When I started this portfolio in the fall of 2003, it was intended to be a Christmas present. I got most of it done, but never finished the words. Also, I was disappointed in the prints as most of them were stained in the process of toning. I recall being rather deflated after all that work. Fortunately, in the time that has passed, technology has come a long way, allowing me to totally rework this project and make it stronger in the end.
Nevertheless, I showed Connie the portfolio that Christmas with the promise that I would finish it. Well, as I write this, it is now August of 2006. I am not exactly sure why I have taken so long to complete this project — just stuff that happens along the way. But I also think there is part of me that was hesitant to finish, as it would be so final. Like reading the last page of a book you don’t want to end…
“My Travels with Connie” has been a remarkable period in my life—and we have amazing photographs and stories to prove it. I would like to think that we have at least one more trip to Europe together ahead of us. Whether it is revisiting the Rhineland or new travels to Scotland or Cisternan Abbeys of France, it just seems like something we should look forward to. Or perhaps, it is a trip to Prague, where it all started those many years ago.
