The area features picturesque high desert and mountain top beauty. Well known destinations–like Sedona–and relatively undiscovered small town gems like Cottonwood, Jerome, Clarkdale, Camp Verde, and Cornville. All of it is close to an hour from my home, and the journey to the Verde Valley from Anthem can take you (depending on the route) through additional charming communities like Dewey, Mayer, Prescott, and Prescott Valley. A lot of the attractions are colorful historic sites and buildings, along with the Verde Canyon Railroad and a burgeoning wine industry.
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery
It’s a place where I frequently go for photoremedy, and it’s a great place to enjoy with friends and family. I’ve spent a couple of days in the Verde Valley this fall, and focused primarily on the delightfully grungy photo opportunities that exist in this most interesting region.
East of Jerome, AZ
East of Jerome, AZ
Dewey, Arizona
Johnny P. in Jerome, AZ
Jerome, AZ
Jerome, AZ
East of Jerome, AZ
Jerome, AZ
Jerome, AZ
Jerome, AZ
Jerome, AZ
Jerome, AZ
Our Grandson Daniel with Grandma Debbie (Katie’s Mom)
Our Grandson Emmett at Alcantara Vineyards
Photoremedyis primarily based on the role that photography has played in helping Greg attempt to combat ongoing chronic pain issues that stem from his degenerative cervical and lumbar spine challenges. It is designed to encourage others fighting chronic pain (and other illnesses) to consider pursuing the benefits associated with what is popularly known as art therapy. It’s important to note that many of the photos Greg takes and develops frequently blur the lines between traditional art and contemporary photography, much as art therapy often blurs the lines between traditional and alternative forms of medicine.
As part of the ongoing photoremedy.me effort to encourage others to explore the “good medicine” that can be delivered to those who are passionate about the pictures they take and make, we occasionally share research or thought processes that support the healing nature of creativity.
Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch (fine art photography)
We get so caught up in the flurry of our lives that we forget the essential thing about our art–that the act of creating is a healing gesture, as sacred as prayer, as essential to the spirit as food is to the body. Our creative work reveals us to ourselves, allows us to transform our experience and imagination into forms that sing back to us in a language of…who we are, what we are becoming, what we have loved and feared. This is the alchemy of creation: that as I attempt to transmute a feeling or thought into an artistic form that can be experienced by another, I myself am added to, changed in the process.
As we center ourselves in the act of creating, attune to our inner voice, a shift occurs in our consciousness, allowing for the birth of something new. Our attention is no longer on time and demands and errands. It is caught up in the metamorphosis of one thing into another. What begins as a cocoon emerges a butterfly. What once was sorrow may now be a song.
All of the photos featured today are photoremedy.me originals, and were taken at Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch. Like many of Arizona’s celebrated resorts, it is a great place to stimulate the “birth of something new.” It is a great place for photoremedy.
St. Francis and a hippie bus? I can’t say I ever imagined those two fitting together in the same headline.
St. Francis of Phoenix (fine art photography) – 111 E. Camelback Rd, Phoenix
A recent trip to central Phoenix in search for highly rated Eggs Benedict, however, led Mary and me to St. Francis restaurant. We then followed up on our wonderful brunch–the eggs were top notch–with a little photoremedy that included the discovery of a couple of really cool vehicles (a 1957 Chrysler Imperial and the front half of a VW Hippie Bus).
Two Hippies Beach House – 501 East Camelback Rd., Phoenix
St. Francis Restaurant – 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
St. Francis Restaurant – 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
St. Francis Restaurant – 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
St. Francis Restaurant – 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
1957 Chrysler Imperial
St. Francis Restaurant – 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
St. Francis Restaurant – 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
Two Hippies Beach House – 501 East Camelback Rd., Phoenix
St. Francis Restaurant – 111 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix
Note: The photoremedy mission is to encourage those fighting chronic pain and other afflictions to consider using photography as a powerful tool to move their focus away from the pain. In the process, we strive to enhance readers’ ability to see beauty and experience elevated joy in their lives. There are many gifts that can accompany health challenges; one of the greatest offerings is it frequently forces sufferers to set better priorities for their lives and assists them in seeing the world in new and more meaningful ways.
Merriam-Webster defines staycation as “a vacation spent at home or nearby.” It’s not a complex concept; the word is simply a combination of stay and vacation. We first moved to Arizona in 1993, and we’ve been enjoying staycations ever since. Because we now live in Anthem on the northern most reaches of the metro Phoenix area, it is super easy to experience nearby amenities that are completely different than where we live. And, of course, such journeys inescapably provide photoremedy opportunities.
Ingo’s Tasty Food – Arcadia (fine art photo)
Our most recent staycation involved a sojourn into the North-Central Phoenix area, and epicurean adventures to the historic, yet hip, Arcadia neighborhood. We stayed in what used to be accurately referred to as a resort, and it still bills itself that way. Since it is a significantly “tired” facility, and not resort quality in my book, I refused to get my camera out to take pictures of the facility. Highlights of our otherwise wonderful trip included:
Great food
Luci’s Healthy Marketplace (N. 16th St., Phoenix)
Carne Asada – The Vig (N. 16th St., Phoenix)
Eggs Benedict from Luci’s Healthy Marketplace (N. 16th St., Phoenix)
Luci’s Healthy Marketplace – 16th St., Phoenix (fine art photography)
Good Wine
The Vig – N. 16th St., Phoenix
La Grande Orange Grocery – Arcadia
Postino Wine Cafe – Arcadia
Fun Food Shopping
La Grande Orange – Arcadia
La Grande Orange – Arcadia
La Grande Orange – Arcadia
Luci’s Healthy Marketplace – N. 16th St., Phoenix
La Grande Orange – Arcadia
La Grande Orange Deli Counter – Arcadia
Ice Cream (the best I’ve ever had!)
Sweet Republic Ice Cream – N. 16th St., Phoenix
Looking at an attribute list that features great food, good wine, fun food shopping, and the best retail ice cream I’ve ever had, it becomes increasingly clear that staycations will continue to be an important part of our future travel planning efforts. After all, sometimes there’s no place like home.
Saint Augustine of Hippo, who has proven to be a fountain of knowledge that has watered seeds of wisdom for so many since the fourth century, is best known for his Christian and theological teachings. He also proved prophetic when it comes to travel.
Augustine has been quoted as saying, “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” In my book, this doesn’t mean you have to be a world traveler; there are often gems we have overlooked in our own communities or regions. A couple of weeks ago, Mary and I added some pages to our travel book with a day trip to the Arizona neighboring mountain communities of Pine and Strawberry. Not only did we beat the heat, but we savored a great home style meal at Pine’s Randall House and snuck in bit of photoremedy.
Pine, AZ – photoremedy.me archives
Pine, AZ – photoremedy.me archives
Pine, AZ – photoremedy.me archives
Since we were not in a hurry, we also made a side trip to the historic Strawberry School. This diminutive log building is known as the oldest standing school in Arizona. It only operated as an “educational institution” between 1884 and 1916. After largely sitting idle for more than a half-century, local residents restored the school and it was formally dedicated as a Historical Monument in 1981. Thanks to a great group of volunteers, the Fossil Creek Road structure allows visitors a nostalgic opportunity to momentarily return to the days that preceded the education related technological advancements featured today.
I’ve driven past the Strawberry School turn off dozens of times, but I’m extremely thankful Mary and I finally slowed down and took such a glorious step back in time. Next time you find yourself being overly entertained by technology or even bored, make time to write a few new pages in your book – whether this requires traveling half a world away or right outside your door.
Photos and article by Greg W. Gilstrap –With time barrelling towards a new year, it’s once again time for our Photoremedy Photo of the Year contest. As with our previous two efforts, we are offering a Chicago-style approach to voting; that means you can ‘vote early and vote often.’ If you love a photo, follow the poll progress results and don’t be afraid to share it with your friends or to come back to register extra votes for good measure. Over 1,000 votes were registered last year.
Veterans Memorial – Anthem, Arizona (2012 Photo of the Year)
Our baker’s dozen 2013 list features South Carolina shots, a heart-wrenching procession, a black and white of one of America’s most famous farmers’ markets, and several pictures from a Seattle to Arizona summer tour. All of the pics were taken while pursuing photoremedy. Click on the ‘Background and Initial Post’ tab above for our working ‘photoremedy’ definition.
So, let’s get to it. Check out the options below, and then select the photograph that you feel is worthy of being crowned ‘Photoremedy Photo of the Year.’ The polling mechanism is offered at the bottom of this post. The contest closes at midnight MST, New Year’s Eve.
1. Man and the Birds My brother-in-law, Chris, spent time teaching me how to feed southern shore birds in early 2013. The only thing he forgot to teach me was how to do it without getting nailed by massive amounts of bird droppings (see May 2013 post). Since I’m the one that got nailed, this more aesthetically-pleasing photo is the shot that made our final list.
Man and the Birds
2. Charleston Boardwalk Charleston, SC’s Waterfront Park is one of the area’s most visited attractions. And, as I discovered in 2013, it offers spectacular sunrise and sunset photoremedy.
Charleston Boardwalk
3. Honoring Our Heroes In July, thousands of Arizonans flocked to the streets, highways, and overpasses that lined the way home for the 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Unit. The 19 perished when a wicked wind suddenly changed directions, and ferociously fanned the flames of a massive wildfire and left the Arizona heroes with no way out. The long line of white hearses begins in the top left hand corner of this photo.
Honoring Our Heroes
4. Frontage Road My hometown, Anthem, AZ, is a great place to experience the Old West meeting the New. This photo, taken just a couple of miles down a frontage road that leads to Anthem, demonstrates this entertaining phenomenon.
Frontage Road
5. Cold Beer with a View My bike riding days may be in the past, but I enjoyed tagging along with my buddy Pete this summer when he made the ride up to the Snow Bowl ski area north of Flagstaff. It offered me a lot of photoremedy. I particularly enjoyed this shot as Pete savored a cold beer at the end of the trail while looking out at storms forming between Snow Bowl and the Grand Canyon.
Cold Beer with a View
6. Man Outstanding in His Field Another Anthem friend, Dave, helped me get desert wild flower shots by allowing me to ride shotgun in his very cool Polaris Razor Jagged X. This photo was taken west of Interstate 17, about 10 miles north of Anthem.
Man Outstanding in his Field
7. Purple Gazanias Yes, yes I enjoy photographing flowers. I didn’t have to go any further then my side yard to capture this photograph. A little known fact about this patch of flowers? They are planted, and thriving, in a couple of old toilets that I’ve converted into flower ‘pots.’ They are in the side yard because Mary wouldn’t allow me to put them anywhere else!
Purple Gazanias
8. Cat Nap Our two cats occasionally get banished to the laundry room. It used to drive Stella nuts, but she has learned to cope if we leave the dryer door open.
Cat Nap
9. Pike Place Market We have spent a bit of time in Seattle this year, as our youngest son–Will–is now there attending the Academy of Interactive Entertainment. Every time I end up in Seattle, I manage to find a way to get to Pike Place Market. Not only is there great fresh produce and seafood featured, it is an awesome place to enjoy a heaping scoop of photoremedy. I felt like black and white photo development accentuates the fact that Pike Place Market is a timeless treasure.
Pike Place Market – Seattle, WA
10. Lake Union HDR Will lives just a few blocks from picturesque Lake Union. Not only is this another great Seattle attraction, I’ve found it to be an awesome place for capturing sunset photos for HDR imaging.
Lake Union HDR
11. Cannon Beach Mary and I took a very slow, leisurely drive from Seattle back to Arizona. Every time my back was killing me, we got out and stretched our legs. This provided a whole bunch of photoeremedy opportunities. What a blessing! The Oregon Coast proved to be perfect for this type of travel. I captured so many (of what I felt like were) memorable images. One of my favorites was this shot looking south over famous Cannon Beach.
Cannon Beach
12. A Walk in the (Ecola State) Park The above photo was taken at Ecola State Park, which is also where I captured the touching image below.
Ecola State Park
13. Truckee Wine Wall When we left Oregon, our trip took us through a bit of California and Nevada. We spent two nights in eclectic Truckee. The gloriously historic California destination features small town charm and this memorable wine wall.
Truckee Wine Wall
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