Images of Arizona | Jack Dykinga: In the Footsteps of Barry Goldwater

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Day One: Beginnings

From the moment we load our boats at Lee’s Ferry, I know this is going to be a trip of a lifetime. I had heard about the "magic" of the Canyon for years; its power was legendary. But, it wasn’t until I would float down the river, in the footsteps of a "giant," that I too would become captivated — and mystified — by its power.

However, I am not quite "there" yet. I had left the office in the usual last minute frenzy - loading up on final camera gear, gathering research files, packing, unpacking, and packing yet again. I am still in "city mode."

We are here to produce a new TV show and companion Web site. The trip is an Arizona Highways Photography Workshop, led by Pulitzer-prize winning photographer, Jack Dykinga. Dykinga is leading eleven students, who have come to learn at the foot of the master. The students are primarily amateur photographers — doctors, lawyers, retired businessmen and dot-com entrepreneurs; all but one of them is male. Our river outfitter, AZRA, has sent a crew of three to manage all river logistics. Our TV/Web crew consists of two segment producers, an audio man, myself and Beth — KAET’s station manager and my fellow Executive TV/Web Producer.

I also have a "personal guide" on this trip, who has paved the way for this experience. Six years ago, I made a film with Senator Goldwater about his passion for photography and Arizona. We interviewed him at the Kolb Studio on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. During our interview, he would wax poetic about the Canyon and his adventures on the Colorado River. As it turned out, this would be his last trip to the Canyon. Now, sixty years after Goldwater’s first trip down the river, I can travel in his footsteps for my first trip down the river.

Rich, a Seattle radiologist and fellow traveler, would later say that when you journey in peoples’ footsteps, "You have sort of a pre-operating condition — as to what you should be looking for, or an anticipation of what you might see. The anticipation just really enhances the trip." He would also tell me a now-favorite Einstein quote: "If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants."

Pulling out of Lee’s Ferry, I get a glimpse of Goldwater’s excitement about this journey.

day one: continued >>

behind the scenes / in the footsteps of barry goldwater / the experience
photography / plan your adventure / interview / biography

jack dykinga / leroy dejolie / david muench