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Lens-Artists Challenge #374—On the Move!

My favorite cruise ship

Do you love to travel—or just tolerate the journey when you have to? Whether you’re chasing adventure or simply getting from point A to B, this week’s theme is all about movement. From cruising in ships to rolling on trains, soaring in planes to road-tripping in cars, your mode of movement tells a story. Do you stay close to home, visit family and friends, or venture far and wide? Maybe you’re drawn to classic vehicles or museums that exhibit bygone ways of getting around.

From spontaneous road trips to scheduled flights, from scenic strolls to vintage rides—show us how you get there. If you’re not into photos of your rides, you can share pictures of the places you’ve discovered or the snapshots of the journey itself. Let’s celebrate motion, memory, and the paths we take. In fact, as this post goes live, we’re just returning from a month-long adventure: a road trip across parts of the southern United States!

For my opening photo, I’m sharing an image of the Norwegian Bliss—my favorite ship, and my favorite way to vacation. We took our first cruise back in the 1990s and have been regular cruisers ever since. Retirement has given us even more time to sail, and our next cruise is scheduled for February.

Hector International-2
Allegiant airliner arriving at Fargo

I love flying—but I only tolerate the crowded airports and packed airliners as a necessary means to reach our destination. I’ve spent more time than I care to admit at the small park just outside Hector International, photographing arriving aircraft. On any given evening, we might catch commercial jets, military cargo flights, or small private planes taking off and landing.

Hector International-8
National Guard C-130 departing.

The Minnesota National Guard utilizes Hector Field in Fargo to provide pilots with the necessary flight time to maintain currency. One evening at the park, we watched a C-130 cargo plane perform multiple takeoffs and landings—each maneuver helping the crew log proficiency and stay mission-ready.

Durango RR Excursion-14
Durango-Silverton Steam Train

Lynn and I have only taken one scheduled Amtrak trip—a ride from Portland, Oregon, back home to Fargo, North Dakota. But we hop aboard vintage trains whenever we get the chance. My favorite steam journey was the Durango & Silverton run in Colorado. We did it once, but the line offers daily service through some truly magnificent mountain country.

Family Road Trip
Family Road Trip

I found this photo from the 1970s, scanned from an old print. My sister joined our brother and his sons on a road trip to northwest Iowa for a visit. Road trips have been a tradition in our family for many years.

Josh-Carrie First Flight
Son and daughter’s first flight

In 1997, I achieved a long-held goal: earning my private pilot’s license. Naturally, I had to bring my two kids along for their first ride in a small plane. It wasn’t a long flight—only about 30 minutes each way from Fargo to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Jack and his MGB

Jack and his MGB

Regular readers know of my affinity for classic and sports cars. At one point in the 1980s, I had a burgundy 1971 MGB. It was a project car that I never quite finished, but I had lots of fun driving it around Fargo and the surrounding area in the summertime. I couldn’t find a photo of my MGB, but my brother-in-law, Jack, had an almost identical model year to mine.

2004 Mustang-1
40th Anniversary Mustang

About a decade ago, we decided to buy a convertible to take with us to Arizona for the winters we spent there. A friend was selling a very nice 2004 Mustang, the 40th Anniversary model year for the breed. I snapped it up, but when we sold our property in Arizona, we sold the Mustang along with it. I still miss our drives with the top down in the Arizona desert.

Mustang Model
My current Mustang

When a friend of mine found out I’d sold the Mustang, he presented me with a model of that series—the New Edge-generation Mustang. My 2004 Mustang was the final model year of the New Edge design before Ford transitioned to the retro-styled fifth-generation Mustang in 2005. I’ve posted this gallery of images on my Flickr site in 2K HD here, for those who like to pixel-peep or check out the photo metadata.

How do you travel? Where do you go? Share photos of your favorite ways to be “On the Move!” Be sure to link your response to my post or leave your link in a comment below. Also, use the “lens-artists” tag to help people find your post in the Reader. To find out more about responding to Lens-Artists Challenges, check here.

Thanks to Egidio for taking us back to Lens-Artists Challenge #31. His “Looking Back” theme allowed me to share landscape photos from our most recent journeys. Next week, it’s Patti’s turn to host the challenge, which will go live on Saturday, November 22, at noon Eastern time. Be sure to follow her Pilotfish Blog so you don’t miss her challenge post.

John Steiner

127 comments

  3. A great topic, John! I knew of course you would use your car, train, plane and ship – but you did it so well with taking old times with you to us. Interesting and fun!

    Reply

  9. I love the steam train and the cruises sound like so much fun, John! A fantastic collection of visual examples and ideas as always and a topic close to my heart that leaves room for many different perspectives. Thanks for another great challenge! – Similar to my LAC post for last week, I chose slow ways of traveling that put the journey and not so much the destination in focus.

    📸Lens-Artists #374: On the Move in Harmony with Nature

    Reply

  15. John, a lovely mix of moments you shared. 

    Each scene carried its own quiet charm — flights, rails, family outings, and those well-loved wheels that added their own character to the ride. 

    Thanks for bringing these memories to the theme.. Love your Mustang.

    I am joining for this challenge to day evening (Local time)

    Reply

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