So I made it just over the New Mexico state line up in the upper corner of the Texas panhandle - in 11 hours. Texas is a BIG friggin' state. Gained altitude from 550 feet above sea level to 5050 feet. The drive went by fast, thanks to me taking photos (while driving) pretty much the whole way. It makes the time fly by, but it ends up exhausting me because my attention level is pretty high up there. I continuously scan the horizon and from my 9 o'clock to my 3 o'clock for "interesting-ness" to steal a term from flickr.
Many times I'm not quick enough on the draw - I have to roll down one or both windows (auto/power windows), grab the camera, aim and shoot in a matter of seconds. I have the lens set on manual focus and pegged to infinity to make things simpler. The camera doesn't have time to focus automatically. Zip, and the photo op is 200 yards behind. I don't like to shoot behind myself, because then I have to hold the camera out of the window. Plus, I have to watch out for oncoming traffic if it's a two-lane road. I'm typically driving about 70-75mph - I don't slow down - I don't stop. That's part of the challenge/game.
This is going to sound really stupid, but there is something about putting myself at some level of risk to capture a shot. The Barthe's Punctum is better, richer, somehow - for me anyway - if I understand his theory correctly.
Anyway, here's the best shot of the day. The windmill was pretty far away, so I was zoomed to 200mm, both hands on the camera, driving with my left knee, watching traffic out of my peripheral vision. Oh, this is just north of Vega, Texas, near the Canadian River.
