In the summer of 2017, I was in Charlestown, WV on business and it occurred to me that Washington D.C. was only a couple of hours away. At the time I was working to develop my photography hobby into a potential career, and D.C. seemed like an excellent place to get some good practice shots. I was currently learning the settings of my first DSLR camera and some entry-level techniques for capturing images. I was no Mike Carano, but as I played with the different functions, I could see a […]

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Some of the best experiences we have in the United States occur when traveling and some of our best experiences when traveling are due to spontaneity. I am always driving around the U.S., either for work or fun, and more often than not an impulsive detour is part of the agenda. One of the more enjoyable, and surprisingly economical, detours started off as a weekend visit to Pittsburgh, PA. It quickly became something more. Pittsburgh, PA From my home in Elkhart, IN Pittsburgh was only about five and a half […]

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On the morning of January 20, 2018, I found myself roaming the back roads of Washington County, Tennessee with my camera and an itchy shutter finger. I had been in Kingsport for a week on business and was desperate to find something to write about in the area. It was by pure coincidence that I happened upon Gray Fossil Site and General Shale Natural History Museum. Dig Site In May of 2000, a Tennessee DOT crew was grading an unsafe hill on State Route 75 in Gray, TN when they […]

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In my early days of back-to-back cross-country road trips, my knowledge of photography was lacking, and my equipment was limited to a subpar cell phone camera. I have since learned the value of a good DSLR or mirrorless camera, as well as the versatility of a drone in capturing travel related photos. Still, I look back on my old road trip pictures with a nostalgia that’s due in small part to their lower quality. It reminds me more vividly where I was and what I was doing in those captured […]

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International travelers are more than happy to tell you all about the people, places, and cultures of the world. There is nothing that can compare to the experience of exploring ancient cities in far away countries. To be emersed in the customs of a foreign land is an escape from one’s self and education in life. In the U.S. we are so fascinated by the cultures of other countries that we often take for granted the diversity within our borders. The great American road trip solves this dilemma, for those […]

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When I decided to take my first cross-country road trip, in April of 2012, the destination was originally set as Tucson, AZ. A close friend had moved there a few years prior, and he really seemed to love it. Having spent most of my life in Northern Indiana, I was fed up with cold weather and dreamed of visiting a climate that was completely different. My trip was as much about scouting for a possible move as it was a new adventure. When I arrived in Tucson, I pulled into […]

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On April 1st, 2012 I set out on my first road trip from Northern Indiana to Southern California. By November 2014 I had added four more similar trips, each time taking a different route. It’s easy to say that the journey is better than the destination, but the reality is, the longer the road trip, the greater the monotony. Fortunately, there is relief that comes from finding great places to stop, stretch your legs, take some pictures, get something to eat, and absorb the local culture. Working specific locations into […]

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It was 12:15 pm when my plane touched down at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.  A jet-lagged stranger in a strange place, I wondered what Austin, TX might have in store for me.  The answer, I soon found out, was a lot.  With an urge to obtain some aerial photos of the city, I searched for parks in and around the downtown area and drove my rental car to Zilker Metropolitan Park.  A simple park, with an open field, Zilker would do just fine for launching my drone without interruption and without […]

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