Our Story

As a genuinely curious child, I grew up blessed to have considerable travel experiences.  I vividly recall ancient sites such as Pompei, the Great Pyramid of Egypt; gorgeous panoramic scenes spanning from the jagged, violent Chilean Coast to the of seemingly endless worlds of the Mediterranean Sea, to the wild and raw Okavango Delta, to the lush countryside of Italy and France; to rich cultures of Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and Istanbul. My one great regret throughout all of these travels was not being able to capture it and take it with me.  Some sights are bigger than words and wider than stories. You can probably guess where this is headed… As eye-opening and experience-broadening as these travels were, I could not help but be enthralled by the call of the American West.  Even though I had several experiences out West growing up, each trip left me wanting more.  The shear vastness of space seemingly devoid of people provided a foundation for the continued curiosity of history of the American West.  Although fascinated by stories of Cowboys and Indians, they did not satisfy my thirst for history.  I needed to see sights that had been untouched and unspoiled by the graffiti of modern culture.  Never even considering pursuing photography, my mother let borrow her what to me at that point in time was the nicest piece of equipment I had ever held in 2008, the Canon EOS Rebel.  I hopped in a 03 Volvo S60 armed with camping equipment, a camera, and the excitement of the “what may come,” and limited by narrowing window of time and tightening of funds before I had to get “a real job” in the finance industry after graduating from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Still at that point in time, the pursuit of photography was nowhere in mind.  I had never held a camera, much less knew how to use one, but figured “how hard could it be?”  Soon I found myself taking hundreds and thousands of out of focus images with the exposures dark as night or blown out by sunlight, with apertures an ISOs completely all over the map without any consistency.  Instead of taking the time to learn how to use this tool, I toyed with it for hundreds of hours, fiddling with buttons, turning dials, searching for angles.  After one month, thousands of miles, summertime temperatures ranging from 120 to 40 (which was mind blowing for a kid from Texas who had only packed shorts and T-shirts),  and visiting sites stretching from Sedona, Highway 101, Mt. St. Helens, and many, many more, I ended up with 6 photos out of 10k that I was proud of.  Never being one to showboat, I would try to sneak in the opportunity to show people one or two of the six images when telling others about my trip.  Although admittingly they were still not “good” by any means, the responses I received made one thing clear: that I had a “natural eye” for photography. This trip had been the absolute worst traveling experience of my life.  It had blazed a path for pursuit of one of the most expensive hobbies imaginable in a field that I had absolutely no knowledge of or experience in.  It had left an insatiable hunger for unseen sights, the allure of the unknown, and the quest to return home with images that could properly convey the grandeur of what I had discovered.  I was hooked and couldn’t wait to do it again!  Over 15 years later, I still find myself on this journey devoting countless hours, investing a not so small fortune, and only God knows how many miles to a “hobby;” even still, I do not do it to for money or for recognition or for approval. I have sacrificed a lot for this “hobby,” but I wouldn’t have it any other way because the reward is the experience itself.  I love traveling, but rarely find myself on a plane or in a hotel.  I’d much rather take the scenic route, pulling my camper and sleeping under the stars.   We all know that traveling is about the journey, not the destination. But just to take that a little further, I believe Dave Eggers said it best in that “Essential to travel is the participation in it, the witnessing of passage, the belief in progress.”  So far be it for me to give advice, but there is one thing I have found to be consistently worthwhile, but I feel it is a responsibility of mine to encourage everyone to consider this advice. If you are not in a rush (which I do realize is seemingly becoming less and less these days), take the scenic route. If the stars align and you can afford to do so, take a left down a road you’ve never heard of nor have any clue as to where it leads.  GET LOST (as long as you can retrace your tracks) because eventually you will s stumble across beauty and awe and majesty on a path you never knew existed (think Louis and Clark’s first glimpse of the Pacific).  And when you do, you will experience a sense of profound fulfillment and satisfaction that had previously been unimaginable to you.  And then pass those coordinates along to me at joseph@redtailimages.com      

P.S. Above all, stay kind. It can make a stranger’s day, but more importantly, it’s effective and spreads faster and more efficiently than any pandemic.  Now there’s a thought for you: a kindness pandemic, and it all starts with each and every one of us making the effort to not be a jerk, but instead give a smile or a wave or a kind word to someone you don’t know yet. Through  this, we can avoid contributing to the these dark times and rather participate in the restructuring of society to one of truth, transparency, and love.