Christmas Photo

Moonrise

Shot this a couple weeks ago, but kinda forgot about it and just pulled it off the memory card. It's the same scene as the iPhone pic in the previous post, but I dragged out the good camera for this one.

More iPhone photos

iPhone photos

Shot with iPhone using an app called Instagram.

Fall Tree

Haven't shot much fall stuff this year.

I Do

Wedding ring photo I shot at a wedding this past weekend.

Manits

Rocks n' Water

Negative Pig

Harvest Moon

Shot this last week and am just now getting around to posting it.

Wedding reflections...

While shooting a wedding in Virginia this past weekend, some of the words spoken during the ceremony really resonated with me. Here was a young couple getting ready to start their married lives together and the words from the minister were probably the same you'd hear at most weddings…there will be both good times and bad, ups and downs, peaks and valleys—whatever you want to call them. As someone who's been married for 17 years, I can really attest to this. But somehow hearing these words this time made me stop and think and really appreciate what I have—the best family anyone could ask for. And even though things aren't perfect all the time, there's always a lot of love in our family and I'm truly thankful for that.

Stray kitten

Don't know if he's actually considered a "stray" or not since Kenzie seems to have adopted him.

My 50mm f/1.8 lens & Lightroom 3

Just playing around...

Sunrise

The Long Road Home

It was one of those evenings I thought I'd never make it home. After an already hectic evening of picking up Reece from school, taking him to get his haircut, going to pick up Kenzie from swim practice, taking them to woof down some dinner somewhere quickly before heading to Reece's football practice, it was finally time for the commute from Ashland to Grayson. The only problem...I had to stop for gas, which doesn't seem like a big deal.

First try was at the Cannonsburg BP. I didn't want to pay at the pump, because I wanted to let Reece get something to drink from inside and didn't want to have to use the credit card twice. So, I hit the pay inside button and stand there waiting for the pump authorization .... and waited, and waited. Then looked at the store to realize the fat kid working there was standing out front smoking and talking to his friends...no one inside the store at all to authorize the pump. Instead of doing the rational thing and asking him, I decided to take my business next door.

Actually able to get gas there, and went inside to let Reece get a drink. Then had to stand in line behind the lady one-by-one checking her scratch off tickets to see if any of them were winners. After about a dozen or so tickets, she had $9 in credit, and proceeded to pour over the selection to redeem her "winnings."

It was then I followed the car with the crooked license plate along the two-lane US 60 for the last 15 miles putting along at around 40 mph the entire way. Got home just in time to spill a cup of spoiled chocolate milk that had been in the van from this morning (on a 90-some degree day) all over the back seat.

Long story short, what should be a 30-minute trip home took close to an hour. I'm glad to be home, but we've got to move.

Our kitty

Sunrise

Statue in the Rain

Testing something for work

Open publication - Free publishing - More vascular

Beach at Night

It was pretty dark out when I shot this one from our balcony with a tripod. It's a 25-second exposure at ISO 400, f/8. The white streaks are made by someone walking on the beach with a flashlight.

Swim Time

A little too much on the flash, but I had a very impatient subject.

My wife's latest creation

iPhone sunset

Snapped this with my iPhone yesterday. The sun was still a little too bright, so I put my sunglasses in front of the lens to act as a polarizer. Other effects were added with Camera Bag app.

Baby Birds

Frog in the Road

Seen on our evening walk through the neighborhood. Shot with my iPhone because it's all I had with me.

Smile

Snapped with my iPhone...this is the inside of a light fixture at a local restaurant. It's actually a metal pail with holes cut in it for the eyes and mouth...the nose is the lightbulb, which is painted silver on the bottom part.

Fireworks

I didn't have a tripod, and this was just a backyard display at my parents' house, but I managed to get a couple of halfway decent shots.

Breaststroke

Frogs n Flowers

It's like some type of botanical garden at my mother-in-law's house.

Morning Window

Vent

This is the kind of photos you take when it's two hours between events at a swim meet.

Paramount Arts Center

This is the inside of a theater in Ashland, Ky., called the Paramount Arts Center. Shot it today as part of a work project where I have to get photos of the community. Used a 10mm lens, and a 10-second exposure at f/11, ISO 200. Click on the photo for a much larger view.

Graduation Day

May 20, 2010

Today was graduation day for Reece …he donned his first cap and gown and got his preschool diploma, walked across the stage with his fellow classmates and looked so much like your normal kid. Which, to his mother and I seems remarkable considering the past couple of years we have been through.

Reece was a late talker, and because of this people often tried to label him at a very young age. We had considered at one time or another the gamut of possibilities, from autism to any number of developmental problems. Even his preschool, which we loved so much, at one time had their doubts and tried to tag him as having some more serious problem.

He was kind of antisocial and didn’t interact with other children, we were told at one point. Today, he is one of the most gregarious children you’ll ever meet, constantly speaking up, making friends and even singing the lead to “One Small Voice” at the graduation ceremony.

He has sensory issues, which must be why he isn’t talking like he should, we were told by one “professional” who wanted to have him wear a weighted vest as some type of treatment. We declined.

Seeing him today as sort of a shining star of the ceremony (of course I’m a little biased, but he did have a big role) made me realize that not only did his preschool teach him lots of things, but he taught them something as well — perhaps a child can be different and still be fine.

He is hands down one of the brightest children I’ve ever seen. He seems to have a knack for problem solving, and a vocabulary that’s well beyond his age. Just as he taught his teachers a few things, he teaches me on a daily basis.

I’m sure today’s graduation was the first of many to come. A milestone. A time to reflect on where he’s been and where he’s going. I have a feeling that during his life, he’ll teach the world lots of things, and I can’t wait to see what those things are.

Flower shots

Peacock

at the Cincinnati Zoo

Farm Scene

Near Grayson, Ky.