Blog Archive
I totally didn’t feel like getting up that drizzly, spring morning in Texas. We had just come off a 5 day Photography Team at the Family Conference and I was very tired after having gone to bed after midnight almost every night for a week. But this was the one and...
I grew up as a homeschooler in Manassas, Virginia. It was in the 1990s, and I didn’t think twice about it. I would hear Dad talk about speaking on homeschool-related topics at City Council meetings. And there was a time or two that Dad went to Richmond. I think....
A solar eclipse is almost a once in a lifetime experience. Maybe more like a once-in-every-ten-or-twenty-or-thirty-years experience, but because they don’t happen every day, it is certainly a unique photography opportunity! The first time I ever tried photographing...
It was dawn when I woke up.The early April air was crisp and cold as I climbed out of the Outback at our primitive campsite in central Arkansas. The air was filled with bird calls and sounds of the swamp. There wasn’t a single ripple on the inky black water that...
I can still remember the feeling, driving down the “beaten path” on I24 through Kentucky on that cool, breezy afternoon. We were headed to Texas for the total solar eclipse and I was enjoying the scenery as we spun along in our Subaru. Julianna needed a place to...
Have you been wondering about the intriguing subject I mentioned at the end of my last blog post? We were on our way back from the IAHE convention in Indiana, driving east through Ohio. We had enjoyed a visit with friends over a delicious and filling meal. We made...
I’ve done a lot of traveling in the past 15 years. I’ve pitched my tent in the snow-laden wilderness. I’ve hiked back from epic mountain overlooks for miles in the dark. I’ve camped in my car underneath a canopy of green by the side of National Forest roads...
“Let me think. Should I bring my wide angle lens with me?” One of my responsibilities at the family conference last weekend was to take family portraits. “No, I wouldn’t need a wide angle lens for that.” Also, even though the conference was all the way down in...
I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to take some snow pictures this year! Last winter, I wasn’t able to take very many, so it’s nice that we’ve had a nice snowfall or two this season so far. Back in January, we had a little snowfall that was more than just a...
For this month’s Moon Scenery assignment, did anyone have any success photographing the full moon over the Christmas season? Here in West Virginia, it was super cloudy just about every morning and evening surrounding the holidays. There may have been one morning...
Kendalyn couldn't believe her ears. "Family portrait will be down at the dam on Buffalo Calf Rd!" The dam?! Murkey brown water. Often covered in algae. Muddy, brushy banks. Surrounded by bare, leafless trees and dead, yellow grass. Along a narrow road, where would...
I was looking at a professional landscape photographer’s blog the other day. His photos were taken from all over the world. As I flipped from page to page, that discontented feeling of “Oh, I wish I could go to those places!” started to steal over me. But few of us...
How good are you at composing photos? Can you make any subject look attractive? Are you able to make attractive photos in unattractive locations? Composition isn’t the only element of a good photo, but it certainly does play a significant role in the attractiveness...
The day after exploring Snowshoe, we headed over to another iconic West Virginia attraction. The old, historic Cass Scenic Railroad! The 11-mile long heritage railroad takes you back in time to an era when steam-driven locomotives were an essential part of everyday...
This year, my family did something we have never done before. You see, my family is from West Virginia. And this summer, we decided to take a family vacation to . . . West Virginia! Not a field trip. Not a day trip to and from a vacation destination. This was a...
It’s a long drive from West Virginia to Connecticut. Sometimes, on our trips up there to visit family, we get off late and don’t have time to stop and take pictures at random places along the way. Other times, if we can get off early like we did this time, we...
On our way back from the HEAV Convention last week, Julianna and I met up with some friends to go for a hike and spend some time together! The hike we decided on was Bear’s Den Overlook on the Appalachian Trail. I hadn’t ever been there before, but it seemed like a...
After a fairly disappointing morning (as described in the last blog post, Better Than Nothing!), all I wanted to do was get some sleep. I knew I had an inbox full of emails begging for my attention, but after pushing through an almost-all-nighter, sleep was higher...
I stared in disbelief at the glowing LED traffic info sign next to the barricade across the road. We had driven all this way….and then, this? A fat moon hung close to the horizon in the dark, night sky, and the puffy clouds looked promising for a gorgeous sunrise....
I stood behind the Lenspiration table, watching people trickle past my booth. Maybe I was grabbing a bite to eat. Maybe I was actually sitting down, giving my feet a much needed rest. Being almost 5 years ago, I forget the details exactly. But I do remember when a...
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