My name is Mary Dreckman. I started MyCameraInHand.com to photographically document my travels, both near and far.
After nearly 40 years of living in Florida, Colorado, California, Texas, and Washington State, I am back home in Iowa, where I was born and raised. I have had a camera in my hand off and on for those 40 years. Work and family limited my photography and travel, but the spark was always there. Retirement enabled me the chance to travel and improve my photography skills.
I begin this journey during the 3rd wave of the Covid-19 epidemic. The Covid crisis has ended travel and forced isolation from so much of what, in 2019, we called “normal”. With vaccines on the horizon, I am sure the Old Days will return, but when is uncertain.
This down time has returned me to my travel journals to reread and refresh my memories of past travels. I have also spent time reflecting on what the future will be. I have traveled extensively, often solo, as my husband does not enjoy wanderlust as much as I. But when he does accompany me, he has been my loyal sherpa, wielding my heavy backpack and tripod, and never complaining about early mornings or late nights. He now suffers from dementia, so his memories are often momentary. All the more reason to document them. And I am failing in eye site, macular degeneration, which claimed the vision of both of my parents. My initial reaction was the urgency to see and photograph my entire bucket list. The Covid seclusion has led me back along the paths already traveled and allowed me to peacefully surrender to revisiting former journeys and waiting to see what lies in the future.
I hope you will join me on the journey.