As avid subscribers to http://www.RealTravelAdventures.com you know Terry Zinn is one of our top writers, intriguing us each month with his newest favorite place in the world to savor a martini. His photos, which feature the premiere locale on each trip, always show us beautifully how he is enjoying sipping his way convivially through the world’s most interesting places. As a travel writer who loves to take pictures, I have always been fascinated by the way he gets his photos in perfect clarity from the nearest to the farthest focal points, with the martini in the foreground as perfectly in focus as the iconic place in the background. In November we had the privilege of attending his show Martini Travels, at the PhotoArt Studios (1738 NW 16th Street, open Tuesday through Saturday 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. 405 557 0924) in Oklahoma City. On the second Friday of each month Oklahoma City turns out for the Second Friday Live on the Plaza Art Gallery Walk, a key feature of local nightlife and fun for all.
On Thursday evening Terry greeted his special guests for his grand world tour with his over 50 canvas prints, most in the popular 16 x 20 inch size. The show sponsor, Oklahoma’s own Prairie Wolf Distillery, (prairiewolfspirits.com ) provided the vodka martinis. We were dazzled by his spectacular Martini Travels around the world, and we stood long admiring each of the beautiful works. The unique idea for this collection was inspired by his long-time friend Harold Stevenson of Idabel, Oklahoma. For decades the two friends have talked for hours while nursing and enjoying their favorite cocktail, a drink to which Harold introduced Terry, who had grown up with tea-totaling parents. Both men stress that a martini must be served in the proper diamond-shaped, stemmed glass, recognizable across the room in any place, to symbolize the eloquence of this sophisticated drink, which should always be sipped slowly with a friend during enjoyable social interaction.
The photos are magnificent and will soon be in collections all over the world. Zinn’s work is already hanging in special places from San Diego, CA, to Long Island’s South Hamptons. In visiting with Terry we learned he is a self-taught photographer and in his work at the Oklahoma Historical Society he has served as the Photography Processing Manager for over twenty years. He gratefully made the transition from (delete -complicated large) film cameras, to the digital marvels, shooting equally beautiful masterpieces with either.
He hopes his collection of over 100 images for his Martini Travels series will soon be a book. He has some funny and bizarre tales about ordering martinis in various parts of the world. In the Galapagos no glass of the proper shape was available so the teenage daughter of a friend on the cruise ship made one from a toilet paper roll, foil, and a plastic bag! He has learned to backpack the proper glass to some locales. He prefers the traditional martini (2 parts liquor to 1 part of the liquid mix) with three (green) olives. His order was filled in Spain with a plain glass of vodka and water over ice accompanied by a bowl of Spanish olives (which are black!)
He also tells of his long-time friendship with Stevenson, a world renowned artist who grew up in a tiny country town yet has lived in some of the most sophisticated and famous places in the world, which also inspired Zinn to travel to these beautiful, unique locales. Zinn says not only is a martini an excellent conversation starter but says of his travels: “When one can relax and contemplate the beauty and privilege of being in enviable destinations, it’s only proper to give thanks with a distinctive beverage, preferably a martini, for this grand opportunity. A photograph is designed to capture a fleeting moment in time and that is what I try to do.” The not-to-miss photo show will be featured at PhotoArt Gallery into December, 2013.
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