I Can See Clearly Now…

Finally! Feels like a heavy blanket’s been lifted.

“Twilight”

Original image taken in broad daylight | Schedule your shoot now.

When it works, it’s really cool, but it can certainly fail pretty miserably when the conditions aren’t quite right. Day to Dusk conversions now offered on real estate listing shoots. BTW, it’s all edited in-house – no outsourcing here.

My Corner

My little “corner of the world.”  Stay safe everybody.

corner

Sunset

So my app told me there was a 47% chance of a decent sunset.  If this is 47% I can’t imagine what 100% looks like.

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The sun setting over Shenandoah Univeristy in Winchester, VA | Order a print of this image

Scene

Simply felt like a scene out of the movies.  I’m in a big, overgrown field (alone), photographing the landscape and out of nowehere the massive lightning storm erupts before me.  And just like in the movies, I’m telling myself “I gotta shoot this.  Just 5 more minutes.”  Have I not watched enought TV and movies to know better!!!

Scene

I got the shot. | Order a print.

Travel

Apparently this has been the summer of travel and I’ve really got to work on the whole travel photography thing. I tend to overpack for any trip when it comes to my gear. About a third of my carry-on luggage was devoted to the overflow from my gear bag!  Anyway, from NYC to LA (yep coast-to-coast) I got some decent images.  Maybe it’s time to flip over to the whole mirrorless thing…

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Very other-worldly out there in the desert – the heat was making me see things.

Video

The reaction I get these days when I tell people I do video…”You do video?!”  Yes, I do video.  It’s ironic that most people think of me as a still photographer these days when video is actually how this all got started.  So for those that may have forgotten that I do video, here’s a reminder.

Later

One of my workflow tricks as a photographer (now that I kinda know what I’m doing) is to not dive right into my edits right away.  I wait a while and edit later.  I let some time pass between when I shoot and when I edit.  I can’t really articulate why this is, but I just know that if I’m too eager to jump into the edit it’s not as creative as when I wait plus it’s a bonus when I go back through my images and find ones I forgot I shot.  Of course, with thos pesky deadlines looming this isn’t always practical.

Later

Order a print of this image. | North River in Bridgewater, VA shot about a month ago.

Stubborn

Through some pretty intense back pain I still managed to get out on Saturday to shoot the Battlefield Half Marathon.  Although I wasn’t as mobile as I was the previoius two years, I still got some great Fall colors and an awesome sunrise.  I suppose I should have taken it easy, but I’m just stubborn that way I guess.  After all, I got the shot!

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Luck

I completely stand behind my statement that I tell a lot of people about my photography.  There’s certainly a lot of luck involved.  Right time, right place.  As I gain experience, though, it’s becoming easier to be in that right place at that right time.

The Storm

As the double rainbow was strengthening, I was able to spin it around and catch the lightning! | Order a print of this image.

Luck

The magnificent double rainbow over Winchester tonight. | Order a print of this image.

Palindrome

Happy Palindrome Day!  At least it’s a palindrome if you use the format 6•1•16.

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Wish I could find a decent reflection image, but this one’s nice to look at, too.

Absence

Has your heart grown fonder?  It seems like it’s getting longer between posts for me.  I suppose that means I’m busy these days with my studio work, which is good for me, but I need those days wheere I can just go out and shoot what moves me and just be creative.

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One of the few landmarks around Winchester that I haven’t really shot – The Museum of The Shenandoah Valley. | Order a print of this image.

SU Graduation

This may make it onto NBC news somewhere – hopefully in some sort of commencement round up from the area/region/nation.  Fingers crossed.  What a great day to fly.

Graduation

The graduates of Shenandoah University 2016!  Congratulations to all.

Wedding Selfie

I don’t think I’ve shared this.  I remember posting an image of this incident, but never the full video.  If you pay close attention at about 45 seconds you can see the quad level out (it’s so very subtle) and that was my fatal mistake because it didn’t clear the hill and I still had legal room to climb.  Once the forest starts to appear in the shot it’s not long before it happens, but I end this video before that point.  It won’t take much imagination to figure out what happens next.  A shout-out to my brother and son for heading off after it.  After all that, I still got the shot!

Underwhelmed

Did you ever purchase something based on the hype and the credibility of person pushing it?  I just did and so far I’m underwhelmed with the results.  I’m not giving up, I’m just saying it just may not be worth all the hype just yet – or at least, I’m not seeing it.

Meh.  It's a decent photo, but not much different than what I've already been doing.

Meh. It’s a decent photo, but not much different than what I’ve already been doing with the software I already had.

Wildlife

Enjoying some quality time at the beach.  I figured I’d shoot the sunrise a little differently this morning.

It’s been a while since I did a video here so enjoy.

School Days

My daughter makes it known (daily) that she only has about a week left in school before she’s finished.  She likes stating that she (as a senior) finishes before the rest of the school.  That means I only have 8 more school days of taking her to school.  I’ve been driving her to school for the past couple years.  That’ll be weird to not have to do that anymore.

Hey, it's a aerial shot of a school that's not Handley!    This is Blue Ridge Middle School in Purcellville, VA.

Hey, it’s an aerial shot of a school that’s not Handley! This is Blue Ridge Middle School in Purcellville, VA.

The Bloom

There’s definitely a dichotomy when it comes to Apple Blossom.  I know people who avoid it like the plague and I also know people who go to every single event.  Regardless of how you feel about it here’s a little aerial eye candy to start your week.

note – make sure you click the little gear wheel and watch in HD

Favorite

Another awesome sunset over what has turned into my favorite place to shoot these days.  Go figure.

Order a print of this image.

Order a print of this image.

Cut Short

There was going to be a great sunset at the school this evening, but I had my first complaint about the aerial camera that cut me short.  A lady was going to go walk somewhere else this evening (as opposed to her usual walk at the school) because she was “uncomfortable” with the drone.  I was just hovering taking a shot every couple of minutes – just waiting for the money shot.  This is the last shot I was able to get.  I never did get a clear answer as to what made her uncomfortable.  Oh well.

Another great sunset over Handley High School. | Order a print of this image.

Another great sunset over Handley High School. | Order a print of this image.