Wander: Crabtree Falls to Charlottesville VA

The weather promised a warmer day as we head into the end of winter, so I took a day to wander over towards the Blue Ridge. My plan was to hit a few different waterfall hikes along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but after my first stop at Crabtree Falls, I discovered the BRP was essentially […]

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Wander: Shenandoah National Park

My first-ever visit to Shenandoah National Park was a cold and misty one, but amazing just the same! I stopped for a leg-stretcher at Alum Spring Park in Fredericksburg, then headed into SNP to hike the Stony Man and Dark Hollow Falls trails. I also spotted some deer along Skyline Drive, and checked out the […]

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Day Tripping: Cumberland County, Virginia
Cumberland County, VA

I hit the road early this past Sunday morning for a proper wander–I had one initial destination in mind, and from there I thought I’d just explore and see where I ended up. And it turned out the answer was: Cumberland County, Virginia. It wasn’t a particularly long excursion, but I was pretty pleased with […]

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One Shot: Aerial Myrtle Beach

I think a cardinal rule of photography is that to make interesting images, you often need to find an unusual point of view on your subject. Sometimes that means getting down low, or zooming in close, or using a lens or focal length that causes distortion. And sometimes it means hopping into a helicopter and […]

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One Shot: Dulce Et Decorum Est

We photographers are lovers of light, and of patterns, and of colors and lines and textures. As such, some places we walk into simply make our jaws drop, and inspire a range of feelings. Simple awe for one, excitement for the opportunity to try to capture that place in a photograph–and a bit of trepidation […]

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Destination: Point Dume State Beach, CA
Point Dume Sunset

With the prospect of my first all-too-brief visit to the Los Angeles area, I had two main goals: get my feet into the Pacific Ocean, and catch a sunset over the ocean, both novelties for a Florida native like me. I very much prefer my beaches on the undeveloped and uncrowded side, so that pretty […]

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Destination: Ponce Inlet, FL

From the world-famous sands of Daytona Beach, Florida, a barrier island extends to the south, down through the oceanfront hotels of Daytona Beach Shores and the sleepy town of Wilbur-by-the-Sea, an enclave of beautiful beachfront homes and decorative marine-themed mailboxes. Keep heading south along A1A and Atlantic Avenue and you will at last come to […]

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One Shot: Golden Hills

One gorgeous fall day, I spent the afternoon driving a winding route through the Sequoia National Park in central California. On my way back towards Ducor and Bakersfield, the road took me through this gorgeous golden glade of grassy foothills and scattered trees, beautifully lit by the lowering western sun. I couldn’t resist pulling over […]

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Destination: Shawshank of Ohio

Surely I’m not alone in this, but I’ve always felt a special connection with the 1994 film (and currently the top-rated film on the Internet Movie Database) The Shawshank Redemption. In my formative years, you see, I discovered Stephen King and devoured his oeuvre at the time. And aside from the magnum opuses of It […]

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