Sometimes conditions are just right for photography.  This picture was taken on a crisp sunny winter day in Virginia.  The quality of the light that day was indescribable, but it's reflected in this picture, especially the subtle colors in the ice surrounding the tree. 

     This is the famous Burnside Bridge, site of one of the bloodiest battles of the civil war. I apologize that this picture is not in high resolution, this was taken with my first digital camera in April 1999.  I've always liked the photograph and the low resolution seems to add to the mood of the photo.  Rather than write a detailed account here, please see the following resources:

Antietam.com 
National Park Service

    Here's another civil war picture, also on the Antietam battlefield.  This picture was taken later in the day on a surprising cold April twilight.  It was definitely worth the wait for the final wisps of light captured behind the statute.   

 This picture is from a Maryland swamp at the end of the day.  I really missed an opportunity with this picture because a hot air balloon was flying overhead.  I stopped the car to get a picture of that but didn't have enough time to frame the swamp and the colorful balloon together. 

    This is one of the first good digital pictures I ever took, way back in March 1998.  It's a good example why it pays to be patient.  I was in staying in a Hotel in Lancaster Pennsylvania and every morning I'd look out the window at the scene you see here, however, most days it was rather dull and not even worth a picture.  With digital I was able to take a picture each day.  Finally, on the very last day I poked my head out again and and saw the wonderful pale light you see in the photo.  I also knew exactly how I wanted to Zoom/crop the image since I had essentially taken it 14 times before!  Note: this picture is marked with a copyright, although not all the pictures on this page are marked with a copyright, but all are hereby Copyright 2003.

Another one of my older favorites (and there will be more to come from my film days).  I think, judging my own work, that what makes this picture special is the blurry background which almost looks like it was brushed on.

 This picture marks the appearance of the first picture taken by my Father.  He has taken so many good pictures from his recent trips out West it was hard to pick a picture for introduction to this page.  This one, of the Grand Tetons is one of my favorites and is from his first digital camera so the quality is not as high as the newer cameras.