If you’re a regular follower of our blog, you know how much we love seeing the cool places where ONA bags go with our amazing customers. Our team also loves globetrotting with our own ONA bags – earlier this month, marketing director Mark Chou spent five days at El Capitan Canyon in Santa Barbara, CA. Check out what Mark and his Leather Brixton were up to at Photo Field Trip, which ONA sponsored this year.
Mark Chou: Ever since I joined ONA last year, I'd heard about the inaugural Photo Field Trip hosted by Whitney Chamberlin and Justin Lyons last year, and I knew that ONA had to be there in person for 2015! After a few hiccups flight-wise due to impending New York City snowstorms, I arrived in Los Angeles safe and sound, before driving up the 101 to Santa Barbara the next morning. While the roster of illustrious speakers and workshop leaders at Photo Field Trip was second to none, the beauty of El Capitan Canyon and nearby El Capitan Beach were just as gratifying to experience.
During my five days at Photo Field Trip, I had the opportunity to meet many members of our Community, as well as countless other attendees carrying ONA. A few lucky folks walked away with ONA bags as well -- one by winning the Friday night raffle and the other by back-flipping his way through the Field Trip talent show.
I've gotta say -- California sunsets are unbeatable. While the trek from the canyon to the beach was about a mile each away, many of us made the round trip hike multiple times, myself included. It's really quite a sight to see over 300 photographers with cameras all crowded on the same beach. "When in Rome," as the saying goes...
Since I was in a rush to get to Photo Field Trip on time, I didn't have the leisure of taking the scenic route on the way up. On the way back down to LA, though, I made sure to take the Pacific Coast Highway down the California coast, cruising past the idyllic towns of Malibu and Santa Monica as I made my way to the airport.
The Field Trip team's dedication to creating an educational yet fun 5 day event ("conference" doesn't quite do it justice) is quite impressive, and the response this year was no surprise. Even though only a few days have passed since the end of Photo Field Trip, this year's attendees are already clamoring in the Facebook group to know when next year's dates are. Maybe I'll see you in 2016!
For more wanderlust, check out the rest of our Travel Journals and follow #whereONAgoes on our Instagram.