**** I set off from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in July 2011...and ended up in Aspen, Colorado, in February 2012. Along the way, I visited 28 states, three countries, dozens of national parks, hundreds of cities and towns, and countless friends and strangers. How? I lost my job of seven years when Berkshire Living, the beloved regional magazine I helped launch, succumbed to a fragile economy. Then my apartment building burned down while I was on vacation in Miami. Add to this one stolen bicycle, a freak sprained ankle, and, of course, a breakup. Wouldn't you hit the road, too? Behold: a virtual scrapbook of anecdotes and eye candy from a freewheeling, cross-country, cross-cultural odyssey--past, present, and future.amandaraewashere@gmail.com
Sharp Shooting
In West Virginia, I found another good sign. I had just set the camera on my trusty GorillaPod—a flexible tripod that makes self-portraiture not only possible but incredibly easy in almost any situation since its legs can wrap around things like railings and tree branches—which was balanced on the hood of my parked car. I was about to press the button when two bubbly college-aged girls bounded toward me.
“Want us to take a picture of you?” one asked.
“Oh, no thanks,” I said. “I just got this whole thing set up.”
I was exaggerating. In truth, it took all of fifteen seconds. But it was the perfect foi
l. You might think that having a human on hand to shoot your portrait would be preferable, but to me, it’s really not.
Let me tell you why: DIY means that I can compose the frame precisely as I want, no last-minute tilting of the screen, no wonky angles, no not-enough-zoom, no funky cropping (that comes later). I can take as many photos as I wish, usually three sets of 4 self-timed shots, at least, and keep at it until I get a good one. No sane stranger is going to stick around to deal with my irrational fussiness, and I would never ask her to. So why waste our time when I’m just going to scrap the shot anyway?
The girls shrugged and walked off toward the visitor’s center. It wasn’t until later, when I uploaded the images to my computer, that I noticed: they got the last laugh.
