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When Sandi Wheaton lost her job in the auto industry, she headed for Route 66.

A video producer with General Motors for 12 years, she was devastated when she found herself unemployed. However, she refused to be defeated, immediately putting plans in motion to realize her dream of becoming a professional photographer. So she purchased a camper, hooked it up to her 250,000 kilometre jeep, left her home in Windsor, Ontario, and hit the highway. She explains why she chose Route 66 as her destination.

"Visually I've always been really interested in urban ruins, like ruins of things that are a little more recent, and Route 66 has been such a famous storied road for so may decades. The day the interstate was opened it was like a faucet shut off and the business just completely stopped for a lot of these people."

Armed with a plan to capture on film what she found there, Sandi recently completed what she set out to accomplish -- undertaking no less than three media projects in the process. She now has countless black and white infrared stills of the entire route, black and white video images, and a dash-mounted digital camera snapped photos every few seconds for a time-lapse record that produced thousands of pictures. Her intentions for this extensive portfolio include a possible book, exhibition pieces and such.

When finished with Route 66, Sandi carried on to Southern California's Salton Sea -- that state's biggest lake. Again her camera was at work, exploring the mysteries of this little heard of body of water located in the Colorado Desert not far from the Mexican border. Her Salton Sea work will eventually become a gallery presentation in Windsor.

Sandi was born and raised in Moncton, leaving in 1988 to attend Ryerson University where she earned her degree in media arts. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts, specializing in video which led to her professional career in video -- television, cable, advertising, editing and the like.

Shifting gears following her recent job loss meant employing her strong "Maritime work ethic" as Sandi continues to re-discover herself. Of course there's the understandable vulnerability to contend with, but at the same time she's realizing a reassuring newfound strength. Always endowed with a "serious case of wanderlust," she's now considering a full-time nomadic lifestyle -- with camera in hand. That would mean joining a growing number of "location independent professionals," and so making countless new friends is a definite bonus for this spirited woman of 43.

Self-described as optimistic, adventurous and persistent, besides travel and photography, Sandi is also a "big foodie and I'm interested in wine and music."

With no time lost in self-pity, Sandi Wheaton seized a golden opportunity to realize a dream.

"I don't even know what this is going to lead me to -- what I'm doing now, but I'm so glad that I at least did it and tried. If you have a dream of anything, please, you never know what is going to happen," she stresses.

"Just follow it."

* 15 Minutes of Fame is published every Monday. If you have a candidate for a 15 Minutes profile, please contact Linda Hersey via e-mail at news@timestranscript.com or by calling 859-7149 or faxing 859-4904.