Our first outing with my new Travel Trailer / Photo Studio

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

A few weekends ago, we took my Travel Trailer for our first outing. I purchased this Trailer several months ago and wanted to rebuild it to it's original condition...and then some.  I'm almost completed. I converted the inside so that it could also serve as a field photographic studio. I have the same computer equipment and printing capabilities in it as I have at home. We have Internet by using the Verizon cellular service. WE have our own electricity when we need it via a Honda quiet generator and also a 1200 watts inverter hooked up to the Chevy Silverado.

We chose a very desolated place for our first trip. It's called Mojave River Fork campground. It's part of the Mojave High Desert, and if one needs some quiet time, that's the place. All we could hear was the wind and the birds.

I worked on testing my new AlettA Stabilizers Generation II and had fun doing it. There weren't anybody around. My spouse was a little reluctant to join me at first, but she ended up coming, and she enjoyed the quietness a lot.

Unlike a regular trek, I was able to bring all of my photographic equipment. That is all of my Pentax lenses and four cameras, The K-r, the K-7, the K-5 and the new Pentax Q. Here, in Southern California, we can camp all year round. It gets a little cold at night but the trailer has a good heater. It's really a home away from home. The best part, is that I purchased it for about the same price as a Pentax K-5 with a good lens attached. I added lot's of work and about $1,000 in repairs and upgrades.

We had the choice of space as we were alone.

It was a beautiful day, with a moderate temperature of about 70 degrees F.

It took all but five minutes for Anne to get a long chair and soak up the sun.

I'm not a birder, but they were all around and unafraid.

A lone tree, among the rocks and tumble weed.

Our tax dollar at work...a fire hydrant in the middle of nowhere.

This is a close up of a dead tree trunk. I liked the pattern.

Testing the K-r with the DA* 300 mm set on the Stabilizer G-II, QR system and L-bracket.

Here, we have the K-5 with the DA*300 mm on the G-II. Perfect horizon on not so perfect surface.

Testing the K-r with the DA 18-55 mm set vertically on the Stabilizer G-II, QR system and L-bracket.

Thank you for stopping by,

Yvon Bourque

alettaphoto.com

Still a Pentaxian, but swapped Ms. Peggy for a travel trailer (a caravan for the rest of the world). Turning it to a mobile living space and photographic studio...any ideas?

"Ms. Peggy" being towed by "Sam" the Chevy workhorse.

"Ms. Peggy" at her best.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian and photographer friends,

If you followed my blog through the years, you already know that one of my favorite photography tool was my Jeep "Ms. Peggy".  She  would bring me to photographic  places that I couldn't have reached by myself. That was then... but this is now: I purchased a 1990 Prowler Travel trailer for a few thousand dollars. Here in California, they don't deteriorate and rust like some parts of the Country. Although I have to do quite a bit of work to get it to my liking and to the reliability of a new trailer, I might have $4,000 to $5,000 invested by the time I'm completed with the restoration...compared to about $12,000 to $20,000 for a brand new one. This being a working project, I will invest money a little at a time rather than getting a loan like most new RV owners have. I prefer the pay-as-you-go method rather than the pay-forever method.

The Jeep "Ms. Peggy" was a great tool for my photography, but I believe that the Travel trailer, which we baptized "Freedom" will even be a greater tool.  "Sam", my Chevy Silverado pick-up truck will be pulling "Freedom" . It was pulling the Jeep when we would go far from home and it's equipped with a big V8 and has the appropriate factory tow package. In the immediate future, we will be able to travel to Yosemite, and other Southern California State and National Parks. I intend to equip the Travel Trailer with everything that I will need as a photographer and everything that my wife will need to be a good traveler. "Like they say, if Momma is happy, everyone else will be happy".

This is where I need some opinions and ideas from photographers that already experienced life on the road with a motor homes or travel trailer, or just good ideas from anyone.

Of course, it will be equipped with computers and all the same software I use at home, like Photoshop, Light Room, etc. Some cabinets will be modified to hold cameras, lenses and equipment. With a generator on board, printing will be available within, no matter where we are. I plan to build a platform on the roof of the trailer so I can get a better vantage point when necessary. Ansel Adams had one on  his car:

This blog is also posted on Google+, Facebook and Twitter and sent as email to many subscribers. My email is also listed at the top. Please send me what you would installed on this Travel Trailer, to turn it into a photography studio on wheel.  My long term plan is to travel the US and Canada with it and publish pictures of the great places we visit along the way. Eventually, my trip will be documented on the internet, via whatever the best media will be in a few years ahead.

Without being to obnoxious, I would like to have some small graphic on the trailer to indicate that my identity and passion is photography. What do you suggest?

The two pictures above are the trailer the day I bought it.

The image above shows the trailer after my first Month of ownership. It was painted and re-striped, it got new wheels and new decals. The interior was updated with a new bed, carpet,  curtains and blinds. A new drinking water pump and a new AC were installed, and a new stereo system, two flat screen TVs and computers. The work is in progress.

Thanks for reading, and I hope I get some good ideas...please no over-the-top (pun intended) ideas. I'm not inspector gadget.

Yvon Bourque

Miss Peggy has been gone for a while. I miss her but...you don't think that I would buy a rocking chair and rock my life away, do you?

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

For those that have been following my blog for a long time, you know about Miss Peggy. For those that are new here, here is an introduction to Miss Peggy. Miss Peggy is a Jeep and we went on many adventures together. She has brought me to places so remote that getting there would have been impossible without her. I captured images from remote locations, from the desert to high mountains, from beaches to deep forests. She was my best photographic accessory for a long time. We both are a little older now and she needed to slow it down.

A young couple now owns her, and with young children, she will be having a new life, going along the beaches, with the top off. I see a lot of enjoyable moments with her new family. The children will have fun and so will the parents. She will not have to climb so much anymore. The new activities are going to be less stressful on her. Here are some of the last pictures of Miss Peggy that you will see on this blog.

I'm not a spring chicken myself, but  you don't think I would buy a rocking chair and rock my life away...do you?  It's just a step to another adventure. Yes, I will rock my life away, but to the sound of ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the likes. I had to get another toy to replace Miss Peggy. Here it is or rather here they are:

Introducing "Spartacus", my new buddy. Together, we are ready for new photographic adventures and new  adventures period. I think he is beautiful, and full of energy with his 1300 cc of raw power and customized accessories. He was born from Honda in 2008, and his code name is VTX 1300C. Look at him, he's ready to go. He's been around for 9000 miles but is ready for a lot more.

That's not all, with the change, lots of change, I was able to get this next item. It was originally purchased by an elder couple to go to the lake with the grand kids, but the grand kids are now in their teens and don't care much about camping with the grandparents.  This was just good timing, right place at the right time, as I got this 23 foot Prowler Travel Trailer for a dime on the dollar of the actual value. I also shared the cost with my stepson, so that he too can use it at times.

The inside is like new. In fact, the gas stove was never used. It will come handy to spend economical weekends at places like Yosemite and other National Parks. Perfect for long weekends of photography, etc. My own children and their kids (my grandchildren) will be able to use it when they come visit here in California. We named the trailer "Freedom". It's a she. Here she is:

"Freedom" and "Spartacus" actually were purchased for less than what my cameras, including lenses and accessories, were purchased for. Crazy, isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by.

Yvon Bourque