I am Maria, a full time traveling photographer on a mission to photograph as much of the United States as possible. As mentioned elsewhere, I call this a “Mountain to Sea Photo Journey”.

This Journey has taken me to many great photography locations that I share with you in the Destinations and Photo Road Trips sections of this site.

My Backstory

The path to a photography career has been a winding road with many uphill climbs, sharp corners and only a few easy descents. So travel back in time with me as I share how and why I became a nomadic photographer.

Growing Up

I grew up in the charming small town of Fernandina Beach in Northeast Florida. At that time, Fernandina Beach only had about 7000 residents and two paper mills along with a shrimping industry. Fernandina Beach is now a bustling resort town but that was then, not now.

Coming from this small town, I headed to college with limited exposure to the world. Frankly, I arrived at college with no idea what I wanted to do except escape small town life. Needless to say, my initial college days were not my finest hours and I will leave it at that.

After fumbling around for a few years, I finally graduated Cum Laude with an accounting degree. By the way, I only chose accounting because I could make decent money with a 4 year degree. I could not afford law school or any advanced degrees.

Healthcare Executive Career

I went on to become a licensed CPA with a 26+ year career as a healthcare executive and ended up being surprisingly successful in a field I just picked at random. Despite enjoying my job, I could not wait for weekends when I could head out with my camera.

At about year 20 in my career, the leadership of my then employer changed and took a direction I could not support. Constrained by society expectations, I forced myself to stay in this unhappy situation until the day I turned 50.

That day I decided life was too precious to waste being unhappy and gave myself the ultimate birthday present. I quit my job, sold my house, moved into an RV (I already owned) and began the process of transitioning to becoming a full time photographer.

The Start of a Photography Career

A number of years before I quit my job, I began to take more of an interest in learning photography and not just taking pictures. I even signed up for a weeklong photography workshop in Yellowstone. Sadly, I was only there one day when my mother suddenly died.

Still that one day in Yellowstone changed the course of my life in ways I never expected.

After experiencing the nature of Yellowstone, the superficial life I was leading with a big house filled with expensive possessions no longer appealed to me. I needed more.

In Yellowstone I had felt alive in ways that no amount of money or buying stuff had every made me feel.

In fact it was because of Yellowstone that I did not choose to simply change employers but instead completely altered my life. Finally I embarked on a life that fit who I was and not what society had led me to believe I should be.

There is no better gift than to live life on your terms and not someone else’s version of life.

My Photography Life

My photographic interests are primarily nature, landscapes, travel, and architecture. If asked to choose between these subjects, I could not pick a favorite as is evident by the wide range of subjects contained in my Portfolio and Stock Library.

What I am not is a portrait or wedding photographer.

Photography Education

I am mostly a self-taught photographer and have spent hours upon hours studying photography techniques. As cameras evolve and become more complex, however, it requires a continuous commitment of hours to stay up to date.

Life on the Road as a Photographer

Acquiring photography knowledge was the beginning of my life on the road as a photographer.

No amount of education, however, prepared me for the challenges involved with photographing unfamiliar terrains or subjects. For example, coming from flat coastal Florida, I had quite a learning curve trying to photograph a sunrise in the mountains!

I also discovered how important trip planning was in order to capture the iconic photos I had envisioned. Photopills quickly became my new best friend along with a variety of weather apps.

To read all about my favorite travel apps, please visit Photography Planning Apps.

If all this was not enough, I also realized that some of the best times to photograph my chosen photo locations required me to be in harsh weather conditions. There would be no chasing 70 as most RVers do. As a result, I have endured hours of freezing temperatures, scorching heat, gusty winds, floods and running from wild fires.

For example here is a late summer day in Yellowstone.

This life is not glamorous yet, I would not trade it for anything.

Other Photography Tidbits

My photography has won numerous awards and been displayed in art shows and galleries throughout the Southeast. For a number of years I taught a range of photography classes and workshops but put classes on hold due to Covid. Lately I have dealt with a knee injury that impacted my return to teaching but hope to offer new classes and workshops by summer of 2024.

About Maria Struss Photography Blog

As a photographer I absolutely love sharing photographs from the places I have been. However, I believe there is so much more to photography than just producing an image.

A simple website of photos does not tell the story of how the photographer got to a location, how much effort it took to get the image, or how the image was processed. Therefore, I creating Photo Road Trips, Destinations, Photo Travels and Learn Photography categories on this blog to give readers a comprehensive view of all aspects of a nomadic photographer life.

RV LIFE

To travel full time, I chose to live in RVs. To read all about RV life as a photographer and my thoughts on both my Phaeton Motorhome and my Lance Travel Trailer, please check out the RV/Van section of this blog.

Additionally, in the RV/Van section, you will find a checklist of items to consider as a photographer when buying an RV.

Boo, The Photo Assistant

Meet Boo a rescued black cat who only wanted a comfortable home but instead found himself traveling the country and guarding campsites!

Boo has a lot to share about life as a nomadic cat and has asked me to start his own section of this website called Boo Bits. I am a bit busy at the moment but promised Boo I would let him share Boo Bits with each of you very soon.

In Closing

Looking back it is still hard to imagine that my former self who lived in a big house with tons of stuff would have ever been this happy living in an RV traveling the country.

Thankfully, I took a chance to leave my comfort zone and explore a different path. I don’t regret pursuing my dreams for a minute and encourage each of you to find the courage to pursue your own dreams.