Beating the Heat

Posted on August 29, 2013 by azgilstrap

Arizona’s incredibly diverse climate and topography never cease to amaze. On any given day, it can be scorching in one part of the state while it is glacial in another. This is what happens when desert rather abruptly collides with mountains. According to USA Today, Arizona’s high and low temperatures since 1970 have ranged from a low of -40°F to +128°F. Wow!

Before doctors discovered that a lumbar fracture was causing my vertebrae column to dangerously tumble over my tailbone in 2008, I used to enjoy beating the heat by working up a sweat in the cool country. It’s just a couple of hour drive from Anthem to the base of the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort in Flagtaff, where you can climb more than 1,800 feet in elevation on a six mile road. It’s a lot of work, but it is an awesome experience for bike riders. Plus the adult beverages rarely taste better than at the base of the ski lift.

In late June, on a day that featured rapidly changing weather conditions, I traveled up to Snowbowl with my buddy Pete. It was the first time I made this trip since my three back surgeries.

While it is becoming increasing obvious there is little chance I’ll be riding a bike again in this lifetime, I didn’t have time to do anything other than enjoy the experience. While Pete was hustling up (and down, as shown above) the mountain on his bike, I was elevated in spirit with incredibly diverse mountain top photoremedy. And, at the end of the trail, Pete got his beer and I got my Bloody Mary. It was a remarkable day, and an extraordinary way to beat the desert heat.

All of the photos below, and the images that support the photo art, were taken during our June Snowbowl trip. Just click on one of the smaller individual photos below to view in slide show mode.

Summer’s Two Gifts

Posted on August 9, 2013 by azgilstrap

A wise woman once said that relatives give you two gifts when they come to visit. One when they arrive, and one when they leave.

I feel the same way about what I consider to be the Metro Phoenix area’s summer period – when temperatures consistently rise above 100 degrees up to the period when temperatures consistently fall below 90 degrees. Forget the dates; it’s all about the heat. I love the sun and the warmth it radiates, but it can wear me out when temperatures are consistently rising above 110 degrees. As a result, I usually can’t wait for Arizona’s summer to both arrive and depart.

Those who live in Arizona’s higher elevation areas, obviously, may not feel the same way. I’ll write about that in an upcoming post.

Interestingly enough, many of the flowers (both wild and of the garden variety) that color our desert landscape appear to react very similarly to me. They tend to thrive in the spring, and eventually wilt as the mercury rises.

A sample of some of the wild- and garden-related flower photos I’ve been able to capture this year is featured below. The garden photos come from my garden.

Special thanks to my buddy Dave and his very cool Polaris Razor Jagged X for helping me with the wild flower images. Dave and his high-performance off-road vehicle (I jokingly call it a jalopy) got me to beautiful back country to which few get the opportunity to travel. Just click on one of the smaller individual photos below to view in slide show mode.

: Purple Gazanias

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.

Honoring Our Heroes

Posted on July 7, 2013 by azgilstrap

Today, thousands of Arizonans flocked to the streets, highways, and overpasses that lined the way home for the nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshot Unit that lost their lives one week ago today near Yarnell, Arizona. They perished when a wicked wind suddenly changed directions, and ferociously fanned the flames of a massive wildfire. The way the wind changed was unprecedented; it left our home state heroes with no way out.

I cannot imagine a way that a community can repay such a sacrifice, but I was proud of my Grand Canyon State brothers and sisters. Many got out of their cars and endured 110+ degree temperatures.

Many cried, some waved flags, and others–like me–documented a scene they hope to never see again. The line of white hearses was just so incredibly long.

This blog highlights some of the ways that photography helps many move their minds away from focusing on chronic pain and other ailments. I was able to take pictures of today’s procession, but it offered no remedy. It simply provided an opportunity to reflect and to say ‘thank you’ to all Americans who selflessly dedicate themselves to efforts to protect others.

The Firefighter’s Pledge – “I promise concern for others. Willingness for those in need. I promise courage – courage to face and conquer my fears and courage to share and endure the ordeal of those who need me. I promise strength – strength of heart to bear whatever burdens might be placed upon me and strength of body to deliver safety to all those placed within my care. I promise the wisdom to lead, the compassion to comfort, and the love to serve unselfishly whenever I am called.” – Author unknown

Sunflower as High as an Elephant’s Eye

Posted on June 29, 2013 by azgilstrap

The legendary 1943 Broadway musical “Oklahoma” featured the magical Rodgers and Hammerstein hit song Oh What a Beautiful Morning, a tune later made famous by actor/singer Gordon MacRae when the play was adapted into a 1955 Academy Award winning movie.

Even though the play and movie soundtracks predate me by a number of years, they were still popular when I was a youngster. Some of the movie’s most famous song lyrics–“the corn is as high as an elephant’s eye”–keep coming to mind, ironically, when I step into my backyard this summer. That’s because a sunflower seed I tossed into the garden outside our master bedroom window in February has now grown into a plant that is roughly as high as an elephant’s eye.

Oddly enough, I planted the seed in an attempt to bring a bit of Kansas (the Sunflower State) to Arizona. Because of our family’s Kansas roots, most of the Arizona Gilstraps love sunflowers. The cover photo of our travel book, Being Amanda in Europe, even featured Amanda and a bushel of sunflowers.

I just didn’t anticipate this spectacularly beautiful annual would grow so exceptionally well in the Sororan Desert. Our sunflower plant is now roughly eight feet tall. If it keeps thriving, we’ll look for it to provide ongoing photoremedy, and even PhotoArt, opportunities.

PhotoArt by Greg

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.

Butterfly Wonderland

Posted on June 18, 2013 by azgilstrap

Having our Grandson Emmett all to ourselves for a few hours last week proved to be a great opportunity to check out one of Arizona’s newest attractions – Scottsdale’s Butterfly Wonderland.

Butterfly Wonderland features America’s largest butterfly atrium. Butterflies from farmers–as far away as Costa Rica, Malaysia, Ecuador, Thailand and the Philippines–appear to be living the good life inside the 10,000 square foot facility.

The holometabolous insects are quite friendly. In fact some of them appeared to be quite interested in “dating” Mary, or at least her talking her out of her shirt!

Photo by Mary Gilstrap

A specially-edited 3D version of “Flight of the Butterflies” is a can’t miss part of the experience. I must admit I had a hard time following the narration because the 3D butterflyeffects were so captivating I had to keep turning to Mary and Emmett to say, “That is so cool!”

After the movie, 17-month old Emmett was enthralled the minute we hit the conservatory. It captured his attention for good reason. The butterflies were everywhere!

It didn’t take long for Emmett to decide he was ready to move on. Fortunately, he found other wonders to capture his attention.

That gave me just a bit more time to enjoy some fabulous photoremedy.

All in all, it was a great outing. We hope to be back soon. Perhaps next time we will be able to bring both of the grand kids. I cannot promise it will be twice as much fun, but at least there will be twice as many tiny toes!

First pitch video remedy

Posted on October 11, 2012 by azgilstrap

By Andrew Gilstrap

It isn’t every day that somebody you know wins the lottery. Or throws the first pitch in an MLB game. Well, my dad and I can claim the latter now.

Our neighbor and good friend, John Perez, a.k.a. ‘JP,’ a.k.a. ‘Johnny,’ got selected to throw out the first pitch before a Chicago Cubs and Arizona Diamondbacks game here in Phoenix at Chase Field. It was a Friday night game and one of the last of the MLB’s regular season.

Unsure of whether the pitch would be televised for Johnny’s friends in the neighborhood, my dad and I, already planning to go to the game with Johnny and his family, brought along a Handycam and my semi-new, high-end Canon SLR camera. We were more than happy to do the visual production for the evening.

Perez (center, green shirt) waits patiently with his family before the start of the game.

My dad shot the video for Johnny’s first pitch, and I had my first real opportunity to test out the shutter speed on my camera.

Once he was summoned to the mound, it all happened and was over quickly. My dad asked, “He threw a strike, huh?”

I couldn’t even verify. I was so caught up in capturing the moment that I didn’t really pay attention to the result.

Perez’s pitch easily gets over the plate.

Although I love having a new, powerful camera in my hands, the real joy out of all this was getting to produce a couple short videos of Johnny’s moment. If you haven’t already, watch the video at the top of this post. The second video can be found here. Be sure to watch ’em both in HD.

Perez winds up.

One video utilizes all the still photos I took. The other consists of the video from the Handycam my dad shot, which was obviously easier to edit. I gave each a different flavor, adding transitions and music to both.

For me, working to make videos was like therapy. Amid a chaotic final semester while working on my master’s degree, it was nice to get my mind off school and make something that our neighborhood friends would appreciate. It was great seeing the feedback the videos got on Facebook and seeing comments like, “Thanks for documenting it for the rest of us.”

Prior to the game, Johnny with his two daughters and CenturyLink co-worker, Alex.

I know it was a special moment for Johnny, his family, and his company (CenturyLink), and I hope at least one of my videos is worthy of commemorating the moment for years to come. Because, although I don’t know anyone who has won the lottery, I now know someone who has done something close on the scale of luck. Johnny was called to the big stage, and he delivered.

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