Back from SE Asia with Girlfriend

My SE Asia trip was amazing. I explored Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Burma on this trip. I shot so many photographs that both my external and internal storage ended up being full. I even had to trash the Lightroom catalog I had to make extra room and came home with two additional compact flash cards full. I'll post photos as I get around to processing them and will eventually add a new gallery to my photography web site. Here's a brief summary of what I've been up to since my last update:

Father Passed Away

My dad Nate passed away while I was in SE Asia. He had a heart attack during breakfast and went pretty quickly. He had been slowly degrading and withering away to just flesh and bones, so it wasn't completely unexpected, but it sure felt odd to be so far away when it happened. 

Consumer Electronics Show

This year's CES show happened to take place in Las Vegas (where the bus was parked) and started a day after I landed from my Asia trip. It was a good time to explore and try to find the right audio/visual and home control systems for the vintage bus project. 

Vintage Bus Rally

Soon after returning to the states I spent just shy of a week attending a vintage bus rally. Unfortunately, my vintage bus was not ready to be driven so I ended up taking my more modern rig. It was really good to catch up with people I had seen at previous rallies and to get ideas about how to setup my new rig. 

Girlfriend Living on the Bus!

My girlfriend Karen has moved on to the bus to live full-time! She loves to travel, hates winter weather and has a job that she can do anywhere that she can find a net connection. She flew from New Jersey to Florida to meet up with me while I was teaching at the Fotofusion conference, afterward we flew together to California and she moved into the bus. She claims to be OK with the idea of downsizing to a vintage bus and has seen it in person. You can find out more about Karen on her blog.

Book Writing in San Diego

I'll be spending the next month or two in the greater San Diego area while I progress on writing a new book. I'm not ready to reveal any details about the book yet, but should have more to tell you before the end of March. 

Bus update and ID Page

I posted a short update to fill you in on what's up with the vintage bus project. I've found that I've acquired a lot of information about vintage buses during my search for the perfect bus, so I attempted to get some of it down on a web page so that other people who might be shopping for a similar vehicle might find the information to be useful.

Trying out Google Latitude

You might notice that there are two "Ben's Location" maps on the left sidebar of the site. That's because I'm experimenting with Google Latitude and simply haven't figured out if I like it better than the system I had been using. The new setup has the potential of displaying my past locations and can alert me when friends travel near my location. 

I know I haven't updated this site in a while. The combination of my father's death, my girlfriend moving onto the bus, a new book project and intense vintage bus project research has made it so my brain was too busy to even think about it. I have been making posts to Twitter though and they can be found on the left sidebar of this site. 

Comments

[John Jackson]

Hey Ben glad you are back to posting it was also good to catch your seminar in SanAntonio. SInce we travel all over the country shooting cars and bikes for magazines the wife thinks we should ditch our place and buy a bus also......I married a good woman lol.

Next time you are in Texas i you want to shoot some hotrods let me know

John Jackson
www.NotStockPhotography.com

[Rick Freschner]

Ben -

Welcome back!

Sorry to hear about your Dad. It may not have been unexpected, but it's never easy. And, congrats on having someone to share the bus with you!

See you the next time you're in Hartford, CT.

Rick

[Byron Totty]

Ben,
So sorry to hear about your dad. Having gone through that experience lately, you have my deepest sympathy.
......................

Nice to see you're posting again and look forward to seeing your pics.

Currently studying CS4 Up To Speed.

Byron T, Tulsa,Ok.

[Cathy M]

Sorry to hear about you Dad.
Welcome to San Diego! Hopefully our rain and cold weather will pass soon. If you want to check out the Wild Animal Park just give a holler - I've got passes and am a couple miles away from there.

[Raul Ruiz]

Ben,

Sympathies on the passing of your Dad, and thanks so much for the Photoshop seminar in San Antonio - your very well crafted teachings have awakened the artist in me. I produced some lighting and HDR shots using your recommendations... awesome!

All the best,

Raul R., Central Texas

[Ken Toney]

Ben, Sorry for your loss...I'm still enjoying what I learned from your class in Atlanta last year,Thanks.

[Waleed Alzuhair]

Please accept my deepest condolences for your loss..

I was catching up listening to the TWiP podcast, when I enjoyed your interview and visited your websites.

The Best of Ben has amazing work, keep it up, and I look forward to more.

Cheers,
Waleed

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