Carmen Polanco Lugo has had a camera in her hand for as long as she can remember. Her grandfather gave her her first camera, a simple automated point-and-shoot. Her family was extremely delighted and eager to pose for her; forming candid positions, cheerfully posing for birthday shots, and striking every other possible stance! Polanco was inspired to pursue photography by her family's encouragement.
Summers in the Polanco home meant planning vacations to East Coast national parks. Carmen will always be grateful for these vacations since they not only brought the family closer together, but they also instilled in Carmen a passion of wildlife photography. Carmen recalls these family vacations fondly from Acadia to Biscayne.
Photographing the Atlantic coast from Acadia National Park to the mangroves of Biscayne National Park and the wetlands of Everglades National Park was an unforgettable experience for Carmen as a youngster.
Carmen has taken it upon herself, in keeping with tradition, to provide her children with the same experiences she experienced as a youngster. She wants them to fall in love with nature as much as she did, so visits to national parks have become a family ritual. This time, though, their excursions would take them to West Coast national parks.
So far, she has visited Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Redwood National Park, and the Grand Canyon National Park with her family.
On her blog, Carmen Polanco discusses her excursions to national parks when she was younger, as well as ones she's done with her own family. You are encouraged to learn all about her photographic exploits in these parks on the page.