Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust

I’m always looking for something interesting to photograph. On my weekly drives from Indianapolis to Cincinnati, I pass a series of old barns. I have noticed lately that some of the barns have vanished. It is a shame that these old structures are no longer needed and are destined to be forgotten. I have started to document some of these old timers for others to enjoy. When their time comes and it’s ashes to ashes dust to dust they will still live as 10101010 on my digital hard drive. Go out and take some pictures

New Kid On Block

Our son Quinn Martin Gomez was born on June 9th. I will do my best to keep you posted. I have posted some pictures on my portfolio site. Call or write for the password.

COMMON INTEREST

Sharing your interests with friends is fulfilling. It’s truer if you share the same interest. My college buddy Steve and I share an interest in photography.  Before I was involved in aviation, I made my living as a custom photo printer.  In the ten years that I served in that capacity, I saw my share of good images and more so of bad ones.  I always enjoyed stumbling across a good image and always got a kick when I had the opportunity to work with one.

I’ve been in the process of clearing my hard drive on my old windows laptop. I just purchased a new Mac Book Pro and had been transferring old files from one to the other.  In the process I found an image that Steve had taken a few years ago.  He had shared that image with me and now I’m sharing it with you.  I’m not sure of the exact location that this photo was taken.  I do know that it was at the Grand Canyon. The full resolution image is amazing, especially when viewed on a calibrated monitor.  I just printed an 11x14 from the file and will matt and frame to a 16x20 size. It will look nice on my wall. Thanks Steve.

 

NO BOSTON TEA PARTY

Jut finished a week of flying in the Northeast. Most of the flying was concentrated going in and out of Boston.

Ordinarily, I enjoy flying to this historic city.  Boston is one of our most scenic destinations. I especially enjoy the approach to landing to runway 27 or runway 22 Left.  On both of these runways the approach brings us over the coast and out into the Atlantic.  The view of the coast the many islands and lighthouses is incredible. In the late afternoon on clear days as the sun is setting the city skyline is in silhouette against the setting sun.  Not to sound cliché, but when all the elements are in place it is a breathtaking view.   I’m Sorry to report that on this trip I had none of that. What I did have was a very cold and snow filled week that was cloudy with low overcast and extremely poor visibility.  It was a challenging four days of winter weather flying, I did venture into the city for a warm meal and a cold libation.  I needed anything other than airport or hotel food.

UNTIL NEXT FALL

Just returned from the Smokey’s. This year I made the trip a family affair. I Invited the In-laws to join us for a few days of fun and relaxation . Initially, I had planned to spend a significant amount of time roaming the hills looking for good photo ops, but as it turned out the fall colors had not quite kicked in yet. I made an early run up to Clingman’s Dome on the first morning after our arrival. A quick cup of coffee and a nutty-butty and of I went. I can normally make the trip up the mountain in under thirty minutes but on this day the fog was thick and I had to feel my way up. Arriving at the summit it was still shrouded in clouds and as normal there was already a contingent of other photogs already there, all looking to the east. You never know how the sunrise will turn out all you ever know is that it happens rapidly. I made a few images and then worked my way back to the cabin, only stopping at a few locations to make a few more images.
The trip was not a complete bust. I had a great time spending time with my family and my in-laws. The cabin was decked out. It included a pool table, an air hockey table, and arcade table. We had an out door hut tub with a great view of the mountains. A fridge full of beer and great food. I can’t complain. These are just a few of the pics I took.

Key Word is Free

With my limited stay in the cities that I visit, I often have some hard choices to make on how to spend my limited time. This past week proved to be such an occasion. My third day had me in St. Louis Missouri. With an excellent hotel location just across the street from Jefferson Park, home of the famous Gateway Arch and just two city blocks from Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals and just a five minute cab ride from the Anheuser-Bush Headquarters home of Budweiser. I was being pulled in all directions with not enough time to visit all three locations. Here is how I broke it down. The Cardinals were playing at home against the Florida Marlins I could see the stands filled with fans and could practically smell the hotdogs from my 4th floor room. From that same vantage point I could also see the Arch across the street in the park. I have seen this landmark on many occasions from my office window as I descend into the city, but never up close. The Anheuser-Bush facility offers free tours and FREE samples of its products. The choice was really not hard after all. I like baseball and hotdogs but not six dollar beers. Anheuser was giving away free tours and free beer. And since the Arch was so close I just had to go and touch it. This is some of what I saw, enjoy.

SUNRISE AT 30K

It's amazing just how much can occur in a three month span. Without going into any details, I can say that my stress level reached an all time high. A lot of the issues at hand have been remedied and once again my stress level is pegging in the green zone. We all combat stress in different ways, I personally enjoy seeing a beautiful sunrise and sunset. Sometimes I get lucky and can experience these events from a perfect vantage point, usually high above the clouds. These moments pass quickly but even in that short amount of time my spirit is always rejuvenated. These images were taken with my Canon G9 as the sun was rising over the South Carolina coast

GLORY DAZE

It's the second day of May and already I feel like skipping school. I grew up in central Indiana, and as a young kid, skipping high school to attend the "Indianapolis 500 Time Trials" was a right of passage. My first trip was in 1977, those were the days of the wild and infamous “Snake-Pit”. To this day I honestly can’t remember any of the cars going around the track, but I can remember very vividly the “girls gone wild” for a beer. Back then a can of beer would get you a quick peek. I quickly learned the meaning of "Miller High Life". That was the beginning of my long love affair with the Indianapolis 500. The years have passed and the Snake-Pit is long gone but the memories remain. Over the years, my taste in beer has changed, but on the 25th of May I will be in the “J” stands at the completion of the 4th turn with my "Miller High life" in hand, a big smile on my face remembering the Glory Days and enjoying the moment. These are a few images from last year. See you at the track.

SMOKIES

This week I’m with the Family in The Great Smoky Mountains. We have been trying to enjoy a few days away from the normal rigors of everyday working life. This is our first vacation since our son was born. Already we have decided that on our next vacation we will bring along a babysitter.
I’m up early every morning. I usually grab a hot cup of coffee then it’s a quick dash to the top of Clingmans Dome, the highest point on the Tennessee side of the mountains, to catch the sunrise. It’s been hit or miss with the sunrise. On two of my three attempts, the mountain top was under cloud cover. From our hotel to the top of the dome it’s a good hour round trip. But with no time to waste on this trip, I’m off exploring other locations for good photo opportunities. The park is in full bloom. The spring flowers, dogwoods and redbuds are plentiful. The creeks and rivers are flowing and the wildlife is abundant.
Here are a few photos; I hope that you will enjoy them. I’m planning a return trip this coming fall in late October for the autumn colors. If you are interested in joining me drop me a line.

CALM AFTER THE STORM

I had just landed in Atlanta. I dead-headed in from Savannah, this was my second day of a four day trip. I still had to fly to Sioux Falls before returning back to ATL for a long overnight. As we departed a storm front was moving in from the northwest. We could see the level five and six storm clouds on the radar. We managed to work our way around and in between storm cells and passed the storm front just northwest of Nashville Tennessee.
Arriving in Sioux Falls the weather was not very cooperative. The local airport weather forecast was calling for snow, heavy crosswinds and a temperature of 28 degrees.
The approach to landing was as expected, bumpy due to the gusting crosswinds. Arriving at the terminal I was ready to return to ATL. I knew that the storm front would have already passed and I was returning as a passenger and not part of the crew working the flight back. I was anxious to arrive because I was going to meet my buddy Steve, an old college mate. Steve also works for an airline and we don’t often have the opportunity to get together.
Steve and I met at the crew hotel. The weather had not yet completely subsided. It was still raining but the temperature was perfect.
Steve took me to one of his favorite Mexican restaurants and we spent the next few hours catching up and enjoying some good Mexican grub. Steve had just purchased a Canon G9 that he intends to pack on his trips. Over dinner we agreed to visit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens early in the morning to shoot some flowers. I was somewhat expecting to visit the gardens so I was packing my Nikon D200 and a Tamron 90 mm macro lens. As a backup I also had my G9.
The following morning we arrived at the gardens before the doors had opened. We noticed that the storm and heavy rains were not kind to the flowers. There was some damage but we managed to find some nice specimens to shoot. After a couple of hours of running around the gardens I had to return to the hotel. I still had two days of flying before returning home. These are some of my shots.