At all times in the past that she can think of, Carmen Polanco has had a camera in her hand. Her grandfather gave her her first camera. It was a simple automatic point-and-shoot. Her family was just so happy and willing to pose for her. They did poses that made the photos look more natural, willingly posed for birthday photos, and did any other pose you could think of. Her family's support is what made Polanco want to become a photographer.

 

The Polanco family always planned trips to national parks on the East Coast during the summer. Carmen would always be grateful for these trips because not only did they bring the family closer together, but they also made Carmen fall in love with taking pictures of the natural world. Carmen thinks back on these family trips from Acadia to Biscayne with fondness.

Carmen had a great time taking pictures of the Atlantic coast from Acadia National Park to the mangroves of Biscayne National Park and the wetlands of Everglades National Park when she was a little girl.

 

Carmen wants to give her kids the same things she did when she was a child. She wants them to have the same things she did. It's her goal for them to fall in love with nature the way she did. So, she and her family go to national parks all the time to do this. This time, though, their trips would take them to national parks on the West Coast, not the East Coast.

 

With her family so far, she has taken them on trips to the Grand Canyon and Yosemite national parks. She also took them to Yellowstone and Redwood national parks.

 

This summer, they want to go to Utah's Mighty 5 national parks, which are all in the state.

In Carmen Polanco's blog, she talks a lot more about her trips to national parks when she was younger and the trips she has taken with her own family. There is a page where you can read about her photography trips to these parks.