Charlie Loesel, Westfalia, Seattle WA

Our good friend Charlie Loesel just released his new CD - Westfalia. Its a great listen. You can check him out by clicking HERE. His music is available for purchase by CD or mp3 through Amazon. We wish him the best of luck with his latest project. Charlie hails from Seattle Washington and is my brother-in-law's good buddy. They met while working together for the Peace Corps in Benin, Africa. He's a good guy and very talented.

Duncan Knob, Page County, VA

It was an absolutely perfect weekend for backpacking in the Shenandoah this past weekend as my friends and I of Troop 976 in Vienna VA hiked our way through to Duncan Knob, just outside of New Market Virginia. Many of our boys were out for their very first backpack overnighter including my son....and myself. The boys as well as adults had a blast of a good time deep in the woods, pushing ourselves, enjoying ourselves and learning many lessons along the way.

(Click on the picture for a larger view)

Trustworthy Navigators.

The effort.

The reward.

The boys built a massive, and one of the best, fire rings I've seen. We were in for quite a blaze.

An interesting story began to emerge late in the day. We were in the middle of no where, roughing it, with no water source. Everything we had we brought with us. We were all patting ourselves on the back for our 3-4 mile up hill journey. Around 4 pm a man with a camel back, trail shoes, and bib number on his shorts came racing through our campsite. Later another man, and another. Then some women. It didn't take us long to figure out we were on a major artery for an endurance race taking part that very day. These folks were participating in the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run and we were sitting at about the 70 mile mark!

All afternoon and late into the night these folks came very quietly up and over the crest where we camped. Every time one came through, the boys would pause to clap and cheer and wish the runners luck. You can see the smiles on their faces below as they ran into this unanticipated welcoming party. It was a hoot and a very positive inspiration for all of us. All night long we saw little LED lights come quietly through our camp. It was humbling and (almost) made us feel guilty for curling up in our warm sleeping bags and snoozing the night away.

(If you are curious about this event please see this race summary by race sponsor Virginia Happy Trails Running Club. I contacted their webmaster and they included a link to this blogpost. Make sure you read the comments below this post.)






As we broke camp and headed down the mountain we were still occasionally passed by the ultra runner who had literally been up all night running through the forest. Many appeared to be in their 50s and 60s. Every time they passed, the Troop would part like Moses parting the sea and cheer the runners on. I hope they all reached their personal goals and got home safely.

My son and I sharing in another beautiful view brought to us by Boy Scouts of America. You can't find moments like these in a video game.

Oh to Be Young...

On the streets of Ybor City.

Kelly; A FaceBook Moment

Meet my friend Kelly. I had not seen her in about 26 years. She and I worked together many years ago at the old Woodward and Lothrop Department Store in Alexandria, Virginia. We are talking 1984 here. She and I were just young adults trying to pass the time while working in the lamp and housewares departments on those long, boring, summer nights when no one was really interested in shopping. We became fast friends. For me, she made going to work more fun and I've never forgotten those great times. Always with a smile she simply made work more interesting.

Soon after my leaving for college we lost touch. She married and had two beautiful daughters. I never thought I would see her again then one day there it was...."Friend Me". Through the magic of FaceBook we rekindled an old friendship and I was able to have a quick visit and a cup of joe with her while in Orlando last week. I asked her to sit for a few pics. Still as radiant as ever.

Streets of Ybor

Click the picture for a larger view.

PSW Rocks Orlando

Its been an unbelievably busy three days here at the Photoshop World Conference in Orlando. I've met so many new friends and many fantastic photographers that I aspire to be more like. I've learned so much it will take the rest of the spring and probably summer to absorb it all. The conference opened up with a rock show followed by many talented speakers including Dr. Russell Brown, one of the early pioneers of Photoshop and an Adobe employee for 25 years and of course Mr. Scott Kelby himself. Many cool gags and videos followed.

It's after 1:00 AM on Thursday...er...Friday morning and I've just gotten out of the legendary Midnight Madness. What fun. Thanks Matt Kloskowski for sneaking me in. I had the priveledge of meetng Matt at one of Jeff Revell's photowalks two years ago and he's been a good friend, looking out for me at every turn while I'm here. I have many pics to post and share over the next few weeks. Here are just a few.

Executive Director of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Larry Becker.

In class with the highly successful Zack Arias.

We went on an urban safari in Y'bor City, Tampa

You can almost smell the cigars!

Treated to flamenco dancers.

On a walkabout with National Geographic Photographer, author, instructor, comedian, and all around nice guy Joe McNally. You probably have seen many of his fabulous images in NG, Sports Illustrated, Life magazine and many other publications. THIS was a good day and one I won't forget. Joe is a master at his craft. I love this pic.

Whatever your level of photography you should seriously consider attending at least one conference. These people know how to have fun.....and you learn a bunch of cool stuff too.

The Big Dig, Snow Storm 2010, Vienna VA

Mad Brenda Rocks Jammin Java

Sam Foster

Torie Foster

Tom Foster
(yes, their Dad)

Matt Aub

Mad Brenda was not the least bit deterred by last night's snowstorm and rocked Jammin Java here in Northern Virginia. The music was fantastic and the crowd was loving it. Concert photography is challenging, more so when the night club in which you are in is very dimly lit.

The photos above were taken with a Canon 7D racked out at 6400 ISO, with a Canon 70-200mm f2.8 lens, tweaked in Adobe Lightroom, and denoised in CS4 using Topaz deNoise software. I think the result is fair. Gotta keep trying to find that diamond in the rough.

The entire evening was broadcast by my friend Jim Folliard of Fairfax Video Studio on uStreamTV so my kids were able to watch the band (and me) on my MAC. How cool is that?

Jim Folliard working his magic.

Enjoy This Wonderful Day

A Memorable Day

Friends and family gathered today at St. Benedict Church in Richmond Va to say fair well to Charles D. Curley. The sun shown brightly, the cold held off, a loan diesel train horn blew in the distance and he was laid to rest.