This year came out of nowhere and gave every single one of us a wake-up. Our “way of life” can be completely changed in less than a month’s time. Most things came to a grinding halt. Some never started up again. We’ve persevered and hopefully we’ve become stronger because of it.
I’m extremely glad for my photography, this year above any in memory. It has reinforced my purpose and provided an excuse to push through this interesting year. Every leap year I do a picture a day project (one a day for 366). That gave me something to focus on throughout the worst of things. As with every picture a day project, I love how it pushes me outside of my comfort zone. This year I did more portraiture and concentrated more on visual movement through the images. I hope that their emotion comes through.
Here I submit my fifty favorites from the year, with a bonus, since it is leap year. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed capturing them! Here’s to an exciting yet safe 2021!
I haven’t had a lot of free time to share the other side of my photography work this year, but it has kept me busy. Most weekends in the summer I was shooting a wedding, a senior portrait session, or a family session. I’m happy that so many clients have put their trust in me to capture lasting memories that reflect who they are. I had a tremendous amount of fun photographing all of the images below and I’m happy to have gotten the small collection of my favorites from 2018 together just under the wire to share with everyone! This year may be a wrap, but twenty-nineteen is poised to be even better! Thank you to all of those I had the pleasure of working with this year. You make my job an easy one! The hardest part was selecting 50. I had to go with 51! Thanks to the photogs I second shot for, including Derek Dibrell, Todd Sherman, and Deb Kocan. I look forward to next year’s weddings!
Every year I look back through the images that I created and try to narrow down my favorites to a reasonable number. This year was as difficult as a picture-a-day year with over 500 new pieces being created. The largest section was from my trip with fellow photographers Derek Dibrell, Dan Thompson, and Rich Moore to Death Valley. I had the opportunity to photograph an abandoned prison, fire spinners, and took another road trip to New England to chase Autumn leaves. It has been an incredible year to grow my skills and body of work. I hope that you enjoy seeing what my lens has captured in 2018!
IcebreakerA Gaggle On IceNavigating The River Of IceT TimeSplashThe Wolf Of SteeltownToday’s Gonna Be GreatFlightGnarled On The Cracked EarthGone SailingGrand In The Shadow Of The SkySerpentine ShadowsDesert TransitionsWhere The Water Stopped FlowingOn A Rock Travelling The CosmosSalt Flat To Mountain TopDesert CurvesLight At The Heart Of The PinnaclesA Landscape Littered With PinnaclesSunset Over The PinnaclesApril (Snow) ShowersLovedA Bag Of Attack FloofAssateague ZenWatching Over The City At DawnCucumber MistQuite The Big HouseNew Phone, Who Dis?Choices In Cell Block DBustling CrossingGooses & BoomsMeet In The LightFall On MeRiver City Under Pastel CloudsIsolated ShowersHeart BrokenA Vibrant StaircaseThe Sky’s Fire At DawnBursts Of Color In The Liquid MirrorSoft Light In The SchoolhouseAfter The Fall At The Covered BridgeThe Falls With A Burst Of AutumnInto The BlueThe Roll Of Low CloudsA Turn Towards FallCozy Cove Behind The FallsA Moment For The FallenPlaying With FireApproach With FlamesCharlie The Wee Snowman
Pittsburgh is a notorious location for disappointing weather during astronomical events. There have been so many lunar eclipses, super moons, and meteor showers unwatchable due to some last minute weather. This one was no different. What did happen is that Pittsburgh redeemed itself with an incredible sunrise as a consolation prize for getting out of bed so early. Here’s how it went down:
Got to bed later than I wanted to: Boo
Got out of bed at my first alarm: Yay!
Made it to the city in plenty of time to get a spot to shoot the Blue Blood Moon: Yay!
Bonus – with coffee: Double Yay!
20 minutes before the start of the eclipse, clouds roll in: Boo, Pittsburgh. Big Boo.
Stand out in the cold chatting with Dan Thompson: Always a pleasure
Concede that the eclipse is a bust: Boo
Decide to get Better-Maid Donuts: BIG YAY.
Come outside to see the gorgeous sky: NO TIME FOR YAY MUST GET TO OVERLOOK NOW!!!
Arrive in time to capture a gorgeous sunrise: Aw, yeah.
Bang my shin hopping back over the fence: D’oh! (Also, Boo)
Chat in the lot with Tim, a local photog, about film days and our shared love of the craft: Awesome.
My wife and I participated in the Women’s March on Sunday, January 21 in Pittsburgh. It was an unseasonably warm day in mid January and the perfect day for a march. The turnout was impressive. We could hear the crowd from blocks away as we approached. I was excited to march and support the cause as well as capture some images. We started at the City-County building on Grant St and marched down Grant, turned left onto Fifth Ave, and then left again into Market Square. I sort of feel that the images speak for themselves and don’t require any caption, so without further delay, here are some of my favorites from the day.
On the set of Pittsburgh Today Live with Heather Abraham
What a week it has been! Aside from the incredible weather that we’ve had in Pittsburgh and all of the unique capture opportunities that’s presented, I was asked mid-week if I would be interested in appearing on a well respected Pittsburgh morning show, Pittsburgh Today Live, on Friday morning. I was surprised, to say the least! Even with the short notice, I couldn’t pass up this wonderful opportunity. I accepted, passed along my info, and prepared to be “on the television”.
I was asked to provide some of my favorite images of Pittsburgh, a few wedding shots that used the city as a background, and if I had any, images of me photographing in “extreme situations”. Apparently, the info that I “go to extremes” to get some of my shots was passed along to the producer. (Thanks, Nate!) I pulled together some of my recent favorites, got a few shots from my fellow Photogs Derek Dibrell, Dan Thompson, and Kevin Crivelli that supported the above claim.
Friday morning came and as I drove into the KDKA studio I admit to being a bit nervous. I exited the Ft. Pitt Tunnel to see thick fog right on the river. My immediate thought was if I could grab a few shots before I had to go on. The struggle to fight that urge was absolutely real. I made the right decision and headed into the studio. I met the producer, Jill, and went over what the host, Heather Abraham, and I would chat about. I also got to meet two other guests appearing with me, Linda and Rich of North Hills Genealogists. Talking with them calmed my nerves tremendously. (Thanks to both of you for that!) When the tech came to walk me onto the set, I took a deep breath and reminded myself to “just talk about what you know.. what you love about photography”.
The set was amazing. It was several setups (couches, an an anchor desk, and two stools in front of a video wall), surrounded by cameras on remotely operated armatures that moved with instructions from the booth. I was directed to sit on one of the stools wile the previous segment wrapped up. I watched a camera disengage from shooting the couch area and move over to aim at me. Thought of the Terminator franchise popped into my head. Once the previous segment ended, Heather came over and introduced herself and we chatted for a minute or so while they were in commercial. We received the countdown to return from commercial and then I was on live television.
It was a wonderful experience and I’m immensely grateful for all of the support that friends and family have shown, humbled by the whole opportunity, and driven to continue on this path that I’ve chosen! Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments and congratulations!
I’ve adopted the tradition of sharing my 50 favorite images at year’s end. This year has been one where I’ve shot a lot fewer images, but the ones that I’ve captured are, in my opinion, better than years past. They are in chronological order starting in January and wrapping up in the first weekend of December. It was difficult to choose only 50! Let me know if you’ve got any favorites in the ones that I’ve selected!
Boyce-Mayview Park contains a wide variety of woodland scenes. There is a small waterfall, wetlands, open fields, and beautiful groves of trees. This particular spot is along a walking trail named Sylvan Ridge. While passing through, I noticed this dead and stripped pine tree. It made a nice contrast against the surrounding living pines. Something I learned during my college education in photography was to vary my perspective. It is a very good thing to remember as a photographer. Our abilities to capture the world around us through our lenses aren’t limited to what is at eye level. Wonderful compositions exist all around us if we take the time to look.
A wonderful human was born on March 20, 1928. Fred McFeely Rogers would change the face of youth education and entertainment with his soft spoken tone and messages of love and inclusion. He made quite an impression on me as a child and I would look forward to spending time in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. His teachings were not limited just to the youth. As an adult I came across a recording of him addressing a senate subcommittee in 1969 to defend federal funding proposed for the Public Broadcasting Corporation. His tone and words were no different in communicating to these powerful men than his teachings to the youth that watch his show. All of the feelings flooded back when I watched his unwavering compassion in this different situation. On this, which would have been his 88th birthday, I chose to photograph a sculpture built in his memory. The location of the structure couldn’t be better. The statue of Fred looks out over the city of Pittsburgh, ever smiling as he did in life. I find comfort in knowing that a part of him still watches over us.
The metamorphosis of life from winter to spring is fascinating. One warm day you start to see buds on trees, then leaves, and before you know it BAM! Spring. This is a sort of behind the scenes action shot. Standing on a ladder in my driveway, I moved in nice and close to a leaf bud surrounded by a raindrop. I’ve never seen a leaf at this stage of growth before. It is strange and beautiful, though. Macro photography will never cease to amaze me.
