that second person to overlap your gaps keeps you from looking stupid or making big mistakes.

8. Going to a nice restaurant by yourself? PASS!

Table for 1? I don't think so. I'm not doing it. I'll get something to go, but I'm not eating at a fine dining spot by myself. You just look stupid and desperate. But that could just be my own insecurities. I get that, and will own it. 

9. Unwanted advances

Ladies...? You know what I'm talking about right? Just because you're single and solo, doesn't mean you are available to every bolo that comes a-callin'. I've been hit on by other men, as well. I'm not sure what signals I'm giving off, but I need to figure it out. I actually got physically assaulted by a dude who's advances I rebuffed. He got dealt with. I emerged from that incident with all my teeth and consciousness. He did not. Watch yourself. 

Lake Titicaca. Jenny and I traveled together for 3 weeks in Peru from the northern edge to the southern border.

10. Sharing those special moments and memories.

I have some travel buddies and it's always a beautiful thing to reminisce about that time spent together enjoying a travel moment. I have many fond memories having been with a significant other as well as someone platonic. Having someone with you, even as a witness, who recounts the same cherished experience is a blessing.

11. Bonus! Having to laugh BY yourself!

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. You hear something funny on TV, Facebook, or Netflix and the only one available to laugh with you is the person in the mirror. The cool thing is that they will laugh back if they are all you have. 

Oh... and I have no idea where "bet your bananas" came from. I just... I'm sorry. 

My baby brother and I on a road trip traveling to Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas. 

How the Coronavirus Has Affected My RTW Backpacking Trip

By far, this has been my strangest experience in any country I've visited. Not so much for the country itself, but because of this world pandemic that's locked up the planet. I think at some point I'm going to have to come back here and do this country all over again, because I know I'm missing the beauty I came here for.

As it turns out, however, I am really thinking I couldn't be in a better place, though. Honestly! Vietnam has been on top of this this Covid-19 Coronavirus since the beginning. They only had 17 confirmed positive cases as of early March and 16 of those were already treated, cured, and released from the hospital. They were almost able to declare Coronavirus-free. Then a couple of cases got through from someone traveling through Europe and in hardly 10 days, that rose to over 130. Comparatively, that's still quite a low number. 130 cases, 0 deaths. Today, I think that number is about 160. They do this by keeping the public informed with a solid government coordinated effort. No mixed messages. Then they test, test, and test. After that, they treat. So far, I've only seen them take decisive, definitive, and quick actions as a country. Europe has not done this. The US has not done this. Vietnam has deployed a relative low-tech approach.

"An Italian woman living in an area badly impacted by coronavirus admits: 'We expected other countries that are much closer to China to be in this situation before us so we just joked about it' " - Business Insider

I arrived in country on Feb 10th after getting my 3-month Visa in the mail a week or so before that. I exited the country via San Francisco and had a 9 hour wait until my next connection to Taiwan. For the first time in my life, I experienced the USO lounge I'm going to have to do another blog post on those guys because they made that half-day wait worth it!

Sa Pa countryside. Behind me is where it got steep and slippery. ©2020 Terrell Neasley

I got to Vietnam a day earlier than my visa was for. They gave me a problem at first and told me I'd have to wait in the airport until tomorrow. I didn't even trip. I looked homeboy in the eyes and said, "Dude. I need to talk to your boss, if you can't work something." I had a driver waiting to take me to my hotel. It had been a long day... 26 hours of travel. I had no time for BS. Dude made it easy and just backdated my visa. Now I have to leave the country a day earlier than my visa says. Simple. I'll take that. It's still 90 days.

To take the fight to coronavirus, Vietnam instituted rigorous quarantine policies, and carried out complete tracing of all people who came in contact with the virus. These measures were implemented much earlier in the course of the epidemic than in China, where lockdowns of entire cities were used as a last resort to keep the virus from spreading further.

For a month, I stayed in the Canary Hanoi Hotel and got to know those people. They were initially bewildered because I didn't do a lot of sight-seeing or adventures. But I was doing just as I set out. I wanted a whole month on my ass in one spot, to let my knee heal up and rest. I'm still dealing with that Vincinguerra Glacier hike I did in Ushuaia, Argentina. I am literally conscious of every step I take.

After that month, I began to feel better. I booked a train ticket to Sa Pa, further up north by the border. I was looking to do some LEVEL hiking or at least minimal elevation. Yeah. No. The train stopped in Lao Cai, next to the border. Then I had a one-hour shuttle ride to my hotel in Sa Pa. That was an hour of  continuous elevation gain. And my hotel was at one of the highest points. So going ANYWHERE meant a straight down walk and back up again. It was like I was back in Ushuaia! But I was determined to get something. I needed this. I had spent a month in my hotel and I needed to shoot.

Leaving Sa Pa. Rice planting season is just getting started. ©2020 Terrell Neasley

I was there for a week and I had 1 full day of no fog or cloud cover. Not cloud in the sky... cloud in your face. You could see maybe 30 feet before your vision became obscured. I thought I'd make the best of it anyway and picked a site on the map to hike to. A waterfall. Looked simple. I got maybe two miles, left the paved roads, and had just entered the trail between farmlands. I passed people tending their vegetables in the fields, in the mist. I got to the edge where it got really steep. It had rained the previous day, and in that mud... for a split second, I lost my footing. I didn't bust my ass! But in the process of arresting my fall, I did a little twist on that knee. It was reactionary. Couldn't help it.

So then I had to hump it back up that hill on that knee. Had to sit my butt down again. My plan was to tour 3 cities around the border. I had 4 more days until I would book a shuttle bus to Ha Giang for a week or so then one more trip to Cao Bang. Then Coronavirus came to Sa Pa. Two Germans brought it and infected some people in Cat Cat Village... not near me, thankfully. That was all she wrote! The local government shut down Sa Pa for quarantine. I got the notice at 11:30pm that I had to check out the next morning by 8am.

Hồ Bảy Mẫu... Seven Acre Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam ©2020 Terrell Neasley

That was cool. It put me in a bind. But locals are becoming wary of foreigners. They petitioned the local gov't to do something. It took less than a day. So I was gratefully on a bus back to Hanoi, not really sure what was there either. I was hearing about so many closures. I did not want to continue on to Ha Giang and make people uncomfortable wondering if I was bringing infection to their village. So bowed out of that notion and returned to the place where at least somebody knows me... Canary Hanoi Hotel. They welcomed me back for a little more than a week. Then things changed there, too. Without foreign visitor reservations, they needed to shut it down. But they sent me out in grand style. They invited me to a party, made me the guest of honor and made me promise to return when they open in 30 days. I plan to do just that.

And then those good people connected me with their partner hotel, much bigger, more grand, and a room twice the size, but so far, I prefer Canary. I am here at Halais Hotel just around the corner. I'll do my month here and return to Canary. My visa is up May 10th. I will request an extension soon in another week or so for another 3 months, which will put me here until August. If I am fortunate to be allowed to stay, I'll do just about all that time right here in Hanoi. I'm not going anywhere if I don't have to. I want to stay as long as I can before trying to enter Cambodia. I'm cool with sitting right here, reading, writing, and keeping myself occupied. There is plenty of toilet paper and food everywhere. And it's definitely much cheaper staying here in Vietnam. Pray I get that extension!

Hồ Bảy Mẫu... Seven Acre Lake, Hanoi, Vietnam ©2020 Terrell Neasley

I wear a mask when I go outside. Not because I think I need to, but rather to help make people comfortable being around me, serving me, or interacting with me for whatever reason that might be necessary. Today, a man saw me, he wasn't wearing a mask. I was just walking by and he immediately put a mask on and actively avoided me like a shy child hiding behind his mother's skirt. I just rolled my eyes, waved, and kept going.

I'm grateful that I am stable and safe, but I still feel for my family, peers, and countrymen back home and through out the States that have to scramble like they are in some Mad Max Zombie movie. Big-Ups and mad respect to those healthcare workers that stay the course fighting the hours while ill-equipped. The mailmen, the grocery store workers, and all those who are providing those essential services for $15 an hour. I'd better stop. That's not the subject matter I want to go deep on in this post.

Streets of Hanoi. Around 2am. ©2020 Terrell Neasley

A few nights ago, I set out at 2am just to go walk the streets. I was only gone for a hour. I walked a 2 and a half mile triangle though the city. I looked for alleys and there was one train track that went into this village section of the city. I think I got some decent shots. I enjoyed myself, despite getting scolded the next morning for not being safe. But I was cool. As of today, the Government of Hanoi or Vietnam... not sure which, has told everyone to stay inside for two weeks.

I'll keep you updated on my progress, efforts, and happenings. In the meantime, take care of yourselves. Wash your hands. Think about what you do and how it affects other people, but protect yourselves. There are assholes out and about right now.

27 March 2020 Latest Updates - 1.5 persons per million infection rate in Vietnam. (US is 285 people per million.)

• As of March 27, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health confirmed a total of 153 cases of COVID-19. However, 20 of the affected patients have recovered. Zero deaths.
• Vietnam has banned the gathering of more than 20 people for at least two weeks from March 28 and temporarily shut down services like massage parlors, tourist sites, and cinemas nationwide. In addition, major cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Can Tho and Da Nang would need to temporarily shut down all service facilities except for food, pharmacy, and medical treatment services.
• The government has also prohibited the gathering of more than 10 people outside offices, schools, and hospitals. 
• Authorities have made it mandatory for all travelers to declare their medical status on domestic flights and public transport.
• Authorities in Hanoi on March 25 ordered the closure of non-essential businesses like bars, night clubs, movie theaters, and karaoke clubs until May 4. Necessities like food, medicine, and fuel stations will remain open.

Almost Ready for Vietnam. I'm Scared!

Art Model, Que ©2020 Terrell Neasley

"He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve got my visa for Vietnam in hand, now. Next is to book the flight, which will be within the next 10 days. I gotta tell ya. I’m just a little bit fearful! This will be a totally new experience for me. I do not understand Vietnamese at all. I cannot even say “Thank you” or “Good Morning”, yet. Nonetheless, I have a 3-month visa and I don’t know what to expect at all. This will be an absolute different experience for me than going through Central or South America.

[Update: Got the ticket the next day. Now just need to find a place to stay!]

But this is what this whole experience is about. NEW THINGS! New faces.Take wings to new places. My life has been about doing what I was afraid to do since I was in elementary school. At least, that’s where it started. Fighting back bullies. After a while, it became habit, because the realization soon hit me. Most of the things I feared were jokes to begin with so what does that make me? I’m not saying you gotta be stupid. Neither do I want you to check your common sense at the door. But how many times have you feared the dark only to later turn on the light and see your fear disappear. You realize you have been scared over nothing. How many opportunities have been lost because you didn’t take the job out of town; ask that girl out on a date; or taken that trail less traveled.

Art Model, Que ©2020 Terrell Neasley

So yeah, I’m scared to go. It’s human. It’s natural. And there is nothing inherently bad about being afraid. What you do about that fear is the determinant. So I’m going. I have my visa. But it’s always been said to me, “It’s not real until you buy that ticket.” And then just as well, “Pics, or it didn’t happen.” I’ll have my ticket soon. I’m pricing flights, checking flight times, seating, etc. I gotta have good seats flying that long. I’m looking at 26-hour flights. Not all in the air, at once, but I saw some 15-hour non-stop stretches on the itinerary. NOT looking forward to that. That’s the main reason I won’t be back so often as I was backpacking Central or South America. No matter where I was down south, I don’t think I had a single flight that had a stretch longer than 6 hours.

"I must be a mermaid. 

I have no fear of depths, but a great fear of shallow living." 

~ Anais Nin

So what will I do in Vietnam? Short answer… I do not know. More thorough answer. I’m not sure, BUT I will get to Hanoi and spend the first month in Northern Vietnam (not in Hanoi) and just sit for a month, reading, writing, and taking in my surroundings. After that, I’ll explore more of Northern Vietnam for a while and begin making my way south. Along the way, I’ll look for opportunities to check into Laos. I have a multiple entry visa for Vietnam so I will be able to leave the country and come back as long as I want within the 3 month time I have there. I am not certain just yet if I qualify to extend should I so desire. Beyond that, I’d like to do the same thing in Southern Vietnam around Ho Chi Minh City and get some shots around the Mekong Delta.

Art Model, Que ©2020 Terrell Neasley

Nothing about any of that is written in stone. It’s all tentative. After Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and of course, Thailand. I have to hop down into Indonesia at some point, make my way over to Papua New Guinea and then, the Solomon Islands. Who knows after that. Shall I try the South Pacific again? Australia, New Zealand? Or head back up into India? You can’t hold me to any of this. I expect it to take a while. Quite a while before I get back stateside again after leaving this time. But that’s okay. I have my passport renewed and I got the 52-page book this time.

I’m not upgrading the cameras. I can’t get the Sony a7R4 without upgrading to the Sony a6600 as well. I refuse to pack different batteries. So I’ll continue to run with my a7r2 and the a6500 for now. I wish I could handle the weight and do a drone, but another reason I don’t are international laws that regulate flying them. Vietnam says it’s legal, BUT… and there’s always seems to be a BUT someplace… you have to submit a 14-day notice to the regulating authorities. So you can do it, but you have to plan it 2 weeks in advance. Otherwise, you are in violation of Vietnamese law. I don’t need to be in violation of Vietnamese law.

Art Model, Que ©2020 Terrell Neasley

I'll keep you abreast of my situation when I leave, but I'm looking to be gone within the next 10 days or so. And thanks for being supportive of my blog. I appreciate the readership and am grateful that you've found my stories worth your time. I plan to do even better. Stay tuned!

Two Years of Travel- Final Stretch of My Americas Tour.

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, and her photography, @K.clayphoto ©2018 Terrell Neasley

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.” 

– Anais Nin

On 08 January 2018, I set out on a dynamic, ever-changing journey to backpack around the world. My endeavor began with tumultuous life events that got worse the next year. It has taken considerable effort and time to center myself and in truth, I should say it's an ongoing process even now. I have marked objectives I need to achieve, but I still have yet to wrap it into a specific purpose and I try to be patient with that process. Right now, all I can do is simply keep moving and figure it out along the way.

In less than a week, I will complete my tour of Central and South America albeit this is not the last I intend to see of this place. I am grateful to have visited Nicaragua, Colombia, and Peru twice yet I have more to see in each of these places. In a few days, I will have spent 5 weeks in Ushuaia, Argentina at the bottom of the world. I have done more writing than photography. I was not able to make it to Antarctica. My plans changed from desiring to see Chile and more of Patagonia. Instead, I elected to stay in one place longer which has been true to my habit. Now I have an excuse to return here again.

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, and her photography, @K.clayphoto ©2018 Terrell Neasley

My next leg will take me further away, although I have not made up my mind 100 percent. It will either be French Polynesia (Tahiti) or I will skip the South Pacific and go straight to Australia. If at all possible, I would love to sail around the South Pacific Islands with someone who could use a photographer aboard or at least a good friend. But maybe I will have to be cool with doing Tahiti, Fiji, and Tonga by air and THEN fly to Australia.

I'm working on a complete restructure of my photography business that will incorporate and consist primarily of LANDSCAPE, PORTRAITURE, and NUDE photography. This will include a new website, a new blog, and a few other options that will consist of LESS social media. I'm not an Instagram fan and I don't believe it should kill me that I'm not. I hope you don't hold that against me, either.

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, and her photography, @K.clayphoto ©2018 Terrell Neasley

I wish I could have finished out this year the same way I started. Coming out here alone would have been much tougher when I left in January 2018. Kayci.Lee chose to join me for a month and that steadied me. I've mentioned in previous posts that Oct/Nov 2017 was a wreck for me. And oddly, then again the same exact months for 2018. But when we left that Dallas Airport 8 Jan 2018, I was in a much better state of mind to do this journey.

There's a good chance I would have canceled the whole thing in less than a month, otherwise, had I been alone. Shooting her gave me something to do... something to focus on. My brain was occupied on something that had to be completed instead of dwelling on past events. After she left, well... then I had work to do. I still had mess to deal with, of course, but I was dealing with it from a much better perspective. I would have loved to have her here with me in Ushuaia.

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, and her photography, @K.clayphoto ©2018 Terrell Neasley

I sincerely hope I don't have to go such long stretches between my nude shoots. Having somebody traveling with me is definitely preferred, but this is not an easy option for 99% of people in the world. I confess travel life would be much easier if I didn't have an absolute need to shoot nudes. The places I will visit over the next year... man! They're gonna be expensive and this will likely be the case until I get to Southeast Asia... probably another year away. But who knows.

I have learned a lot about Latin America, though admittedly I can't say I understand it all. Positives? The diversity of all the forms of beautiful country you'll run into from the tropics to the cold spots and from sea level to 12K feet up. On the negative, damn... I have run into some of the same racial biases that we have in the US, between indigenous people, referred to as locals, Indians, or natives and those of European descent.

Art Model, @Kayci.Lee, and her photography, @K.clayphoto ©2018 Terrell Neasley

I have so many reasons yet to revisit Central and South America. I've been to Nicaragua and Guatemala 4 times each and I'm still not done. There are still places to see and I have friends there to visit. It's the same in South America. I need to get a better feel for Ecuador as I was only there for 3 weeks and all that time was spent grieving my brother. If you have any questions about making a trip to any of these places, please feel free to ask me. I want to encourage you to spend a little time out of your familiarities and travel outside your comfortable element. You won't regret doing so.

Thank you for following along with me this year. A new one awaits and I hope you'll be with me on the other side of the world next year.

I tried, but there's no way I could end a post of her with NO nudes. I was kidding myself and cheating you. Apologies. Let me correct that egregious error now...

TWO Types of Backpacking

Interior of a chicken bus... not as crowded, though

When I tell people I'm backpacking around the world, it can sometimes be a bit confusing as to what a picture of that actually looks like. In these confusing situations, the picture most people imagine in their minds is that I am traveling through the wilderness, desert, or some far off wasteland while avoiding bandits, outlaws, or wild animals. So let me paint a more accurate perception of my reality while I am venturing around this planet.

Coach buses are much more comfortable for long trips. As you can see.
Courtesy of Art Model, Kayci.Lee this past January when she accompanied
for a month to Nicaragua and up to Guatemala.

While there may be several different types of BackpackERS, BackpackING is usually divided into two distinct categories. First, there is WILDERNESS backpacking. This is usually associated with, as the name suggests, backpacking in the wild. While day trips can fall into this category, I'd say the norm is going to consist of camping and thus the packing choices will reflect this. Ergo, sleeping bag, and plenty of food. Much will depend on the availability of water, distance and the duration of the trip will dictate the remaining needs to sustain you. It goes without saying that you'll be hiking all this gear around, as opposed to throwing it in your vehicle. Otherwise you're just car camping.

Guatemala Chicken Bus 

This could be a backpacking trip to simply go camping, rock climbing, hunting, or you could be trekking to a specific destination like a log cabin or over the river and through the woods to grandma's house. Regardless, you'll need to be prepared with good hiking boots and weather dependent clothing, and everything you need to protect yourself from environmental concerns, threats from the wildlife, and basic safety. This is not my primary mission.

If I can't take it on my back, it can't come. 

As for me, I do TRAVEL backpacking, which can also be defined as a type of adventure travel. I have the same type of backpack that a wilderness backpacker might have. Getting one that fits properly, allows for great weight distribution, comfortable waist, chest, and shoulder straps, as well having convenient pockets and straps for gear that needs to be secured, but readily available on the outside of your pack. I use a Osprey Aether 70, with and empty Osprey Porter 30 strapped to the back of it. The Porter is my day pack for use when I venture from my hotel. Why do I like Osprey bags? Because of their All Mighty Guarantee! So yeah... no roller luggage here.

Sometimes ya gotta hitch a ride on an old commercial fishing boat when the seas are too rough for anything else.

So I travel with two bags (well, three, but one is kept empty while traveling between destination). I have my backpack(s) and then my camera bag which is a large Thintank Urban Disguise 60. I am usually traveling around via public transportation. Sometimes I take international and regional planes, but mostly I am on a local bus for short trips or a coach/tour bus for longer ones. I pack pretty much everything I need for my daily life. I average maybe 5 change of clothes. I say average because sometimes I may throw away a shirt or buy one from the local thrift stores that in Central America are referred to as PACAs. They are named so because they usually arrive from the US in huge baled bundles. So Paca is spanish for bales, not packages, as I recently learned. I can easily get a shirt for a buck or two and change out my clothes periodically, or dependent on a place I visit. I've been all along the Caribbean coast here in Colombia where T-shirts and flip flops are practical. Next thing you know, I'm in the mountains of Bogota at an elevation of 8000+ feet and temps of mid-40's at night.

I also pack camera accessories and gear that I use to produce videos, clean sensors, and extra things that make photo and video more convenient. Along with that, I have my toiletries and sundries, prescription meds, flashlights, knives, etc that also go in my backpack. I try to keep my weight from my backpack under 35lbs. I was 10 pounds over on my venture back to Bogota. I need to lose some weight!

Caught a horse-drawn wagon to the beach

As for city travel and accommodations, I can take public transpo which is usually pennies in any direction. Chicken buses are popular in Central America. You are not riding with a bunch of chickens. You are just packed into them as if you ARE chickens. That's how they make their money while fares stay cheap. Volume! But they are fun to ride on, just not over great distances or if you are a tall person. Your knees will suffer. They are usually very colorfully decorated re-purposed US school buses that traditionally have religious display art of some sort on them wish flashy lights. You must experience this a few times if you are ever in Central America. Otherwise, I take a cab or even an UBER which are available here in Colombia. Its good to be safe and let your hotel or restaurant hail a cab for you, unless you're told its safe to do so yourself off the street.

Or sometimes just catching a $20,000 Andalusian horse...more easily done nude, I guess

I stay in hostels mainly. Sometimes, I book a hotel. Hostels are much less expensive comparable to the same accommodations in a hotel. Not all hotels are the same, by any stretch of the imagination and that goes for hostels as well. A hostel will usually be much smaller with basic amenities. You may not have a TV for example, and in some places you don't even have hot water. I book through Booking.com for about 90% of my reservations. Just because you are in a hostel does not automatically mean Dorm Room! I only do private rooms. After that, I'm checking whether or not the room has a private bathroom, good wifi, good security, and I compare it to other hostels with respect to location and amenities. Sometimes airport pick-up is important. Other times, it may be policy issues such as do they have a good cancellation policy or whether I an pay on site or do I have to pay in advance. Some make you pay everything at time of booking and other's just secure a deposit equal to the first night's stay. You'll have to decide what's right for yourself. I'll be doing a post on hostel stays soon enough.

Regional flights are sometimes necessary, too. This time within Nicaragua.

A typical visit for me my cost me $30/night, but I often find good places where I am spending $20/night. If I know I'll be in an area for an extended time...such as a month, I'll rent an apartment for $400-$500 when I can. But once I'm there, I'm living out of my backpack and checking out the local scenes. Ordinarily, I'm in a particular city because there is something there I want to shoot nearby or just because I think it will be a good experience. Right now, I'm in Bogota, Colombia. Its the 4th largest city in all of the Americas. I felt this would be a good experience, even though my interests photographically are in more nature environments. I don't shoot as much in metro or urban places. So for me, the experience is worth my stay.

When I leave here, I'll pack up my backpack and camera bag, and choose the best transportation to get to my next location. I have no clue where that will be right now or even when I'll leave Bogota. Possibly by mid-December...who knows? Chances are, I'll hop a bus out of the Bogota to either Ecuador or one more city, likely coastal, in Colombia. It's entirely possible I may stay longer and take a flight to the Colombian-Ecuadorian border and then bus across. Why? Because many of these countries have a thing (or at least the airline does) where you can't board a flight without a ticket going out. Busing in is different. They leave it up to you to not overstay your visa, typically 90 days...30 in others. Sometimes, you need to apply for a Visa in advance of your trip, like Brazil or Paraguay.

Finally reaching those meager but welcome accommodations.

I'll continue to do this throughout all of South America, with the exception of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, (all on the East Coast). Venezuela isn't a safe or stable place to travel to at the moment and I don't feel the same calling to the other countries I mentioned. So, I'll be taking a plane, bus, or walking across country borders trying to see where I can get some great shots and life experiences.