People

Kady

During the Summer of 1985, this young hero traveled to Turkiye with Jay, a toddler, and CE, a newborn, to visit me for three months.

I took this with my Canon AE-1 Program with FD 70-210mm f/4 (set at about 100mm), using Kodak Tri-X 400.  I developed it in the NATO darkroom after she returned to the States.

I scanned them a while back and filed them in a folder with other scans from that day.  I rediscovered it and fell in love all over again.

LR

My firstborn, by my first wife, is happily back in my life, thanks to her efforts and those of my other two.  I love how she has taken on her Big Sister and Godmother roles.

Below is LR with my eldest granddaughter, ST, at SGM's second birthday party,

I hope to take more of her entire family, soon.

KS

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 has escaped me.  This shot, taken during one of our coffee dates, comes closest.  

KS 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.

Bee

Though no longer my daughter-in-law, Bee is forever my daughter and mother of my grandson.  She was always my favorite of my kid's high school friends and remains one of my favorite people.  I've taken photos of her since she was about seventeen.  What photographer in his right mind wouldn't?

JK

My Grandson is most likely the most photographed young man 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.

ES

I try to spend as much time with my ES 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.

SGM

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."

I took a load of her out in her backyard using my new Nikon 200-500mm lens.  This lens is amazing.  I shot this hand-held at 200mm, f/8, 1/800, ISO 400.

TS

While Kady's niece lived with her grandparents, I asked her to sit for me.  She was about twenty-two at the time and one of the prettiest young women I had ever known. Still is.

It was a very bright Alabama summer day and the light was far too harsh.  I underexposed and was never able to make a decent print in my darkroom.  I kept the film.

Technology Improved.

I found the negatives not long ago, scanned them one at a time to give me the best file from which to work, and then worked on them in Photoshop.

Finally.   Amazing!

Never give up on those old negatives!

CFN

I've taken photos of this beautiful woman, twice, once for her Father's birthday, and once 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 they were almost 15 years ago.

She recently told me that her father had one of my photos of her printed wall-sized, on canvas for his home.  You're welcome, CFN's dad.

The shot below was taken at Battery Park at sunset in October 2010.  I need to take more photos of her.

Mitch

I've known this guy longer than I have known Kady.  We were in the 82nd together.  If you read my stories, many of them include him.

Yeah, This is Pigg!

Mitch is the finest soldier I have ever known.  He is the fittest, strongest, and the best navigator, shot, and trainer.  He is the second-best Jumpmaster.

He and I talk often and he came up for a visit not long ago.  I took him to Battlefields.

I am honored to know him.

He is an Alabama Fan.  I hate that.

SS

The day after Christmas, 2017, I took a few shots of SS to test my new, fast, 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.

Sally

There are few people I love as much as this lady; I consider her one of my best friends. 

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, rinsing in hot water.  

These two shots are from the few I managed to salvage. They took all of my Photoshop skills.

Eddie

Ed is my oldest friend.  We met in 1974 through The Cult.

Though we never served together, we went into the Army about the same time.  He spent time in the Rangers and Special Forces, leaving as a Major.

During SF Training, he lived with Kady, the Kids, and me.  He always comes to Virginia for big family events.  Eddie is family.

I took this on Post while he was in town for Jay's wedding.

Colonel John

John was the Band director at VMI.  I traveled with him and the band to Savannah, New Orleans, and Passadina for parades.  He learned to take me along as his enforcer.

This is the man who got me into Hockey.

He is also my Battlefield traveling partner.  We've been as far west as Shiloh and as far north as Gettysburg and many battlefields in between.

He is very knowledgeable and talks about battles in his best Shelby Foote voice.  Not bad for a kid from Philly.

The man is the consummate musician and plays a mean trumpet.

Ken

There are few people I respect as much as this guy.  I met him when his son was a cadet.  He once recruited cadets from his adopted state of North Carolina, supported by scholarship money gifted by a prominent alumni family.

His cadets were a quality group of young people, most going into the service, all becoming shakers and movers within the Corps of Cadets.

He kept up with each one, encouraging them, speaking on their behalf, helping them solve their problems, and insisting on academic excellence.

For my part, I made sure he had unfettered access to his cadets during their important milestones.

He is the only person with whom I will discuss VMI.

Ann

I use this photo to show prospective subjects an example of my work.  It is from a series of film photos I took of her just before I left for Kosovo.  Ann, my son's high school classmate, was a frequent visitor to our home in Lexington.  She's still a big part of my family and is usually present at family gatherings.  She is trying her best to bring me into the 21st Century.

Boyce

I've known this guy since high school.  Though he attended a different school, we sang and toured together in a Baptist church youth choir.

Later, we attended the same church and almost went into the Army together.

I owe him a lot - he and his wonderful wife, Millie, helped me through a divorce and introduced me to Kady.

I looked him up in Arizona, where I took this shot.

Be Prepared

I met Ayşe and her family at Kultur Park in Izmir, while with two friends, Ellen and Vern taking photos of the city.  I stepped away, put on my 55- 200 mm zoom, and took shots of them all. 

I was still deep in the training process run by my three Army Photographers.   This young lady had striking jade-green eyes. and beautiful chestnut hair, and my camera was loaded with Black and White film.  Too Bad!  Those eyes deserved color film.

Not long after, I bought a second Canon Body, a Canon A-1, to pair with my AE-1 Program and FD Lenses.  I kept one loaded with color and the other monochrome.

Digital is so much simpler.  I have assigned buttons on my Nikon D850 to change rapidly between color modes.

If I took this photo today, I'd use my 85mm lens, open my aperture, and set the mode to "Vivid." 

This day was also pivotal in creating a sideline hobby.  I had Ayşe give me her address (that's my pencil in her hand) and I sent the family copies of the photos I took of them.  That was a fun endeavor but expensive . . . until I began sending digital files via email or text.

No Pets, Please

A few years after her graduation Erica visited me in Lexington. We took the photos we had talked about, forever.

She brought her dogs.  This was the first time I had worked with animals.

I took some good photos of Erica that day but the dogs made it difficult. She was focused on wrangling her pups while I tried to shoot three moving targets.

I liked this one the best.

Sarah

I miss this young woman.  One of my daughter's college friends, Sarah was a constant visitor in our house and even worked in the Commandant's office at VMI for a while.  Now she's married with two children, and living in California.

We took this shot on the Blue Ridge while we skipped out on work.  She was easy to photograph, a natural.

I took the photo below two weeks later when her sister came to town.