All Gave Some, Some Gave All | New Bern, North Carolina
I spent the Memorial Day evening inside the U.S. National Cemetery in New Bern. First off, the place looked amazing. Not sure who took the time to raise all the flags, but thank you. Each headstone was adorned with its own flag and the main road down the middle was lined with American flags, as well as flags for each state in the Union. It truly was a sight to see. Just slowly wandering around in there, I really got a sense of what Memorial Day is all about. It’s not a day to mourn the men and women who gave so much so that we could live free, but it’s about celebrating them. They deserve so much more than we could ever give. There is no more valiant an act than to lay down your life for another. These individuals need to be remembered 365 days a year, not just on one special day- however, on that one special day, we need to treat each one like they are the hero that they were.
Thank you to the men and women who sacrificed themselves so that we could be free. And thank you to the active duty and retired, in all branches of the armed forces, past, present and future, who give us all that we have today. It’s because of you that I am free to do the photography that I love. Thank you.
“If you build it, they will come…” | Kinston, NC
Historic Grainger Stadium stands, missing its occupant, in downtown Kinston, North Carolina. Most recently the home of the Kinston Indians, the Cleveland Indians High-A minor league affiliate, the team relocated this season. It’s currently being used for high school and community college baseball games. Regardless of who is playing on the field, it’s a great place to watch baseball and must be a bigger thrill to play on its grass.
I have only visited a handful of minor league ballparks, most of them very new, but the first game I saw at Grainger Stadium felt different. Built in 1949, The stadium has an old time charm and feel to it that is hard to describe. A lot of people’s fingers are crossed for a new team to move in. In my opinion, it would be awesome if a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate re-joined the Carolina League and called Kinston home!
High Noon | Williamsburg, Virginia
Few weather conditions can be tougher on a photographer than a cloudless sky at midday. That’s exactly what I got on a recent visit to Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, VA. Where the other lenses in my kit fall short in these conditions, my 8mm Rokinon f/3.5 does a phenominal job with direct sunlight. I don’t know what it is, but colors come out well exposed and the sunflare rocks when shooting at f/16-22 on the lens. For this shot, the trees lining the walkway to the Governor’s Mansion provided just enough cover to diffuse the sunlight a bit and were able to cast really nice shadows reaching toward me.
The shot: Nikon D90, Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 lens. Two bracketed exposures, hand held. Manually masked together in Photoshop and finished with a Glamour Glow using Nik Color Efex Pro.
Sunset Rays | Emerald Isle, North Carolina
The sunset on March 4 was a phenomenal one. The entire afternoon had been nothing but gloomy and grey, but as sunset approached, the sky began to part. I was instructing a photography workshop along with Brad Styron and a sunset shoot was on the schedule, although we weren’t sure if we were going to have a worthwhile sky to shoot. With sunset scheduled to happen at 6:00pm, we noticed the amazing color in the sky at around 5:45. Everyone stopped what they were doing and we rushed onto the beach just as the sun passed in between two levels of clouds, creating some awesome rays. The color didn’t last long, but as always in these fleeting moments, we were so glad we rushed out to see it!
The shot: Nikon D90, 8mm Rokinon lens. f/22, 1/15th sec., ISO 100. 3 exposures masked together in Photoshop. Finished with Nik Color Efex and Viveza.
March 2012 Free Desktop Wallpaper Calendar
With February already behind us, here is March’s desktop wallpaper. Please share this with your friends and family, it’s free!
On another note, I recently realized that comments have been disabled on my blog for quite sometime—probably for as long as some of you have followed it. No idea how I didn’t notice… They’re back now, so feel free to leave me a quick comment. I never really do know how many people use or share these wallpapers, so it would be nice to see who all is enjoying them!
