C4
Journey
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
ROAD TRIP 395
a challenging journey
By E.J. Harris
EO Media Group
W
e all need to be
challenged in order
to grow. Whether it
be a professional endeavor
or a passion project, it is by
challenging ourselves that
we are truly able to test our
mettle and become stronger.
In my photography, I go
through many peaks and val-
leys of growth. Sometimes
I feel as if I’m in these nev-
er-ending periods of stagna-
tion where I cannot honestly
tell whether I’m getting any
better at my craft, no matter
how hard I try to improve.
Then there are the times
it seems that every image
coming out of my camera
is golden and creating those
images seems effortless.
That is my artistic journey:
a bipolar roller coaster ride
of chasing the elusive highs
and dreading the impending
lows.
It is not easy on the soul.
The one constant through all
EO Media Group/E.J. Harris
Mile 209.4 - A bullet-riddled road sign in Seneca on Highway 395.
of it, though, is that I always
keep moving. Never afraid to
take a bad photo, and I have
more than a few of those.
So I recently talked my
editors into doing a project
Fly or Drive In
to Lands Inn
— a challenge if you will
— where on the summer sol-
stice I would drive the whole
length of Highway 395,
from the California border
to Umatilla, documenting
my journey along the way.
The only rules were that I
couldn’t stray too far from
the highway, and to get to
Umatilla by sunset. Secret-
ly though, I just thought it
would be a great way to get
my bosses to fund a road
trip. But the moment I was
given the go-ahead, the chal-
lenge began.
The first part of the chal-
lenge came in the form of
the enthusiasm my boss-
es had for the idea. “That’s
great, let’s take your idea
and make it bigger.” It went
from a simple lifestyle to a
Queen bed with full bath and shower.
3 solar-powered cabins.
Off-grid camping. 5 miles off Hwy 19.
EO Media Group/E.J. Harris
Mile 238.2 - A light fixture on the outside of the
Community Hall in Canyon City on Highway 395.
four-page spread on high-
bright paper. And it needs a
graphic element, of course.
Multi-media too. What had
started as a beautiful snow-
flake began to feel like it
morphed into an avalanche
and I was directly in its path.
The second part of the
challenge seemed to come
from the crippling anxi-
ety that afflicted my mind
for the month leading up to
the road trip. In my sleep
I would have apocalyptic
nightmares.
See TRIP, Page C5
T h
541-934-2333 • landsinn.net
e
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