Every once in a while, a guy has to get away and re-boot the system, and our annual Muskie Hunt is the best re-boot around!

The “Muskie Men” have been doing this trip, a week long camping, fishing, hunting and social event for 11 years now.  In northern Wisconsin the last week in September, you never know what the weather will be.  We have camped and fished in snow, rain and wind, as well as beautiful Indian summer days.  One thing that never changes is the great time we have.  Everyone needs a break, to get away from the world and have time to relax and just have fun.

And every year, we come away with great stories of the stupid stuff that a bunch of middle aged kids do while we are out in the woods.

It was also a great time to re-boot and re-fill the creative tank.  No pressure, no time constraints.  Just see the image and shoot it.  I always take the time on this trip to think about what I have done over the past year, photographically, and get excited about what is to come.  I think about future plans and I make lots of notes.

This year, I had a bit more on my mind.  My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer mid-August.  It was a small tumor that was taken out and tested.  The results were all that we hoped and preyed for and it looks like she will recover fully and completely, with very little chance of the cancer coming back.  So, my time away was also a time to reflect on the really important things in life.

And to give thanks.

My love of photography started when I was in high school.  Growing up enjoying the outdoors and spending so much time either in the desert or in the mountains, surrounded by nature, it was hard not to fall in live with the images around me.  And when I got my first camera, a Yashika rangefinder, it was hard not to walk out of the woods with at least a few good photographs.

It was nice to get back in touch with that love over the week up north.  And while I love to shoot portraits, stories about people, and finding the art in industrial scenes, my first love will always be found in nature and the outdoors.  It really is the reason that I got into photography in the first place.