Grandfather Mountain-top view

Grandfather Mountain NC

Sunrise Beech Mountain NC

Rockville Barn — brilliant sunset

Pale Autumn day

Recently I was traipsing through the Roslyn on a cold, cloudy day. Bleak? Yeah, kind of. But even in bleakness there is beauty.

Series of 3 from India

I'm posting 3 images from our trip to India a few years ago. This first one probably needs no introduction.

Praying toward the River

A Hindu worshiper faces the "holy" Ganges river — offering up prayers to a god who has no ears.

Light of the World, flood the Ganges

"I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations — to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison house — those who sit in darkness from the prison."

Sunset beauty

Ok. One more barn pic!

Late Fall

There's something about barren trees in late Fall that makes me stop and stare. I think it's the beauty of all those once hidden branches silhouetted against the sky.

The heavenlies declare His glory

I was recently out in Rockville and enjoyed taking some photos of that same old barn — but this time with the moon, Jupiter and Venus hovering above it.

One more sunset — Beech Mtn

I couldn't resist just one more sunset from Beech Mountain. Definitely one of the most spectacular I've seen.

Grandfather Mountain

Breathtaking views from Grandfather Mountain, N.C.

Maymont Fall color

I thought I had missed all the best photo opportunities at Maymont for Fall pics this year... but today I had some nice surprises!

The cloud jumped over the... fence!

My brother in law Bill and I were at at Maymont with "the fam" and I noticed him snapping a shot of this. The cloud was perfectly situated between the trees and just above the fence.

Cappuccino Cow

Don't try milking this one!

Maymont steps

These steps were intriguing to me. Where did they lead to? How old are they?

Log and leaves

Lake color

Fall color at the lake. Beech Mountain, N.C.

Lake color detail

Puddle of color

Beech Mountain stream bed

Mountain apple

Fall color Banner Elk

While in Banner Elk, I think heading toward the FoodLion, I saw this beautiful hill of color and couldn't resist snapping a few... while Danielle & Natalie patiently waited in the car :)

Quilted countryside

Alongside one of the country roads near Banner Elk, we found this little foothill painted with beautiful color.

Breathtaking Beech Mountain

We just got back from spending a week in the mountains. The photo above was taken just past sunset, and was one of the most beautiful (sunset's) I've seen. We saw the sky turning orange and found a great spot in an unexpected place to gaze at one small fragment of God's splendor.

Sunrise Massanutten

I had to get up early and drive to the top of Massanutten mountain, but it was totally worth it. God makes some beautiful sunrises :)

Vines at Maymont

Trees and vines have wonderful visual texture. And there's plenty of that at Maymont!

Kicking off Fall

I snapped this pic way back in the Fall of 1990 on the Blue ridge Parkway... with FILM! Ah, those were the days :)

Sweet dawning light

Some of my photographer friends turned me on to this great barn out in Rockville. I happened to be in the area early this morning and couldn't help but notice the first rays of the sun peeking over the trees onto the barn and silo.

Sunrise over the Ganges River, India

I haven't traveled a whole lot, but Danielle and I had a pretty amazing adventure in India in 2004. We made our way down the Varanasi streets early one morning, down to the the banks of the Ganges River. Every photo seemed like a postcard moment.

Crabtree Falls

Another photo of the falls.

Simple beauty

I took this one at the lovely Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. I remember it was Natalie's first time there last year, and we toted her around to see all the pretty flowers :)

Rich contrasts

One of my favorite types of nature shots is the type you see above. I like the contrast of textures and tones. Danielle and I were at a Christian retreat center with some Brazilian friends when I spotted this opportunity.

Drama in the sky

Brooding clouds at sunset.

Maymont Falls — infrared updated

I learned a new "dodge&burn" photo-making technique, that I tried on this Maymont Falls pic.

Byrd Park or Bird Park?

Go down to this area of the park just about any time of year, and you will find a large number of geese and ducks there to greet you.

The extraordinarily beautiful in less obvious places

These are probably my absolute favorite photos to date. The top one was taken by Danielle, the bottom one by my sister Vicki, 4 months before my dad passed away. My dad and I stole away for a few moments, onto these jetty rocks, and had the most beautiful conversation. The color, composition, visual elements of the photos are beside the point. When I see these, I am transported back to a fleeting moment in time where my dad and I had one of our last, and best talks. I will never forget that moment, and thanks to Vicki and Danielle, I have visual reminders to it as well.

Wideangle "what-in-the-world"s

Tell me if you can, Maymont-lovers, where these ones were taken.
:)

Autumn at Maymont

Maymont is definitely one of my favorite places to snap pictures. Danielle and I love the place. I mean after all, we were engaged there! This photo was taken in the Fall of 2006. God's master-stroke of color was everywhere.

Crabtree Falls

Danielle and I hiked up to Crabtree Falls in the Spring of 2005. It was quite the hike, but as you can see, well worth it! This is one of my absolute favorites.

Happy little daffodil

This is not the greatest picture in the world by any stretch, but it has an interesting story. This daffodil picture is composed of 93 separate pictures, stitched together in Photoshop. The final picture can be printed out 34x48 inches at 300dpi... massive!
I used a 200mm lens to get the shallow depth of field. The lone-blooming daffodil seemed to be saying, "Hey, here I am! Take a picture of me!"

Fenway Park

On May 20th, my birthday, my friends Terry and Matt treated me to my first major league ball game! We were in Boston for a designer's conference, and lucked out to be able to catch a game the same time we were there. Fenway Stadium is pretty surreal to be in for may reasons. But one thing stands out— the fans! The unity, the cheering, the excitement — really makes you feel like you're a part of something special. Another thing I pondered on was how the creativity of man, displayed in such a thing as baseball, must give the Father a big grin. What I mean is, He created us as creative creatures. We exhibit a unique quality of God when we come up with creative ways of having fun together. And boy, did we have a lot of fun!

20 years ago, framed in a frame

It's hard to believe 20 years have passed since this self-portrait was taken. It was an assignment for my first (of two) photo classes at VCU. Looking for something to post today, I stumbled across it, and could not believe how quickly life has passed. This shot was taken on an old abandoned farm in Virginia Beach. What gives me pause, besides the passing of time, is considering that when this was taken I did not know Christ. I almost don't remember that guy.

I see you, daddy

I couldn't resist posting a pic of my sweeties!