Sunset

Yesterday was my birthday. Since I've taken many trips around the sun, it made sense this year to find a beautiful place to watch the sunset on my birthday. I think I found a pretty good spot at Canyons Restaurant in Blowing Rock, NC. On the right you can see Grandfather Mountain. It was a happy birthday indeed!

North Carolina Zoo

Recently I spent some time at the North Carolina Zoo to spend some time with friends and to photograph the animals. This time of year is a great time to visit the animals because the weather is just about perfect. They are very active and spending a lot of time 'out and about'. The zoo in NC is a very popular attraction, not only because there are great animals to observe, but also because the zoo takes great measures to ensure the animals are well taken care of and have more than enough room to call home. Below you will find just a small sampling of the critters that have taken residence in Asheboro, NC. If you haven't been to this zoo before, it's certainly one place you shouldn't miss if you happen to be in the area. It's a very interactive, informative, pleasant, and inexpensive place to visit. Young or old, you will walk away informed and enlightened (and probably tired from walking the miles and miles of paved trails connecting 'Africa' and 'North America'.

McRorie-Bartholet Wedding

Weddings are meant to be perfect, and on this day it seemed to ring true. I am lucky enough to be friends with these wonderful newlyweds, Chelsey and Mark. On a sunny day in Charlotte, North Carolina, St. Peter's Catholic Church hosted this beautiful October wedding. No detail was left untouched as Chelsey and Mark minimized the glamor and settled on fine, simple aesthetics. Love was present as they tied the knot, and their reception near Uptown Charlotte provided a great atmosphere for them and their guests to mingle and dine. Congrats to Chelsey and Mark Bartholet!

Fair Weather

130 years ago, some very bright folks decided there needed to be a grain exposition in Winston-Salem. Several decades later the exposition had expanded and became known as the Piedmont Tobacco Fair. Fast forward to today and you have what is currently known as the Dixie Classic Fair. When the fair comes to town, I always try to attend. I first attended the fair about 27 years ago with my dad and a handful of older brothers. This is an event for everybody. Whether you love animals, music, food, games, art, or carnival rides, this is the fair to go to. In my opinion this fair rivals the North Carolina State Fair. You can't beat this year's highlight event: Demolition derby and figure-8 racing. Whatever draws you in, you can't beat the Dixie Classic Fair. Thank goodness we had nice weather on our trip!

Color it Cool

As the weather begins to slowly change from hot to cool, evidence mounts all around that autumn is in the air. The evidence begins to fall as leaves, changing colors as quickly as they change the landscape. This is my most favorite time of the year, aesthetically. Every year I get excited to see the trees go through their magical transformation. It leads to a cool, at times unpleasant, season, but with the benefit of beauty. While the signs of new growth promote the idea of newness and freshness with the onset of spring, the colors and coolness of fall bring to mind wonderful smells of soups, pumpkin pies, and hot cocoa. The big warm, fuzzy blankets return, and out of the closet come my favorite sweatshirts. Ahhhh, welcome, fall.

Hawley-Stroup Wedding

Earlier this month I had the honor and privilege to photograph friend and former colleague, Erica Hawley, and her beau, Neal Stroup, as they tied the knot in Charlotte, North Carolina. The day was perfect for a late-summer wedding. Friends, colleagues, and family gathered in large numbers for the joyous occasion. Following a beautiful church ceremony, the newlyweds mixed and mingled with their well-wishers during a tasty cake-cutting reception. But that wasn't the end of their beautiful day! Next, the couple made their way to a smaller lakeside, Southern-themed reception. From beginning to end, the day was the perfect expression of their enduring friendship and love.

You Say Hot Potato, I Say Hot Tomato

This summer has been one of the hottest on record. I happen to know this well, because over the last week I have been moving from my apartment into a house. In the past I thought that moving in the rain was the most unpleasant, but I happen to believe that 100+ degree heat is probably worse. I've done the math: One hour of labor in this heat warrants 10 minutes worth of napping. Needless to say, I've been napping a lot during the course of this move.

However, if there's one thing on this planet that loves the heat, it's the tomato plant. Call it a hunch, but when I envisioned my container garden for the summer, I knew that the tomato plant would be the star of the show. It took some careful planning, a gentle touch, and lots of good luck to get anything to grow this year. You see, my thumb isn't really green, but it wants to be. Last summer my plants took to the wind and fell off my balcony to the earth 20 feet below. Ouch. This year, I decided to start my plants from a seed all the way back in February, and just last week that hard work paid off as I plucked my first tomato. About 10 seconds after I took the picture, this little fella found his way under a salt shaker and into my tummy. Now his buddies are following suit.

Despite their awful effect on the working human body, the sun and heat have been gracious in allowing my 'mater plants to thrive.

Future History Makers

My "real" job is being an art teacher. For the last three years I have been refining my skills to enter the world as a certified professional k-12 art teacher. Last December I obtained my goal of becoming licensed by the state of North Carolina to teach art. When the summer draws to a close, I will begin my new career in a high school a few counties over, in a community much smaller than Charlotte (thank goodness, just in time to avoid all-things-Democratic-National-Convention). In the meantime, however, I'm fortunate enough to work with a non-profit art gallery as a summer art camp instructor. These children bring me so much joy. Not a day goes by where I don't recognize their innocence and purity as they pursue their ideas on the canvas. It dawned on that I'm an "old guy" now, teaching the future history makers. In one short week the children are able to create a wonderful take-home portfolio of work. Each Friday is the "opening" show, where their friends and family come to see their work on the gallery walls. This event is wonderful experience for the students, their families, and (selfishly...) me. Combining my love of photography with my new found love of education (I say new found because I was a terrible young student) my days are full, bright, and colorful.

Good Ole' Fashioned Fun

When I was young, one of my favorite things to do with my family was to go to baseball games. Decades later I'm still enjoying family-fun with my siblings, father, and my lovely wife. Honestly, baseball is one of the most boring things for me to watch on TV, but ironically it's one of most engaging spectator sports. Winston-Salem is lucky to have a great minor league team. The Winston-Salem Dash play in a new state-of-the-art stadium, and the few times I've made the trek across the state to see them play, all the seats are always full. The energy is high as a troupe of youngsters entertain the crowd with Bolt, the team mascot. The Dash are a winning team, both in their game record and their value to the city of Winston-Salem.