It may appear that the only time I take my camera out when I’m in Richmond is when I’m at a party. This isn’t exactly true, but my friends have been the extent of my documentary endeavors since Christmas. Over the last few weeks I’ve been sharpening my eye and testing out new equipment at the expense of those closest to me (along with their pets) in preparation for an upcoming assignment in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to testing out my new Canon 5D Mark II SLR camera, I’ve been refining my use of flash with ambient light, especially outdoors (see the last pics of my friend Justin in the Manchester district’s train yards). I’ve also been trying out my new camera’s ability to shoot HD video. In the past, some clients have asked if I offer video as part of my services; I hope I’ll soon be comfortable answering[…]
Read MorePersonal Work
(almost) left behind
This week I started cleaning out hard drives of the some of the superfluous images from last year’s assignments. I deleted quite a bit, but I also found some photographs that I previously thought either didn’t pass muster or that didn’t fit into a thematic essay. Some turned out to be real gems and a few will likely end up in my portfolio. I was blessed to be able to travel a great deal in 2008. These images come from Ecuador, Peru, Zambia, Tanzania, Armenia and Georgia.
Read MoreMy Grandmother the Obama Fan
So I am back from Peru now. I have a lot of great photographs from Lima, but before I get to those, many people ask what I do when I’m at home. Here’s a little bit of insight into my life in Virginia… I don’t put my camera down when I’m back home, though I’m not as good at toting it around as I am when I’m on assignment. I’m still trying to get into the mentality that I am always on assignment, even when I’m not in a foreign country. On Wednesday I went down to Chesapeake, a 90 minute drive, to hang out with my grandmother. Above, our lunch outing at her favorite restaurant, the Pirate’s Cove. At 85, my grandmother still gets out and does her own shopping and errand running, though at a slightly slower pace than she’s perhaps used to. Her shopping destination of choice:[…]
Read Morea Change of Scenery – my week in Ireland
Not exactly an assignment, but still mostly a working week, I’ve recently been in Ireland. The occasion: my friends Ryan and Aoife gathered the closest of their friends and family from throughout the world for a week-long convergence in County Wicklow, just south of Dublin. At the end of the week the two bonded in holy matrimony on a hillside near the town of Blessington. Though we’ve known each other for about 15 years, Ryan and I became good friends when he returned to Richmond a couple years ago after living in Chicago, Italy and Ireland, respectively. A talented web and graphic designer, we’ve collaborated on a few projects as well. He is the architect of this blog and my forthcoming website. Both of us well traveled, we share a love of other cultures and ways of life. Shown above on the windy moors, Ryan holds on for dear life.[…]
Read MoreOut of Egypt…
Okay, so I wasn’t really in Egypt this weekend. These photos were taken at Jockey’s Ridge in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Jockey’s Ridge is a massive sand dune park where extreme adventurers go to hang-glide, sand board, or in my case, just walk around and climb on the dunes. I thought I had the park all to myself but as I was taking some photos of the bare sand dunes, a big group of people came walking over the ridge. At first I thought I’d wait ’til they left but I saw something very surreal in how small and out of place everyone looked on these great piles of sand. One can draw their own metaphors and Biblical allusions from here….
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