“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something.”
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While I will never look back on the year 2020 as my best year in photography, I will look back on it as a year that I did
“There are no faster or firmer friendships than those formed between people who love the same books.”
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Friendship is one of the most important things to me. I am so fortunate to be married to my best friend, Randy!
Many of my friends have shared life’s ups and downs with me
“Look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory.”
― A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
For the past ten years, I have spent a great deal of each summer traveling and photographing. This summer has been quite different.
Although I have not been able to spend weeks away from home exploring, I have managed to make short day trips to
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
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Each summer, I look forward to spending time in the sunflower fields. The fields bring me such peace and joy.
This year, I was afraid that
“I believe that each person has a favorite place, a tree, a mountain, or a beach which they want to come back to, even if the return can only take place in the boundaries of their imagination.”
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I have several places that I return to again and again to photograph. Roan Mountain is one of those very special places. One of my favorite times to visit Roan Mountain is
“When I teach my students to not only embrace their constraints, but to pursue them, by choosing only one lens, only one subject or theme, they find it immediately liberating, and their work becomes more creative.”
-David duChemin
When I am not at work or spending time with my family and friends, I am doing something related to photography. I am constantly working hard to improve my knowledge, skills, and capabilities. I read books, attend workshops, and take courses online.
I have taken two online courses created by
“It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent.”
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Two years ago, during the winter, I took a huge leap (for me) and joined some great friends and fellow photographers on a weekend primitive camping trip to Capers Island. That weekend turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. I wrote a post about that trip upon my return. If you would like to read about it, you can do that here.
Last year, I was greatly anticipating joining the same group to spend another weekend on the island. Unfortunately,
“Our imagination flies — we are its shadow on the earth.”
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During my winter break, I had the opportunity to explore with my camera. I received a wonderful book, Seeing in Sixes, for Christmas. Seeing in Sixes is a collection of six image projects edited by Brooks Jensen and Maureen Gallagher. I think I had this book in my mind as I spent a day walking through the streets of downtown Charleston.
I have spent many trips photographing in Charleston. This time I was looking for something different to photograph. When I saw the shadow of ironwork cast upon a tree, my series for the day
“The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be.”
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Each year at this time, like many of my fellow photographers, I like to take a look back at the work I created during the year. There is a lot that can be learned by taking a look back.
Instagram supplied me with my “top nine” images of 2018. This indicated the nine images that were liked the most by others who viewed my images on Instagram. I found it interesting to see that of the sixteen images that I selected as my personal favorites,
