Filed Under General
Even though the Road Trip itself is technically over, this is not the end of the road…
Most likely we’ll post a few more pictures when each of us has had time to edit properly, and I have about two hours of video footage to download and knock into shape!
So stop by www.unhiproadtrip.com occasionally if you can – or subscribe to our RSS feed – we’ll have some more stuff for you over the coming weeks…
Filed Under General
No doubt many of the visitors to this blog will be fellow photographers – let’s face it, nobody else has enough free time to read this stuff 
– so I feel I should give you all a complete geeky technical rundown of the camera gear I will be using on the UnHipRoadTrip.
In all fairness I should warn those of you that might be of a nervous disposition that in keeping with the spirit of the event I will be using gear that is Extremely UnHip. Read on if you dare… Read the rest of this entry »
Filed Under General
We have a route. We have TWO GPS devices (just hope they don’t give us conflicting directions!) We have advice from a good friend…and we have a book!
Yep, our good friend Tammy Warnock (check out her website) and her husband Michael have offered us great guidance as they are very familiar with that part of the country. So, if it’s a success, it’s thanks to them!
I also found a book on my bookshelf that I had forgotten about. Laurent Martres’ Photographing the Southwest – Volume 2: A guide to the natural landmarks of Arizona will be our “print” guide.
Now, aside from that I’m just hoping Chris keeps the car on the RIGHT side of the road!
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So I have successfully negotiated the minefield of vehicle rental and obtained the use of a Jeep Liberty for the UnHipRoadTrip.
And it’s a big thank you Dollar Car Rentals for offering the best deal and also having the same kind of SUV that I drive at home, which is reassuring. I always find getting into a rental car a bit disconcerting as the controls are always reversed from my own car, so I start by putting the ashtray into reverse gear and lighting up the road ahead with the windshield wipers.
Actually, the rental details say the vehicle is a “Jeep Liberty or Similar” – I hope I don’t end up driving a Similar as I’ve had bad experiences with them in the past. I think Similars are made in one of those factories that used to turn out tanks for the Red Army – the view of the road ahead is through a narrow slit and you turn left or right by pulling on a lever and having your passenger lean out of the appropriate rear window.
We shall see. Maybe the 2008 model year Similars have had a facelift and an engine and gearbox licensed from Volkswagen – so perhaps I shall be pleasantly surprised…
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It’s all going awfully well.
We think we have a route (well, Mr. T does, at least – I have no clue), and we almost have a vehicle. We’ll be travelling in style (I hope) in some kind of SUV so that we can make intrepid detours off the highways into uncharted territory…
You would think that figuring out vehicle rental would be simple, but no. 
There are different rates depending on whether you rent from a concession at the airport, or elsewhere in town, which means I’ve been calculating whether it’s better to stay somewhere near the airport so I don’t need a car to get to and from the first and last hotels of the trip, or rent at the airport and drive further out of town to somewhere cheaper.
Plus there are deals on websites like Expedia, and discount codes to try. Plus you have to figure out if taxes are included or not.
So far I have six sheets of paper covered in notes….
But fear not – we will have wheels – hiking is not an option!
Filed Under General
Thanks for visiting! This site is all about a road trip – you probably guessed that from the title – which my friend and photographer colleague Jesus Tirso and I will be making in January 2009 in Arizona.
You can read more about who we are and where we’re located on the “About us” page – but the short version is that we are both moderators on the Digital Wedding Forum, an internet forum for wedding and portrait photographers, and decided to take a trip around Arizona for a few days before attending the DWF annual convention, which is happening in Phoenix AZ in January 2009.
That’s it really – no other reason for doing it – we’re going to drive around, see the country, shoot some photos and video, and generally have a good time.
Oh and why is it an “unhip” road trip? Well mainly because neither of us are young cool kids any more – if we ever were! So don’t expect any skateboarding videos or bungee-jumping into the Grand Canyon from us – just (hopefully) some nice images and a story or two along the way…
