Art Therapy

Here is the last photo I want to share. It is of the statue of Stanley in front of the Radiator Springs Fire Dept in black and white. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Here is the 4th photo also from Cars Land of Willy's Butte at dusk. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Here is the 3rd photo. It is also in Cars Land of Flo's sign at dusk. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Here is the 2nd photo of Flo's and Ramones in Cars Land at dusk. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

This is the 1st picture from Disney's California Adventure in Cars Land Flo's V8 Cafe at dusk. I was a little disappointed that some of the neon lighting was out. I guess Flo isn't keeping up with the maintenance LOL! They say it gives the photo character. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Here is the last of the Death Valley photos that I want to share. It is also at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes at sunset. It was really windy that day so it created a lot of haze in the sky. This was a shot I had planned ahead of time. It isn't exactly what I had in mind but close. I had to wait 2 hours for the sun to set right at the edge of the dune, not uncommon in landscape photography. I hope you like the picture. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Here is the 4th photo at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, it is a black & white sepia toned image. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Here is the 3rd Death Valley photo. A color detail of one of the Harmony Borax Works wagon wheels. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Here is the 2nd Death Valley Photo of the Harmony Borax Works steam powered wagon in black & white. I hope you like it. #ArtTherapy #Depression #Anxiety

Last month I took a roadtrip to Death Valley And LA, CA. It was a 6 day 1500 mile trip and my issues with depression, anxiety, panic, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal and sciatica let me know they were along for the ride. This was a last minute trip. I wanted to see and photograph the shallow lake that formed at Badwater because of all the rain they had gotten. Usually, Badwater is a dry salt bed. Even though I was excited and prepared for the trip, I was uncomfortable the whole time.

I also wanted to do some night photography with the landscape and the stars. I had it planned but because I did so much driving in a short period of time, I was too tired to stay out that late. There aren't very many places to stay around Death Valley. The closest one I could afford was 75 miles away. So, I had 150 mile roundtrip, about 90 minutes each way to my hotel. I didn't want to drive that far at night fatigued.

I have been having a lot of GI issues, bloating, gas, feeling really full, so much so that it makes it hard to take a deep breath. Sitting in a car for hours didn't help. I would not eat much before driving but that contributed to the fatigue. Then I would get anxious and panic that I was going to pass out and start getting shortness of breath. Most of where I was driving were 2 lane highways in the middle of nowhere. I feared getting stuck or having some kind of emergency and not being able to get help. It was rough. I did feel better once I got to the places and started taking pictures. But, overall I was miserable. Obviously I got through it without and major problems.

After Death Valley, I drove to Disneyland. You would think that I would forget all my troubles in the happiest place on earth, wrong! The GI, sciatica and fatigue were strong as ever and I could only last a few hours a day. I didn't really go an any rides because I was so sore. I concentrated on getting the photos I wanted. The 2nd day it rained, so I stayed in the hotel room and got some much needed rest. I spent the following morning at Disneyland, went back to the hotel for the rest of the day and went home the next morning. I really should have planned these as separate trips but that would have been more expensive.

Overall, picture wise, the trip was a success. I was able to create the photos I had planned, except for the night photos. I will post a few of the photos.

Here is the 1st Death Valley photo of the Badwater lake in black & white infrared. I hope you like it.

#Depression #Anxiety #PanicDisorder #ArtTherapy #ChronicFatigue