Photography

Photographs & Stories

I call myself a "Hybrid Photographer" because I work in film and digital, and to separate myself from the hoard of people calling themselves Photographers.  I'm a purist.  Too many adjustments or additions to an image make it graphic art and not photography.  I like my monochrome images cold and my color shots natural.  Whoever told wedding photographers that low saturation is artistic should be whipped.  Seriously, people, make it stop!

I've been serious about photography since 1985.  I studied under three exacting Army Combat Photographers who taught me in Black and White.  I still prefer it.

I use a Nikon D850 for Digital.  For Film, I use a Mamiya 6 for 120mm and a Canon A-1 for 35mm.

Below are a few of my favorite photos and their stories the ones that I believe are "good photographs."

When this hero traveled to Turkiye to visit me for New Year's, I took a lot of photos of her, the best work I have ever done.  I took it with my Canon AE-1 Program, Kodak Plus-X Pan 125, 100mm, and developed the roll with Kodak Microdol-X.

Nothing calls for Monochrome Photography like an Aspen Tree.  Seeing them in person for the first time a few years ago, I finally understood.  The way they shine in any light and contrast against even the brightest sky makes for perfect cold black-and-white photos.  What I need is a large stand of big trees.

I shot these young trees on a late November afternoon.  Perfect timing.

My daughter-in-law has always supported my photography; she is always willing to sit for me.  I've had some success but capturing how I see her escaped me until this shot, taken during one of our coffee dates.  She was my daughter's college best friend and part of the family, long before my son took an interest  She is proof that angels are real, entering Jay's life at the perfect time.  She saved him and he is a smart lad.

Nikon D850, 50mm, f2.5, 1/25, ISO-100, RAW

The only Southern monument remaining in Charlottesville is the one in the UVA Cemetery.  Its days are probably numbered.  Hell, they even removed the Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea monument.  I spent the better part of a day photographing all of the monuments in the city before they were removed.  I love this town, but it is home to some of the biggest bozos on this planet.

Shot in Savannah's Forsythe Park with a Mamiya RZ-67 in Ilford FP-4

My Grandson is one of the most photographed young men in the world.  The family took thousands of photos of him growing up.  Even the VMI Public Affairs Office got in the act.  He is an amazing young man - smart, funny, quick-witted, and great at everything he does.

I found this on a side street close to the theater at Ephesus in 1985, still leaning on the rubble from an earthquake.

The excavators wisely left this beauty as they found it.

I spent many days scouring the ruins of ancient Greek and Roman cities in Türkiye, the sole visitor, walking once-busy streets now visited only by sheep.

I spend as much time with my granddaughter as I can.  She's super intelligent, with a near photographic memory, and into science like I am.

I enjoy taking photographs of her and she enjoys posing.  She knows what she wants and must approve every shot.

I took this in 1985 when Kady, the kids, and I visited a "summer house" in Kaynarpinar.  It wasn't a good time, but the little town was pretty.

This baby and I are great collaborators.  She is usually ready anytime Granddaddy wants to take photos, as long as she gets to review each shot and then push all of the buttons on the camera.

When she has had enough of my camera and me, she gives me an emphatic "All Done!"  This also means, "Let me have a go with that camera."

It is amazing to me how few photos I have of my son as an adult; I took hundreds of photos of Jay as a child.  I need to fix this problem.  This one is from my granddaughter's birthday party a couple of years ago.  I dig the hat and his Carnegie Mellon bowtie.

I'm a Southern Railways kid.  My dad was the Supervisor of Communications.  We rode the train a lot when I was growing up.  Nothing relaxes me like the sound of a train whistle in the distance.  There's a Sleep Sound for that.

I've taken photos of this beautiful woman twice, once for her Father's birthday, and again in Charleston when I was there for a VMI-Citadel game.  Both sessions produced some of my favorite portraits of one of my favorite people, but that was years ago.  I need to work with her again.

Our Native American guide pointed out shapes and forms at Antelope Canyon.  I saw Light and Changes.  I bracketed, checking out each setting until I found the best one for each location.

My photos are unique; the wind, rain, and floods constantly change the canyon.  Where I stood, my camera angle and settings, and the time of day determined what I recorded.  I like that.  It made the place even more beautiful.

Nikon D5100, 22mm, f4, 1/30, ISO2800, 2 November 2018 1430hrs

The day after Christmas, 2017, I took a few shots of SS to test my new 50mm lens.  I was happy he agreed.  The man has such an interesting face.  I took it in Available Light, which worked nicely.  I should have shot from a little farther back.  The tree lights are a little distracting, though I like them.

We met him on the Internet way back in 1999 or 2000.  He has become a member of the family.  We enjoy time down in Tennessee on his farm.

Proof that one man's junk is another man's treasure, my wife and daughter love to scour Luckett's Store for fun things.  I like it as a photo subject.  I search for working period cameras.  I haven't found one worth buying . . . yet.

There are few people I love as much as this lady.  I consider Sally one of my few best friends and believe she must have the most beautiful legs and cutest feet on this planet..

I took these photos when she visited us in Church Crookham, England, in 1988 or 89.  I shot about three rolls of Tri-X and destroyed two by turning on the wrong tap and rinsing in hot water.  This photo is one of the few I managed to salvage. It took all of my Photoshop skills.

To celebrate my 2018 retirement, we took a trip out west.  It is beautiful out there but after a while, all you want to see is some damn trees!  Enough with the red rock formations already!

East of Park City Utah, we drove through Wasatch National Park.  It was cold, but we kept driving up to find snow and trees.  It gave me a chance to channel my inner Ansel Adams.  I shot this in color and Photoshopped it in Black and White.  That's allowed in 505 Photography.

Nikon D5100, 18mm, f10, 1/250, ISO-200

During my last Turkish Summer, I met and photographed one of the sweetest and most beautiful women I have ever met.  A former model, Sevda ran Divas Ajans in Izmir.  She put me to work photographing her business and adopted me as a cultural orphan, including me in work, family, and friend activities.  She taught me more about taking photos of women than anyone else.

I took a few good portraits of her.  That wasn't difficult; saying goodbye was.  Over twenty years later, she remains a true and faithful friend.

I love Savannah.  It is a photographer's paradise.

I took this for a Charlottesville Photographer's Group photo contest.  The theme was "Filthy Facades."  I didn't win. The shot that won was a bench covered in potted flowers.  The "judge" said she liked the colors.  That was my last day in the group and my last photo competition.

I once used this photo as an example of my work.  It is from a series of film photos I took of Ann just before I left for Kosovo.   I have always had a bit of an old man crush on her.

Still a big part of my family, she is usually present at Neel gatherings, trying her best to bring me into the 21st Century.  She'll never win.

I have spent plenty of time in the desert.  There's something mystical about it.  At first glance, it looks dead and forbidding, but with the slightest bit of moisture and a few days of warm weather, it turns green, sprouts grass, and the plants begin to bud.

I like the desert in short spurts.  I have to return to trees and water, and that means East.

I met this girl and her family at Kultur Park while photographing the city of Izmir with friends.  She had striking emerald-green eyes and beautiful chestnut hair.  My AE-1 Program was loaded with black and white.

Not long after, I bought a second Canon Body (A-1). I kept one loaded with color and the other monochrome.  Digital is so much simpler.  Ah, but Film!

Be Prepared

I've been a Civil War buff since I was a youngster.  In the Army, I studied the battles and began walking battlefields, learning the lessons and applying them to my profession.

Now, I spend my time sitting and listening, feeling . . . "dreaming."  Battlefield photos begin to look the same.  It is the stories of great valor that set them apart.

My daughter had to have a dog.  I disagreed.  One look at this guy and I was sold.  Cooper was faithful, happy, hell on UPS men, with a penchant for showing me his ass when I got out my camera.  I outfoxed him here, sitting him in a chair and holding his ball above the lens.  Laser Focused!  He was the Best Boy.

I worked at Virginia Military Institute for seventeen years, retiring on 1 February 2018. Over the years, I have taken thousands of photos, most of which I have deleted.  This is the last photo on the roll, taken on my final day at VMI.

While Kady's niece lived with her grandparents, I asked her to sit for me.  I underexposed and was never able to make a decent print in my darkroom.  I kept the film.  Technology Improved.  I found the negatives, scanned them individually, and worked on them in Photoshop.  Finally.  Amazing!

Never give up on those old negatives!

A "professional" photographer once said, “The biggest cliché in photography is sunrise and sunset."  Well, she's an idiot.  Sunrises and Sunsets are probably why photography was invented.

A cursory search of the internet for her images shows just how little she knows and how uninteresting her stuff is.  She teaches at a college . . . in California.  Of Course!  This person needs to go to the Keys.  I can guarantee more people visit Mallory Square at Sunset in a week than will ever see her stuff.

Astronomy became my hobby through my father. He gave his boys the Universe.  I'm working on my astrophotography.  It's not there yet, but I've been lucky a few times.  I shot my first Comet, Neowise,  while in Manhattan, Kansas.  I took this here in Charlottesville.  

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C-2023 A3)  D850, 85mm, ISO 6400 f/5.6, 4-Seconds, WB 4000K.

Another comet in my life, former Kadet and friend Ryan, was my perfect photo subject for a short while until Life interrupted the collaboration.  Marriage, babies, and work took her away to another state.

That's normal, I think, but I miss her.  Will I get to photograph her again?  I asked an all-knowing seer.  "Outlook Not so Good"

Who doesn't love a good lighthouse?  I'm an East Coast Boy hunting for them all.

I ran across this old workhorse while walking on a new neighborhood path.  I didn't have my real camera.  Luckily, the path and the truck were close enough to return that afternoon.  I  visit often before the new developers remove it.

I'm a Legacy Birdwatcher.  Mom gave my brothers and me Nature and Music.  I carry my bird book and binoculars everywhere.  Now that I have a proper wildlife lens, I'm photographing them more.  I'll spend hours by the feeder, hoping to catch one in my viewfinder, but I need to be more patient when out in the woods.

The barn at Blueberry Hill Farm in Tennessee is a great one.  I dig all barns, but this one has a special character and is the centerpiece of many good memories.  It is a perfect photo subject.