It was fairly early in my career as a photojournalist that I worked for the Talladega (Alabama) Daily Home newspaper. We were usually pretty busy because we had a staff of 5 photographers who covered a huge area- all of East-Central Alabama. One day though, I was eating my lunch in the paper's break room and reading a small article in our sister paper, The Anniston Star about a man who was living under a bridge on one of the major highways leading into Talladega. Since I wasn't busy that day, I decided to go see him and find out what his situation was. I went to the location and found a tall, frail looking man named Jack Williams. Jack had a very raspy voice and it turned out that he had terminal throat cancer and had been told he had 3 weeks to live. He explained that he loved the outdoors, so after getting all of his affairs in order, he decided he wanted to spend the remainder of his days hunting, fishing and camping. The owner of the land gave him permission to be there and charged him $1 a year for rent- payable at a later date. I ended up doing not just one, but several stories about Jack, and it garnered me a lot of attention and job offers from bigger (but not necessarily better...) newspapers. I think Jack, more than any other person I photographed, did more for my career than anyone else. I felt guilty about this, but he just laughed and told me he was happy to help. Very typical Jack Williams response.


In Alabama, there is usually a lot of flooding in the spring. Heavy rains happen at this time of the year, and Jack's little creek-side abode was flooded out. I offered him my couch until the waters subsided, and when we got to the apartment on Coffee Street, he gave me a strange look. I asked him if he was OK and he explained that he had lived in the apartment on the 2nd floor, left side- my apartment. In researching Jack, I found out that his family was pioneers in the area, starting the school, library and even the paper that I worked for.


Fast forward a few years and I was now working for a large newspaper company who was involved in the Newspapers in Education program. I was speaking to a group of 4th and 5th grade students and I was telling them about Jack. My point in this was that you can't judge people prior to knowing their situation and that Jack was a good example of this. To look at him, you would consider him homeless, maybe an alcoholic or a drug user, but know him and you find out that he loved to read National Geographic, Scientific America and some other "intellectual" magazines. He wrote poetry and could tell you about ANYTHING in the natural world. A very smart, well read man. Well, after I say this, one of the teachers gets up crying and leaves the room. I tracked her down after I was finished and asked if I had said something to offend her. She smiled and patted my hand and said "No, that man you spoke about, Jack Williams, he was my father. I had a bad falling out with him and was too proud to say I was sorry, so for the last ten years of his life, we didn't speak. Now, my only mementos of him are the articles you wrote. I have them hanging proudly in my home..." . Needless to say, chills ran up my spine. She had some questions about him that I was able to answer for her, and the next day I brought a box of things to her that he had given me over the course of the year and a half that I photographed him and gave them to her and tokens of her father's life. Sometimes, you just never know how the things you do will effect people.

If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading and have an excellent day! Here's the photo:

Emerald Bay is located on the Southwestern side of Lake Tahoe. It is one of the first federally protected underwater “parks”, if you will. Emerald Bay is about 6,500 ft. in elevation in the High Sierras.

I live only a couple of hours from here, so I visit regularly for hiking and landscape photography. It’s a truly beautiful area, and I encourage anyone who visits Northern California to make a stop here :)

This shot was taken at close to sunset with my fussy (but absolutely fantastic) Sony RX1R

This may well be another check box on my bucket list - since I cannot afford a trip to South/Central America ! - Even in captivity, getting a decent shot of one has been quite a challenge for me - and others I am sure ! But, with persistence comes luck ! Shot at the Palm Beach Zoo.

This is a female that was orphaned by poachers as a kitten - now living the good life at P.B. Zoo 8-)

Canon 80D and Canon 70-300 nano from bodypod through fencing......1/200, f5.6, ISO 400, shot as JPEG and PP in Elements 9 on my XP computer with a small cropping.

..

With the Vulcan Mind Meld completed and some time on the Ministry's Obstacle Course (otherwise known as the floor and stairs) under his belt, the recruit is now ready for some real-world action.

Of course, at only seven weeks old, travel time to and fro takes a little longer than his instructor (Madame P) has patience for. Therefore, the recruit is placed in her pocket to speed the process along.

This also has the beneficial side effect of knowing the recruit's exact location and just what he's up to.

First, I apologize for the number of pictures, but this was such a cool place. I took my son to an Amish Farm in Sugarcreek OH. It's a must see, especially for kids. It is a working farm, but they also have quite a few exotic animals. You are taken around the grounds on a horse drawn wagon with a bucket of feed. Most of the animals will eat right out of your hands. In addition to the farm, there are plenty of other things for the adults, cheese, furniture, etc. To follow are some of my favorite pictures. Thanks for looking
Fran

One reason why I'm practicing hand holding the long lens, as used on all of these.
If I'd had to set up a tripod, I'd have lost these shots. These elk are not used to people. They aren't in a park & the only humans they see usually try to shoot them. The birds likewise are never close & always moving. I don't have the patience to sit and wait, so I just keep moving and hoping I'll get a shot. Most of these were luck not skill.
It's really not an ego thing. I don't pretend to be the best and my photos aren't perfect., I just try to do my best. Plus, having made my living as an artist since the early 70's in a different and very time consuming media, I appreciate the effects of a long lens and do very little post processing to the raw files. The less work the better I like it.
I stored the originals of a couple for the pixel peepers, of which I confess I am one.