Photo Blog

Arizona Sunset is my first ever attempt at a day/night time-lapse. I was presented with a great opportunity to capture a beautiful sunset and took advantage. The logistics of taking a time-lapse when there is such a wide variation in light proved challenging. In addition to careful setup for the shoot, post processing work was required to clean up the photos. However, I think the result speaks for itself. I’ve learned a lot and can’t wait to explore time-lapse photography even more in the future!

First full day in Arizona and I’ve made a new friend: this hummingbird at the Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson.

I’ve been posting a lot of photos from DC lately, so here’s an older photo from somewhere completely different. I took this in Rockport, Massachusetts back in August, 2011. I have to say that it’s a little crazy to look back at early photos now and see how much my composition and technique has changed. This one I’d probably leave alone though. It’s one of those photos that makes you appreciate the fact that we have color photography these days!

Photographing the war memorials in and around Washington, DC is one of my favorite things to do. They are incredibly reflective spots and photographing them forces you to spend more time, and give greater attention, than you would on a normal visit.

When I arrived at the Marine Corps Memorial in Arlington, there were plenty of tourists coming and going. Many arrived on chartered tour buses as the sun set.

But once it was dark, I suddenly realized I was the only person there. It did not last long, however. After a few minutes, emerging from the pitch blackness, two or three members of the Navy in their dress-white uniforms appeared. No one said a word to anyone else, but enjoying the monument with no one else but a few current members of the military was a special treat.

As a photographer, you’re always making decisions, conscious or not, to include or exclude certain elements from your photographs. You’re also looking for ways to build stories with your pictures. When I captured this photo, I was looking for shots out the passenger side of the car at Winterthur in Delaware. The side-view mirror was sneaking into the corner of my frame as I aimed out the window. After a moment of frustration, I realized that rather than try to exclude it completely, I could make it the focal point of my photograph. The mirror helps tell the story: instead of a simple scene in the woods, it is clear we are driving down a path and thanks to the mirror, it’s very clear where we are coming from.