Final Chapter

Posted on February 8, 2016 by azgilstrap

In the Fall of 2011, we started this little blog with the goal of sharing what photography has meant to me as I battle chronic pain associated with a failed back and psoriatic arthritis that has camped out in as many as 43 of my joints.

I wanted to share that the creative pleasure, and frequent thrill, associated with photography and photo-based digital arts has been a near inconceivable tool for helping me to move my mind and focus away from the pain. My overriding goal has been for photoremedy.me to help those in comparable circumstances. Who doesn’t want to help others climbing similar mountains?

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Rancho Mirage, California

Along my blogging way, I have found that I also enjoy sharing my art with others.

Unfortunately, 2015 was a rough year for my pain levels and the medical procedures and testing have temporarily wore me down a bit. Compounding this, I’ve found that typing and editing posts like this are particularly brutal for my cervical and lumbar areas. As a result, I’m changing things up. I’m going to keep taking and developing (what I hope are) interesting photos, but this will be –for now– the final official chapter for photoremedy.me. As this effort winds down, I’m happy to report that a new pursuit begins.

My Grandpa Dude will be an electronic gallery of sorts for both my new and classic photography-based art efforts. I’m not planning on doing any of the writing that has caused me –and probably more than a few photoremedy.me readers– excessive pain. It’s simply designed to be a creative outlet, while serving as an example of where the pursuit of photoremedy might lead others. Where does the name come from? Check out my full explanation at http://mygrandpadude.com/about. Here’s a short bit of it:

While My Grandpa Dude will consume more of my time, I plan on working with WordPress to hopefully change the current photoremedy.me site from one that begins with the “Blog Background and Initial Post” and follows with posts in the order they were created. I hope to make it read more like a book, while continuing to make it a resource for people looking for new ways to win their own battles with health challenges. And, hopefully, it will help communicate (in a small way) that people can gain new abilities as previous attributes fade away.

Photoremedy.me has been incredibly enjoyable for me. Thank you to all of my awesome family members who have helped bring life to this blog and thank you to all who have encouraged me in my blogging and even suggested I had something valuable to share. God bless you; I hope to see you regularly on MyGrandpaDude.com!

– Greg (a.k.a. Grandpa Dude)

Happy New Year – And The Winner Is…

Posted on January 1, 2016 by azgilstrap

Special thanks to all who participated in our 2015 Photoremedy Image of the Year Poll. As always, we had a lot of fun with it and we recorded the second highest number of votes in the five year history of the contest. As the contest rolled on, two images jumped out to an early lead and frequently jockeyed for the lead.

2) Houmas House Plantation – Vacherie, LA

Fall City, WA – 2015 Image of the Year

In the end, the Fall City fall foliage image pulled away from Houmas House plantation and recorded the win. In a Facebook comment, one of my Arizona friends may have best explained why Fall City eventually recorded over 35-percent of the vote. Matt said, “These are both outstanding! The bottom one (Fall City) is prettier to me but the top one (Houmas) is more mysterious.”

Fall City, WA – 2015 Image of the Year

I’d like to give the incredibly humble photographer all of the credit for this image, but the truth of the matter is I happened to be in Fall City on the perfect fall day. I guess this proves, once again, how important timing and the recognition of beauty are in stimulating the process of taking (and making) great images.

Here’s to making 2016 the best year of our lives. May all of us recognize what is beautiful in our lives and may we make the most of what our good and gracious Lord provides. Cheers!

Photoremedy is primarily based on the role that photography has played in helping me combat ongoing chronic pain issues that stem from my degenerative cervical and lumbar spine challenges and severe psoriatic arthritis. It is designed to encourage others fighting chronic pain (and other illnesses) to consider pursuing the benefits associated with moving their minds from the pain in their lives to the beauty that surrounds them. It’s important to note that many of the photos I take and develop 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.

Zane Grey RV Park

Posted on September 13, 2015 by azgilstrap

Our summer series featuring a few of the great RV parks and resorts in (or near) Arizona’s Verde Valley continues with a look at some of the photoremedy we enjoyed while staying an hour or so to the north of our Anthem, Arizona home. This post features one of the most lovingly maintained parks we’ve come across – Zane Grey, located to the southeast of Camp Verde.

Zane Grey RV Park

While staying at Zane Grey, we explored Clear Creek, the historic Clear Creek Church, colorful Camp Verde, and the mountain top charm of the Pine and Strawberry areas.

Camp Verde, AZ

Clear Creek Church – near Camp Verde, AZ

Clear Creek at Zane Grey RV

Clear Creek wildflowers at Zane Grey

Strawberry School – photoremedy.me archives

Arizona’s oldest standing schoolhouse – photoremedy.me archives

Pine, AZ – photoremedy.me archives

Sidewinders – Pine, Arizona

Up next, we’ll conclude our series with a look at Quail Ridge RV Park, the hidden secrets of Montezuma’s Well, and photoremedy enjoyed while visiting Verde Valley farms.

National Park Service’s Montezuma Well

Note: photoremedy.me is published as a labor of love. Please feel free to share the site, or any of our posts, with others. Our Home Page always features an option for our readers to sign up to immediately receive new material as an email. We hope you will become a part of our photoremedy network.

The Heat is On

Posted on August 11, 2015 by azgilstrap

Mary and I have adopted a new approach this year to combating Arizona’s annual ‘fry your hands (among other things) on the steering wheel’ season. We’ve been ‘Rving it,’ alternating between roughly two weeks in the mountains about an hour to the north of our Anthem, AZ home and then approximately two weeks back home. It’s an ideal situation, as the temperatures generally drop significantly as we head north and we are close enough to make day trips back for medical appointments (there have been a bunch this year) and family matters.

Not only has it helped us beat (and appreciate) the heat, it has also provided awesome photoremedy opportunities.

Clear Creek Church – Camp Verde, AZ

We have at stayed three different campgrounds and are happy to report they all have a lot to offer.

Quail Ridge http://www.quailridgervpark.com/

Quail Ridge RV Park

Zane Grey RV Park http://zanegreyrvpark.com/

Zane Grey RV Park

Clear Creek Trail – At Zane Grey RV Park

Clear Creek – Near Zane Grey RV Park

Verde Valley Thousand Trails http://www.thousandtrails.com/arizona/verde-valley

Verde Valley RV Resort

Each of these parks are located no more than 20 minutes or so from Camp Verde. Even better, they are also a short drive from several awesome visitor destinations and extremely photogenic areas. Over the next few weeks, many of the photographs captured during our in-state summer pursuits will be featured. Stay cool and stay tuned.

Summer Storm – Near Verde Valley Thousand Trails RV Resort

Great Tavern Food

Posted on June 16, 2015 by azgilstrap

Last June, we featured the rapidly growing, cool-country vacation and retirement centers of Pine and Strawberry in north-central Arizona. Mary and I enjoyed the heat-beating benefits of the historic region so much that we’ve already found our way back there this year for a little more photoremedy and food.

Pine, Arizona

Our recent visit provided us with the added benefit of allowing us to catch up with our old friend, Maher Hazine.

Maher Hazine

We’ve known Maher, and his wife Kim, since we all began attending the same Anthem-area church many years ago. Both Maher and Kim were tireless volunteers, with Maher frequently seen flipping burgers or dogs at many church festivals and feasts. At the time, we did not know just how much he loved feeding people good food in a friendly environment. Today, the Hazines are the proprietors of Sidewinders Tavern and Grill in Pine.

Sidewinders – Pine, Arizona

It’s an awesome fit. Great food and friends is just another reason for us to keep returning to Pine, Arizona.

Sidewinders – Pine, Arizona

Sidewinders’ Habanero Wings

Sidewinders’ Sliders

Sidewinders’ Pastrami Burger

Sidewinders – Pine, Arizona

Laura Plantation

Posted on April 18, 2015 by azgilstrap

Northwest of the magnificent New Orleans metropolitan area, mostly located along the fertile banks of the expansive Mississippi River, lie a number of lovingly restored historic mansions and plantation grounds. During our Louisiana trip this year, Mary and I were able to wade in the culture, history, and captivating photoremedy of this breathtaking region.

Laura Plantation – Near Vacherie, Louisiana

Our travels took us to three spectacular holdings. Our first stop was Laura Plantation – a restored historic Creole plantation near Vacherie, Louisiana. The photo opportunities–and guided tour–at Laura featured stories associated with the following.

The Plantation House