2017-06-23
0

Road Trip Logger Available

Tags : camera description expenses mileage Road Trip Logger Available tracking

Road Trip Logger Available

What is a Road Trip Logger? In preparation for this epic trip I came up with a book for logging miles… and then I added expenses… and then I added photos. I call it the Road Trip Logger. It’s available at Lulu Press. Here’s the link:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/d-brent-walton/road-trip-logger/paperback/product-23222984.html

Inside

Inside you will find 3 pages for each day. Here are descriptions of each page:

Record your start location, start mileage, date, end mileage and ending location, as well as a description of your expenses. There’s an additional column if you’re traveling with a companion. At the bottom of the expense table you can total the columns and calculate the difference. It also tracks the method of payment (i.e. Visa, Cash, MC, etc.)
The next page is for tracking your stops. You can record long/lat coordinates, marker mileage, car mileage, and add a description. For example…
- -87.6242613, 41.8795402, 0 miles, 3457 miles, Start of Route 66 in Chicago, IL
The 3rd page of the day is for logging photos. A description of the photo, which camera use used, starting frame number, your flash card used (I number my cards before a trip), and a check box for when you backup the card. It’s not meant to document EVERY frame shot, but when you start a new location or subject.

There are 87 pages which means it covers 29 days. (Yeah… I was hoping for 31 to cover an entire month, but the printer’s limitations were 87 pages max.)

2017-06-19
0

A Day on Route 66

Tags : A Day on Route 66 exciting published schedule sunrise sunset

Category : Uncategorized

A Day on Route 66

When I tell people about this project, they wonder what Paul and I will be doing for 30+ days. A day on Route 66 will go something like this…

5:15 a.m. (i.e. about 1 hour before sunrise): Paul and I will rise so we can be there to capture the rising sun over whatever city we’re in at the time.
6:15 a.m. (approx. sunrise): We’ll be out on Route 66 taking photos as dawn breaks on Route 66
7:30 a.m. Grab breakfast at a local Route 66 diner
9:00 a.m. Get ready to move on to our next location
10:00 a.m. We’ll motor on down the road shooting as we go
noon – lunch at a Route 66 diner
1:00 p.m. This isn’t the best time of day to shoot, so we’ll use this to rest and relax, get images backed up, etc.
4:00 p.m. Looking for a diner to eat dinner at, and shooting pictures as we look
6:00 p.m. Out shooting on Route 66 to catch the sunset
8:00 p.m. Taking some night shots on Route 66 to catch those neon signs
9 – 10:00 p.m. Call it a day after publishing our blogs and vlogs for the day.

Cool Springs on Route 66

Time

Time isn’t cast in stone. As we journey much of our schedule will be determined by what we see, and how long it takes to photograph it. I hope we can stick to our published schedule, but there might be some give and take. There are parts of the country I haven’t explored and they could be boring, or they could be exciting. As a result, we won’t know until the time arrives.

You also lose track of time when you are photographing something of interest. Therefore, we could get sidetracked while photographing something and set our entire schedule off by a couple of hours.

2017-06-14
0

Black Tape and Non-Sponsors

Tags : 2TB drives Automobile transportation Black Tape and Non-Sponsors camera bags cameras equipment gasoline Internet access Laptops lighting loaner car masking tape rental cars

Category : Uncategorized

Black Tape and Non-Sponsors

What’s black tape and who are non-sponsors? Those are two questions I will answer today. Keep reading to find out more.

Black tape sounds like it is related to red tape, but it’s not as complicated as red tape. In this case black tape is black masking tape. We’ve all seen that blue stuff they sell in the paint section of the hardware store. Think of that, but only think of it as jet black.

This is a great marketing and advertising opportunity. It’s unique.

Route 66 and Black Tape

What the scrud does black does black tape have to do with Route 66?

Black Tape In Use

Black tape is what all of our equipment will have over the logos of the equipment we use. Just like in TV shows when you see someone shooting a dSLR camera and you can’t see what brand it is… yeah… that’s what black masking tape was invented for – covering logos.

This resolves an issue of unauthorized use of trademarks. The resolution to this is simple…

If you want us to show your equipment and talk about it, you want to sponsor us. Sponsorships start at $100 and go up to $3000, and are accepted in trade or kind. (Note, sponsorships in kind must be of equipment that we can use on the trip.)

Non-Sponsors

Non-sponsors are those who are not supporting this venture. As we travel along, if you change your mind about sponsorship, you can shoot us an e-mail.

So, let’s think about this…

Suppose Brent has $5000 worth of camera around his neck, and black masking tape is covering all the branding on the camera. He’s photographing a model at an iconic location and someone wonders, “What camera is he using? Those images are great!”

As a result, those would-be buyers will be left in the dark. Sad, isn’t it?

Easy Resolution

The resolution is easy. Here is how you get us to remove the black tape. Because trademarks and logos can be touchy situations, please read carefully…

We need a letter authorizing and releasing us from any liability associated with display your logo and trademarks as displayed on your equipment.
You need to sponsor our Route 66 2017 Tour. He’s a brief summary of what it takes…
- $100 gives you a mention on one specific day of our tour, and we remove the black tape starting on that day, and for the remainder of the trip.
- Additional $100 contributions give you additional mention. $100/day. (Mention means we specifically mention your product and company name during our daily video and in our blog. We will include links too.)
- $3000 gives you exclusive daily mention for the entire trip. We will mention your company/products daily. We will not mention any competitor in that category. (See below for a list of categories.)
- The amounts listed above can be in the form of a company check (must be received by 8/20/2017), a gift card (i.e. Visa gift card), or in kind (i.e. give us the equipment you want us to use. Retail value will be considered the same as cash.).
- AND… most importantly… Each day you sponsor you receive license to USE ANY OF OUR PUBLISHED IMAGES SHOT ON THAT DAY. (We will provide you with a download code to download them and use them to promote your company.) Why would we do this when a license like this normally cost as much as $1000/image? Because we want to get people excited about Route 66.

Let’s Make This Clear

Tags : Asleep at the Wheel birthday birthplace Let's Make This Clear Route 66 sponsors

Category : Uncategorized

Let’s Make This Clear

Let’s make this clear — this is not your a typical road trip. Our Route 66 Tour is going to be very comprehensive. I’ve studied other Route 66 websites and books, and if you have interest in Route 66, you’ll want to follow our adventures.

I’ll bet after a couple of days on the road we’ll be hearing from would-have-been-sponsors. Don’t regret this chance. Now is the time to set up and get on board.

The Plan to Make this Work

We realize there are many of you who will never get to drive Route 66. You’re Americana fans, but for various reasons you’ll never drive the Mother Road. The plan is for us to provide you with an armchair experience of traveling Route 66.

Our days will be half filled with shooting, and the remainder filled with driving, uploading images and video, and writing about our experiences. That’s why we estimate it will take us more than 30 days to complete!

For Sponsors

For sponsors that means 30+ days of advertising. But, not just any advertising. Our plan is to present your products or services in context with our trip.

Let me give you an example…

Let’s suppose your company (we’ll call you Best Widgets) sponsors for a day (i.e. $100 level). That night people following us will see, hear or read, “Hey, we’d like to thank Best Widgets for providing us with one of their widgets today. Here’s a photo Paul took using the Best Widget. We’ve fallen in love with Best Widget and thank them for their sponsoring our lodging last night. Without people like the people at Best Widget this journey wouldn’t be what it is – spectacular.”

For Interested Individuals

Let’s say you’re not a company, but want to help us make this a success. We’ll be happy to mention you too. Just send us your sponsorship and tell us how you want to be mentioned.

Here are some individual ideas…

Sponsor us for the date of a friend or loved one’s birthday. Have us wish them a happy birthday.
Pick a location and sponsor us for the day we’re in that location. It could be a family member’s birthplace, for example. Tell us what’s important about that location and who your message is for and we’ll make sure they get the attention you want them to have.
Sponsor us for a specific location and tell us what you want to see at that location. For example, you may have wondered about the TeePee Motel. Sponsor us for that location and tell us what you want to see while we are there.
- Example: “A special shout-out to Bob for sponsoring us today. Bob wanted to know more about the TeePee Motel so here’s a visual tour just for Bob.”
You might want a postcard from a specific location. Let us know when you sponsor us. We’ll send you a postcard with a handwritten note thanking you for your contribution to our trip.

You can provide sponsorship via GoFundMe.

For Your Entertainment

For your entertainment, here’s one of the best Route 66 renditions by Asleep at the Wheel (live)…

2017-05-29
0

Memorial Day

Tags : funding gofundme Labor Day Memorial Day Nation Sponsorship Vets

Category : Uncategorized

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day to remember fallen Vets who fought to protect this great nation. I salute and honor them. They gave their all for us.

Summer

Memorial Day is also a bookmark on the start of the summer season. It is around the time of year school gets out, weather grows warmer, and we all start thinking about the warm days of summer.

At the other end of summer sits Labor Day. It bookmarks the end of the summer season. School starts and people think of getting ready for autumn and the cooler months that follow.

Our Choice

It was Paul’s and my choice to leave after Labor Day. We’re doing this is hopes to avoid bigger crowds. In addition, we want cooler weather as we drive through the southeastern states.

This 30+ day venture will be leisurely. We’re figuring about 2 hours driving maximum per day. The rest of the time will be photographing and capturing video of Route 66.

Some of that time might be spent searching too. There are sections of Route 66 that are not part of a contiguous route. We intend to find them too.

You can help finance our trip through sponsorship: https://www.gofundme.com/route-66-tour-2017

2017-05-27
0

Casting Call

Tags : Casting Call Models release Route 66

Category : Arizona , California , Illinois , Missouri , New Mexico , Oklahoma , Preparing , Route 66 , Sponsors , Sponsorships , Texas

Casting Call

This is sort of a casting call. Paul and I are looking for people to photograph as we travel Route 66. You don’t have to be a professional model. In fact, you don’t have to be a model at all. (Although, models are always welcome!) Also, you could be a guy with a very cool car and want pictures of your car. That’s cool too.

For models, we encourage you to dress for where you plan to meet us. If you plan to meet us at a 50s diner, dress in 50s attire. But, you don’t have to play dress up for the shoot.

If you’re a car or motorcycle owner, you can have your picture taken with your car (or motorcycle) or just the car/motorcycle by itself. This is a chance to make your car/motorcycle famous… and possible you too.

How This Works

Here is how this works…

Look at our travel plans at http://route66photographers.com/dates/
If there is a day and location that works for you to meet up with us, contact me at brent@route66photographers.com and let me know the day and location.
In your e-mail, include the following:
- Your name
- The best phone number to reach you at (and let us know if you accept text messages)
- A picture of yourself so we’ll recognize you
- A short paragraph of why you are meeting us at the Route 66 location.
When the day gets close (1-2 days before) we will contact you and let you know if we are running ahead or behind schedule.
You must be flexible on the time of day. We are driving from Chicago to L.A. over a 30+ day period.
When we meet, you’ll have to sign a release.
We’ll take a few pictures (it won’t take very long). We’ll shoot until we get some good usable photos
That night, you’ll see your picture on our blog, social media pages and/or in our vlog.
We’ll e-mail you copies of the pictures we publish.

Standing on a Corner in Winslow, Arizona

We Cannot

We cannot photograph minor children without a parent signing a release. And, we cannot photograph minor children without the parents being present the entire time.
We cannot offer financial compensation for your modeling. This isn’t that type of venture.
We cannot guarantee we will agree to meet up with everyone. Schedules are very nebulous for our tour. We will not leave you in the lurch if we say we will meet you, but if we have to cancel, we’ll do so at least 24 hours in advance. (We’d expect the same from you.)
We cannot provide “copyrights” to the images. That would involve legal fees and involving lawyers. But, we will give you license to share whatever files we send to you on social media, your personal website, and e-mail them to friends and family. If you want prints, we are partnering with Bay Photo Labs. You’ll be able to order professional prints at www.dbwalton.com.

Summary

In summary, this casting call is simply… we want to meet you and photograph you as we take this epic journey.

2017-04-24
1

A Bit Over Four

Tags : Colors Comprehensive Four Nature Route 66 Sights Smells Teepee Motel Wildlife

Category : Preparing , Route 66 , Sponsors , Sponsorships

A Bit Over Four

A bit over four months before our epic Route 66 Tour. Paul and I met for lunch today and discussed what is going to make our Route 66 Trip different than any other Route 66. I didn’t even have to think about that answer.

The answer: It will be comprehensive from end to end.

Meaning…

Comprehensive means we’re going to cover every mile of the Mother Road. Even if it seems like a long and boring stretch, we’re going to tell you about it. I know, that sounds boring, but trust me, it won’t be.

The Goal…

The goal being you’ll be able to take our blog and use it as a comprehensive guide to Route 66. Hmmm… that has me thinking I should develop a standard so you can search specifics.

For example, I want you to be able to search for “Route 66 mile 344”, and receive a result from our blog that tells you exactly what to expect at mile 344. You then will be able to follow any section of Route 66 and turn to us as your guide. Another example is you could enter “Teepee Motel” and find out exactly where it is.

The Plan…

The plan is to let you see more than just snapshots along the way. I will show you the people, food, colors, nature, wildlife and anything else we cross along the way. Each day will be jam-packed with information and images. If I could capture the smells, I’d do that too.

For Your Listening Pleasure…

2017-02-23
0

Children on the Road

Tags : books Children on the Road puzzles quizzes scavenger hunt

Category : Arizona , Route 66

Children on the Road

Road trips with the family are especially fun. My first venture on Route 66 was by happenstance. We had a car full of children and saw a sign, “Historic Route 66 – Next Exit.” So, we took it. With children on the road you need to keep them entertained. Route 66 accomplished that.

Grand Canyon – A Short Detour off Route 66

We also took a short detour to the Grand Canyon. None of us had seen it before, myself included.

Keeping Them Occupied

Keeping the children occupied is always a challenge. My wife makes up puzzles (oh, and she published her first puzzle book. Click here.) I would make quizzes and scavenger hunt pages. All of these go in to a folder — one for each child. This keeps them occupied between stops.

Thank You Nicole

Thank you Nicole for bringing to our attention a very nice Route 66 overview. Nicole’s mom e-mailed me a link to this very cool page.

https://www.titlemax.com/resources/unforgettable-road-trips-in-america/

On that page is this link to a nice end-to-end overview:

http://www.ridingroute66.us/Content/Download/CarTour14DayItineraryTour1.pdf

Their family is planning a road trip and found our website and sent us a nice thank you email and found our site of value for planning their trip. Nicole’s mom is thinking of creating a blog for their trip. When she does, we will definitely feature it here.

2017-02-17
0

Before Decommissioning

Tags : Before Decommissioning Chicago communities L.A.people Road Trip Route 66 virtual

Category : Arizona , California , Daily Updates , Illinois , Missouri , New Mexico , Oklahoma , Route 66 , Texas

Before Decommissioning

This video shows portions of Route 66 before decommissioning. The video is an hour and 45 minutes long, but it presents a good overview of Route 66. It’s worth watching…

I like how this video presents the people and communities. While it is from the 1980s, it presents the importance of Route 66 and it’s place in history. Imagine riding a bus for a week while traveling from Chicago to L.A. Today, people fly. Back then people couldn’t afford to fly, so they took the bus.

Bloody 66, Mother Road, and other nicknames have been given this highway. Because you cannot drive it end-to-end any more, few people get off the Interstate to drive it. That’s why we’re driving it.

Our Tour

Our tour will be spread out over a month. We know many of you will never get a chance to drive Route 66. For this reason we want to provide you with a virtual road trip along Route 66.

Paul and Brent plan to stop at every significant attraction – man made or natural. Come night time, if we have access to the Internet, our pictures and videos will go online. Our blog will post here along with links to our videos and social media posts. We will also Tweet updates as they happen — signal strength permitting.

2017-02-15
0

Daniel Talevi

Tags : contemporary artists Daniel Talevi Ivy Markaity Legends of America Tascam digital recorder vlog

Category : Route 66 , Sponsorships

Daniel Talevi

I dig this guy’s guitar playing. Daniel Talevi has a great style and makes the Route 66 Song swing. Ivy Markaity adds her vocals… great job you two!

I wonder if any of these contemporary artists would like to meet us on Route 66. I could mic them with my Tascam digital recorder, put my camera in video mode, and add that to our vlog.

If any of you artists are listening, you have an open invitation to meet us along Route 66. We’ll provide the photos and video and you provide the music.

More Trivia

Here is more trivia for you…

Of the original Route 66 pavement, Oklahoma contains the most. I find this surprising because I would think Arizona or New Mexico would hold that record, but I trust the folks at Legends of America have their facts correct.

What Driving Route 66 is Like

Driving Route 66 is like driving a road with lots of detours. Many of those detours are not marked. You need a guidebook and maps.

Route 66 is like this because it is de-commissioned. If you have ever hiked less-traveled trails in the woods, it is analogous to driving Route 66. You need to navigate your way along.

Popular spots are marked, don’t get me wrong. As a tourist you can see signs on I-40 saying, “Historic Route 66 Next Exit.” However, some are not so clearly marked.

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Author Archives: dbwalton

Road Trip Logger Available

Inside

A Day on Route 66

Time

Black Tape and Non-Sponsors

Route 66 and Black Tape

Non-Sponsors

Easy Resolution

Categories

Let’s Make This Clear

The Plan to Make this Work

For Sponsors

For Interested Individuals

For Your Entertainment

Memorial Day

Summer

Our Choice

Casting Call

How This Works

We Cannot

Summary

A Bit Over Four

Meaning…

The Goal…

The Plan…

For Your Listening Pleasure…

Children on the Road

Keeping Them Occupied

Thank You Nicole

Before Decommissioning

Our Tour

Daniel Talevi

More Trivia

What Driving Route 66 is Like

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