2009 in Review

What a year. One of my pro friends recently commented that I had been hitting it as hard as any full-time pro. I have been fortunate and it has been a good year. When I first started writing this blog I expected to try and post something twice a month. This makes my 59th post for the year. I just can’t promise that next year will be as productive, but I’ll try. Also the number of visits to my blog has been quite impressive. I’m honored that people find my work worth following.

The image above was taken at Elakala Falls in Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia last September. I neglected to consider my shots from that day when I posted my gallery for that trip and I liked the shot too much not to share.



I think the theme for this year was diversity. While I primarily consider myself a landscape photographer, I shot lots of grunge and even a couple of models. My friend Tony Sweet says there are 2 types of photography, good and bad. I agree 100% and plan to continue following subject material that resonates within me.



I must admit that my passion for shooting was constrained by the realities of life. I didn’t get out and shoot anything related to Christmas and I had really hoped to spend more time on flower photography this year.



I’m on Facebook and Twitter. I have taken to Facebook, but Twitter not so much. I invite you to follow my occasional tweets or subscribe to my blog with Networked Blogs on Facebook. Occasionally I post images on Facebook that can’t be seen elsewhere.



I’m hoping to do just as much shooting in 2010. In most cases I should have something posted every couple weeks.

Surprise Find

The day after Christmas we decided to stop by one of our favorite winery’s before the long drive home from Southwest Virginia. It had rained all day on Christmas and in the morning I noticed that ice was starting to form on the trees. But by mid-morning the temperature warmed up and the ice disappeared, at least at our lower elevation. As we drove up to the winery near the Blue Ridge Parkway, it was a wonderful surprise to find everything coated in ice. Unfortunately the winery was closed because the ice had taken out the power lines, but it provided me with some good subject material.

Car Farm in Snow

I finally got out in the snow yesterday. I spent the first 2 days of the storm digging myself out. So yesterday I decided to take a run to the Car Farm. I have been wanting to shoot these old cars in the snow since the first time I saw them. We had 20 plus inches of snow in most of Virginia and the Car Farm was no exception. I had to be mindful of where I walked so that I would not walk through any of my compositions. With nowhere to put my camera bag I decided to make this a one camera, one lens shoot. After about a hour I had worked the scene and covered the ground with footprints.

Fall Color

During the last 2 weeks of October I did a lot of local shooting. By local, I mean here in Virginia. My first visit to Shenandoah National Park was quite a surprise. It had snowed at the higher elevations. I returned to Shenandoah a couple of days later and had to admit I was disappointed. The color at the higher elevations in the center of the park was less than I had hoped for. My day job sent me to Charlottesville the 3rd week in October for training so every night after class I would head out to either Shenandoah or the Blue Ridge Parkway. I would usually have an hour or so to shoot. The color got much better the further south I traveled. The following weekend I got in some additional time in Nelson County and the lower elevations of Shenandoah. Overall it was not a bad fall here in Virginia.

Click here for a galley.

Early Snow

Back in mid-October Greg Daily and I headed up to Shenandoah National Park to try and get in a morning of fall color. What we got was much more. Overnight 3 to 4 inches of snow had fallen at the upper altitudes. We had no idea until we were within a mile or so of the entry station. The only downside was the park service had shut down the entire center section of the park and only allowed access to a 10 mile section in the north part of the park. I only got a few shots that merit display but the experience was tremendous.