There was something healing about this short visit and this room with a view. I’m not sure I’ve appreciated an empty hotel room as much as I appreciated this one. I needed the space. I needed the rest. I needed the silence. I needed a change of view. And of course, I couldn’t admit any of that as I debated canceling this important business trip with my friend, Phil Kells.

I arrived at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront at 4:23 PM, eleven minutes before the sun was to set over Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. When the man at the registration desk said, “I put you in an upgraded harbor view room, no charge,” I almost kissed him. A great hotel room view is always a bonus, but for a guy like me, it’s a gift. Particularly in that moment.

Photography is my release. It allows me to shift my focus to the details of any moment. It forces me to look at light and color and beauty, and to step away from whatever else might be on my mind. It’s why I like to do it alone… just me and my camera, and a view. It is relaxing in a way that nothing else is.

I am thankful to be back home this morning. My wife and my children need me home as much as possible right now. But I am so very thankful I was encouraged to go do yesterday’s presentation, for the support of a community that allowed it, and for my very brief visit to Room 1915. I needed it.

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