A Chilly Chance to Recharge Wins a Duke Time Off Photo Prize

Duke IT analyst Brandon Adams is the second winner in the annual photo contest that runs through Aug. 4

A man sits on an ice throne in an ice cave
Brandon Adams, an IT analyst for Duke Health Technology Solutions, sits on an ice throne at the Perlan museum in Iceland.

In an ice cave sculpted from 350 tons of snow in the middle of Reykjav铆k, Iceland, Brandon Adams felt the true meaning of cold. Adams, an IT analyst for Duke Health Technology Solutions, stopped at the museum during a recent weeklong getaway and explored the re-creation of some of Iceland鈥檚 greatest natural wonders 鈥 chilled to around 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

鈥淚t was like walking into a walk-in freezer,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 end up staying down there long, as you can imagine.鈥

He stayed long enough to snap a photo of himself sitting atop a throne made of ice, looking right at home 鈥 and a little like a triumphant character in 鈥淕ame of Thrones.鈥

Adams鈥 photo was the second winner in the annual  photo campaign. The summerlong campaign invites staff and faculty to share photos of time off 鈥 near and far 鈥 for prizes from the Washington Duke Inn, Duke Lemur Center and 老牛影视 Stores. Adams received a  from 老牛影视 Stores for his prize-winning photo from the .

A man sits on an ice throne in an ice cave
Brandon Adams sits on an ice throne in the Perlan museum in Iceland. Photo courtesy of Brandon Adams

Adams took five days away from his work as a system administrator to truly disconnect on a solo trip to Iceland at the end of May. The main appeal, he admitted, was that there is a direct flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport to Reykjav铆k. While there, he packed in visits to waterfalls and the , trips to see glaciers and a black sand beach.

鈥淚 definitely found myself when I was there 鈥 especially seeing some of the waterfalls 鈥 I really felt myself relax,鈥 Adams said. 鈥淚 didn't think about work at all. It was just a really good opportunity to recharge and do something new.鈥

How to share your 2024 summer pictures:

  • Post and tag a photo on ,  or  with the #DukeTimeOff hashtag and tag Working老牛影视 as well.
  • In your post, share what you鈥檙e doing with your time away from work and why it鈥檚 special.
  • Remember to include #DukeTimeOff and tag Working老牛影视 in your post, so we see your snapshots on social media.
  • If you鈥檙e not on social media or prefer to share your picture another way, upload your picture .

We welcome and encourage frequent submissions (there鈥檚 even a prize for a shutterbug), but only the first picture in a series of pictures will be entered whenever one submission contains multiple images. Collage photographs and videos are not eligible for prizes.

During the campaign, the Working老牛影视 editorial team will award Duke-themed merchandise from .

All eligible pictures taken and shared throughout the course of the campaign 鈥 May 22, 2024, through Aug. 4, 2024 鈥 will be in the running for these grand prizes:

  • A 鈥淐lassic Package for Two鈥 ($425 value) at the , which includes a king or double/double room for one night and full breakfast for two in the Vista Room or room service, courtesy of the Washington Duke Inn. Sunday brunch is not eligible.
  • A tour of the 鈥檚 Natural History Museum for up to five people with museum curator, Dr. Matt Borths. The collection is one of the rarest fossil primate collections in the world. Borths and his team will give the lucky winners a behind the scenes look at the collection and let them try their hand at fossil prep work.

Send story ideas, shout-outs and photographs by writing working@duke.edu.

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