Winding Road

Oregon.
Ordinary road. Hazy evening. One of the many shots I took from the side of the road trying to stay still since I did not have a tri-pod. I think I had my camera rested on a large boulder if I remember correctly. I like this shot because it has potential. I know there is something missing so I have gone back to this location a few other times.

Last Supper

This picture is part of my adventure on one of those notoriously misty Oregon later afternoons. My wife tells me that in Oregon they have "sun breaks" because it is overcast so often. The fog makes this picture one of my favorites. I have taken the same exact shot about a dozen other times in different weather conditions, but it never turns out the way I would like. This is the same location that I got the sunset shot when the man was sitting by the tree.

I think this picture also speaks to me because of my Catholic upbringing. I am not sure I ever truly belonged to the Church so it is tough to say I left. To me being Catholic is more like a heritage than a belief system. I do appreciate how the Church has influenced my family, but I do not prescribe to the beliefs. This memorial garden certainly had a spiritual aura that I enjoyed.

Rocco's

I was happy to capture this shot while looking for pictures in downtown Portland. So often, I wish my pictures featured characters more often so when this street performer put on his show in front of a colorful pizza joint, I had all my eye could handle.

Classic Car

M-57 between Stanton and Chesaning

The Cove

Leelanau, Michigan. Summer 2008
I never did find the driver of this classic car to thank him for parking under this sign.

I enjoyed my late lunch at the restaurant and spent a lot of time taking pictures from my table which was surrounded by flowers with a great view of the pier. There were kids running off the dock and jumping into the water, boats floating into harbor and laid-back tourists drinking beer on a random weekday afternoon. I spend a lot of time taking pictures that in my heart I am pretty sure will not amount to much like the dozens I took on this day before my meal arrived.

When I get a subject like this car, I know the picture will be better than most of the angles and creative things I try to do to make an ordinary shot look special. Like most things, if it is good, the picture can almost take itself. I guess the key is noticing that the picture is there. In this case I did have to walk around and see what I could get because the car is what caught my eye. I just needed a picture that captured where the car was because that had as much to do with it catching m eye as anything else. Climbing up behind the "Cove" sign seemed to make perfect sense. Five or six years ago I would not have thought to get this angle. And the crazy thing is that I likely missed an angle that with more photography experience I would not have missed. That is part of what I love about taking pictures. There is always more to learn and different ways to see it. I used to get jealous when I would see a cool picture that someone else took because I would wish that I had taken it. Now, from a different vantage point, I realize how stupid that mindset is. I like to look at pictures that challenge my creativity and help me see something different.

Barcelona Masterpiece

I was trying to be artistic when I got this shot of my wife's legs while visiting the Gaudi estate. After a while, the sculptures, architecture and art work start to look the same until a new element is added.

Alcatraz

Alcatraz at sunset was eerily interesting.

Simple Game

One of my favorite finds. I found this on a day where I had been driving around dirt roads just looking for something interesting to shoot. The hoop is set about 30-40 yards off a dirt road. I am not sure how I noticed it out in the middle of the field. Of course, I was reminded of the movie Hoosiers immediately. I have probably shot this same hoop four or five times, but like usual, the shots from the first day are the best ones.

Mackinac Island

Weight of the World ~ Barcelona Street Performer

Highway 1

Red Rooster

Instinct

A selection from an essay I submitted for a photo contest in 2007:

"After driving through luscious orange groves in central Florida, the land gave way to a grand waterway. I parked my rental car off the road to appreciate the view of the Sunshine Skyway and noticed this bird surrounded by shades of ocean blue. The curious heron pecked and bobbed his head while surveying the Tampa Bay landscape. Less than a mile away from our sanctuary off the road, the Skyway was brimming with mid-afternoon chaos. I observed the elements around me calmly working together. The implicit competition between a heron, a living creature, and the bridge, a man-made marvel, makes this photograph special. The ease of the sun striking the bird's face and the small waves gently rolling to the shore makes my memory simple yet remarkable."

The long side story:

I had been on the road for nearly five hours driving from the Orlando area to my father's winter home in Bradenton. I took two lane highways and back roads looking for photos and zigged and zagged my way through central Florida. There were two highlights that day: Ruby C. Williams, an African American Folk artist, had a roadside stand that sat on a plot of land once worked by her slave ancestors. We visited for nearly an hour and when I got home and Googled her, I realized that her art is quite valuable and the rest of her story was remarkable. She told me about Civil Rights battles, how she got started as a folk artist and she showed me the paintings that hung in a Smithsonian display one year prior. She sent me a very nice letter after I sent her photos from our time together. I also sent her a 5 x 7 of the bird above. She loved it.

"The bird" only happened because I was making a a last ditch effort to find "the photo I really wanted." I stopped off at a roadside rest area after crossing the massive Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Of the thousands of pictures I have taken, this is the picture I am most proud of because I followed my instinct to get off the road and I was smart enough not to get in my own way. In the frame of this photo, the bird looks like he is posing for the camera, but the the truth is that I had to wait him out for nearly 30 minutes just to get him to line up with the bridge in the background. When he finally cooperated, all I had to do was remain quiet and snap some pictures. Like so many things in life, it was all about just not messing up what was right in front of me.

Take a chance.

Traverse City Sunset

California

Driving Highway 1 from San Francisco to Portland Oregon offered more photo opportunities than imaginable, but even I could not have imagined something as cool as what we found. When a deer crossed the road in front of our car, I decided to turn-around and investigate. Off about 75 yards Beata and I saw these three deer with the ocean backdrop. Without much of lens, I snuck up on them to get my prize shot.

The picture is fine. The experience was incredible. They scampered off gracefully a split second after I got this shot. Like my good friend George Kralosky has implied, it is not necessarily the picture that I fell in love with - it is what it represents to me. Again, my curiosity led me to this shot and it was a hundred times more beautiful in person than in this photo.

Yellowstone

One of the experiences that helped me really understand that taking pictures could be more than a hobby. The Yellowstone expereince re-fueled my passion in a similar way as my 1997 trip to the Grand Canyon with my buddies.

Eye for simplicity

This boy was actually playing with another boy and a grown man (probably his brother and father). I kept a distance and pretended like I was shooting the haystack rock that is in the background. Cropping is the key to this picture. Well, cropping and timing. This is one of those pictures that gives me confidence in my eye.

Bored in Genesee County Michigan

Before the birth of my son, I would put countless miles on my car looking for pictures. I found this one evening at dusk when my wife was working late. I have a million of pictures like this one. I like it. It was forgotten until I went through my archives recently.

Pondering man

Look closely to the right of the big tree. There is a man sitting there enjoying the sunset. Every time I go to Portland Oregon, I end up back by this tree. I have dozens of pictures in which the angle of the camera makes the tree look like it is reaching for the city which is in the valley on the other side of the hill.

Luck. My pictures on this particular day needed a subject and this man showed up just in time.

Flower pops

Barcelona ice cream cone

Highway 1 at Dusk

I am still in awe of the coast and this magnificent drive.

Out to pasture

This is one of my all-time favorites because I will always remember the "cows on the coast" and how cool I thought is was that there were cows hanging out this close to the ocean. A typical Mid-westerner, I thought that cows only hung out on traditional farms in rural communities like Ionia, Michigan where I grew up. This photo came about 30 minutes before the picture of the three deer on the coast.

I loved this moment so much more than this photo.

American Lighthouse

Mackinac Island is one cool place.

Bird on Parole

Taken from inside Alcatraz, this bird nearly escaped the frame of my shot. I am proud of this one because I was just looking to take a less traditional picture and again, I got lucky when a subject gave some life to my shot.

The search

The search for an extraordinary photo was the challenge I tried to meet during my four day excursion to Traverse City for a graduate class. I kept ending up in cherry orchards and decided they always seemed to look the same because I was "looking at all of them the same." So I stopped searching and started looking. There was so much there that I stayed until dark just taking pictures like this one.

Lesson: Slow down. Observe. Sometimes the best picture is staring at you. Open your eyes. And your mind.

August Hike

Alone

Mount Hood
His reflection
Not really alone

Barcelona

The future

Faith Building

How much?

The song. It was in my head right away. I cold not help it. I am sorry I am just dorky enough to admit it, but "How much is that doggy in the window?" is the shameful truth behind this unique Portland picture.

I love finding those odd pictures that are good just because they are different. Let's face it - a good camera and a nice day and anyone can shoot Mount Hood or the Columbia River Gorge. It's the picture taking experience that I really enjoy and that goes for these off-the-wall finds too.

Hidden Treasure

Again, the Highway 1 drive. I intentionally started looking away from the water. I knew I was missing potential pictures and experiences and this picture reminds me to look past the obvious. This simple picture was forgotten by me until recently. It plays much better in black and white.

Mother-in-law

Now, before my own mother-in-law takes this as an insult, I need to explain the reason behind the name. It has nothing to do with my wonderful mother-in-law ( I swear!). In-laws are rumored to be over-bearing at times, even meddling. This tree creeping into the barn's space makes me think of in-laws.

This is a top five picture for me for a few reasons. First of all, I found it while out looking for pictures. I shot this site three or four times before I found this angle on this dreary day in the fall. And, I am most proud because when I went back for more shots, the barn was gone. They tore it down.

Because I found this barn less than three miles from my house, worked at getting it right and captured it before it was too late, it has a special place in my collection. My awareness that I did not have it the first few times served me well. Regret is no fun and I would have had some had I left this alone after my first shots. I knew there was something there.

I should go back and take the empty lot picture.


... Nah, I don't need to. I already know.

Spring Training

Lakeland Florida. I hopped the fence, went into the dugout and while sitting there, I noticed this leftover ball from the previous night's game under the bench. My photo subject showed up on cue again. The dozens of picutres of the beautiful field and the surroundings pale in comparison to this classic shot.

Baseball fields are a refuge for me. AfterI graduated from high school, I would often go out to the high school baseball field I played on when I came home from college. To this day, if I am on a run and there are kids playing ball I often stop and soak it up for minute.

A well manacured field on a peaceful day helps me clear my head. This picture was taken on the morning of that I captured "The bird" and met Ruby C. Williams in Florida.

Bridal Veil, Columbia River Gorge

A perfectly rainy and cold June day in Oregon. There is nothing quite like Oregon green. Like many people, I do not spend enough time in thought. If I had this bench, no cell phone or camera I think I could do it more easily.

Strip

If or when I get back to Vegas I will shoot this one again. I know exactly what I want to do the next time. I am still glad I found this shot among the dozens of obvious ones that were begging for my attention.

Road to Hana

Wow.
Yes, it was really that blue (and our Canon Powershoot has a positive film feature that "pops" color.)