I recently found out that two of my photos were selected to be shown digitally, this time they are both from special places for me.  I am a lover of history and while I’ve had a few jobs in life, two were great.  The first was as a US Navy Musician for 30 years and the second was as a US History adjunct professor after retiring from the Navy.  In the latter I learned what you’ll hear several people say, it’s not work if you love what you do.  I really miss that job, loved going to work, and loved discussing history.  Both of these photos are at historic locations.

The first photo was taken at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) in Virginia.  I remember visiting here as a child on a family vacation in the early 1970’s, even then the history amazed me.  However, later in life, after having a few friends buried here, it has taken on a different meaning.  Whenever I’d find myself shooting photos at ANC I’d pay my respects if I was in the area. While I loved shooting here, I never took photos of those grieving or burial services and if a procession was passing I put my camera away.  Besides, there’s plenty of other photo opportunities inside this hallowed place given all of historic people buried here.  This photo, Snowfall, of winter graves at Arlington National Cemetery was selected for a digital exposition in Berlin Germany at the BBA Circle at the Mostly White Exposition.  

The second photo today was taken at Colonial Williamsburg, also in Virginia.  This is another place we visited on that seventies family trip and it’s as amazing today as it wasthen.  Frankly, it’s amazing to walk with my wife and girls in the exact same places that I walked with my parents and brother on that trip.  I only hope my girls will visit some day with their children.  This photo of the Governor’s Palace was a night shot that my oldest daughter came along, it’s always more fun when my family is with me.  I don’t think they can say the same…  I’m a pain to be with when I’m shooting and it’s probably worse in a historic place.  About two year prior to when this photo was taken, I visited by myself, and before I knew it an entire day had passed.  Anyway, this night photo, called After Dark, is of the Governor’s Palace and was selected for a digital showing at the Valid World Hall Gallery in Barcelona, Spain in the Dramatic Lighting Exhibit on November 1, 2019.

Many thanks as always to all of you follow this blog and support this thing I do!

I found out today that two of my photos are to be shown digitally, it’s always cool when this happens!  Both of these exbitions were possible through Gurushots.com.  I like Gurushots not only for the exposure from these exhibitions but also to see what other photographer’s are doing creatively.  Viewing photos at Gurushots, Flickr, and a few other places only helps me to get better.

This photo was taken recently near where I currently live in Yokosuka, Japan.  I was walking near Verny Park in the morning and able to see the base where the US and Japanese ships are docked.  The sun was obscured mostly because of the buildings but a little light was hitting these Japanese submarines making for a cool effect.  Really hoping to get some shots of these heading to, or from, the sea.  This shot, Morning Subs, was selected to be digitally shown at the Blank Wall Gallery in Athens, Greece in the Mostly Black Exhibit from December 13-15, 2019.  Living in Japan has been a great experience so far, I’m trying to capture as many ‘daily life’ type shots and while a photo like this might seem to not fit that category, it does.  Yokosuka is a HUGE Navy town, not just for the US but the Japanese as well, something I was unaware of prior to living here.

I lived in northern Virginia in 2017 and loved every minute of it.  I didn’t really know much about Alexandria, VA prior to living at Fort Belvoir, but it quickly came to be one of all-time favorite cities.  This was for a few reasons, first I’m a huge history nerd and Alexandria is history nerd central!  Second, for shooting stock photography it was a target rich environment.  Whether I wanted/needed food shots, generic patriotic material, or flags (literally EVERYWHERE), it was all there in front of me!  This shot, called Plum Crates, was taken at the Old Town Alexandria Farmer’s Market held on Saturday mornings next to City Hall.  It the four corners of wooden plum crates, I shot a few others but this one stuck with me more.  The photo was selected to show at the BBA Circle in the “Artistic Still Life” exhibit from January 31-February 2, 2020.

As always, thank you to all of you for the support I receive and hope you enjoy the blog.  I really am trying to keep it going this time around!

Yes, five, pretty happy about that!  From time to time I enter various photo contests in hopes of being published, making the cut for expositions, or to simply get exposure. Many times it’s through Gurushots.com, a great place to find photo inspiration and check out the work of others!  When I do make the cut, it’s usually for a digital exposition; however, it has resulted in being published in a books, twice!  Recently, five of my photos were selected for digital displays at various locations.

Yakitori Stand was selected for digital exhibit in the People in the City exhibition at the Valid World Hall Gallery in Barcelona, Spain on November 1-3, 2019.  It was taken at one of my little stops when I’m out shooting here where I currently live.  It’s in an alley just off Blue Street in Yokosuka, Japan at a yakitori stand where they grill meat in front of you and you stand in line and eat.  Each piece of meat is on a kebab stick, eat as much as you want, they count the sticks at the end.  80 Yen per stick or about 75 cents in US Dollars, not bad.  Love eating here!  I chose to shoot this at night because I wanted to capture just a little motion, also it’s just more colorful in the evening with the lights and coffee machine.

Kegon Falls 6 will be digitally shown in the Our Amazing Planet Exhibit at the Annual Photography Conference held by the Galitz Photography School in Tel Aviv, Isreal on November 26, 2019.  This is the amazing Kegon Falls near Nikko, Japan.  To say this place is breath taking is an understatement, it’s incredibly huge and has several smaller falls surrounding it.  Kegon Falls is considered one of “Japan’s Top 100 Waterfalls“, according to a listing published by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment in 1990.  I’m already planning return trips in autumn and winter!

This photo, Closing Time, was chosen for digital Exposition for Dramatic Lighting at the Valid World Hall Gallery in Barcelona, Spain on November 2-3, 2019.  It was taken at the Taiko Drum Festival in Narita, Japan.  The festival was over and we were waiting to board our bus to return home when I spotted these guys cleaning and prepping the kitchen for the next day.  I didn’t bring a tripod, so this was shot completely handheld at ISO 3200 while steading myself a telephone pole!  I’ve read all the reviews about how the Canon 6d Markii is totally inadequate in low light situations, I don’t buy it.  I like this camera so much that I purchased a second one as a back up!

Chureito Pagoda 5 was picked for digital display in the Artistic Photography Exposition at the Thessaloniki Art Fair, November 21-24, 2019, Thessaloniki, Greece.  It was taken at one of the most iconic Japanese shot locations you can get, the Churieto Pagoda near Fujiyoshida, Japan.  First you have to climb the 400 stairs, but once you’re up there it’s pretty incredible with an unobstructed view of Mount Fuji.  I was really to go for something different in the black and white genre here, I already had a bunch of shots showing how beautiful this place was.  I was trying to give it a mysterious look without being gloomy, because that’s how the Churieto Pagoda feels, beautiful and mysterious.  I’m hoping to get back this year when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom!

This photo, called Skipping, was chosen to be digitally shown at the Blank Wall Gallery in Athens, Greece on December 13-15, 2019 with the At the Beach Exposition.  I had just received a new lens in the mail (Tamron 150-600 G1) and my girls wanted to go to the beach, so we went and I let them run while trying out the lens – win/win!  This photo, taken at Imperial Beach, CA, kind of describes my daughters personalities. On the left is the older and more grounded one who doesn’t take chances, plays it safe, probably future Jeep owner who won’t leave second gear.  On the right, in the air, is the younger who operates at full speed 24/7, throws caution to the wind, and totally opposite of her sister.

I truly appreciate the support I receive through my website and this blog, thank you all so much as well as Gurushots!