This is my firstborn, by Beck.  She has returned to my life through her efforts and those of my other two.  I'm so grateful.

I love how she has taken on the roles of big sister, godmother, auntie, and friend in our family.

She brought with her a great man and two more marvelous grandchildren.

I need more time with them.

I really, really need to take photos of them all.

I'm amazed at how few photos I have of my son as an adult; I took hundreds of photos of Jay as a child.  I need to fix this problem.  This one is from my granddaughter's birthday party a few years ago.

An Iraq Veteran, he returned home, educated himself with the GI Bill, and earned his MS in Information Technology.

He is the best man I know.

I dig the hat and his Carnegie Mellon bowtie.

My daughter-in-law was my daughter's college best friend and part of the family, long before my son showed interest.

A smart, college-trained interior and exterior designer, she works for a local contractor.  She's also an amazing artist.

She is proof that angels live among us, entering Jay's life at the perfect time.  She saved him.

I took this on one of our morning coffee dates, finally capturing how I see her.

My daughter is, and always has been, a classic beauty; she looks like her mom.  Sadly, she never lets me take her photo.

I don't get it.  Each time she allows me, the photos turn out great.

She's an Afghanistan Veteran, still in the Army, and recently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.  She's a Paratrooper and wears the AA Patch on her left shoulder.

I think this is my most recent shot of her.  Maybe one day . . .

I took this shot of CE in Winston-Salem, at the Reynold's House, back in 2005.  My brother, Jim, was showing his art at The Reynalda House Museum of American Art.

She and I attended.

I think I came home with only four photos of Jim's sculptures; I spent the day photographing my baby girl, a more beautiful work of art.

Finally, a good man comes along.  I couldn't have picked a finer husband for my daughter.  Though a "Damnyankee," I liked him from the first.

 He is the perfectly calm opposite of my fireball daughter.  They are a great team, and he treats her like the Princess Royal she was raised to be.

Cooper liked him instantly.  Nuff Said.

My grandson is one of the most photographed young men in America.  We all took thousands of him when he was little.  The Cadets and the school's public affairs office joined in.  He's smart, articulate, and quick-witted, with a tendency for good-natured Neel sarcasm.

Ignore his intelligence at your own risk.

It's hard to believe that he just graduated from High School.

I'm excited to see what his next big step will be.

I'm just getting to know this young lady.  She seems a little apprehensive about who I am, with a pinch of disapproving aire.

I expected that.

She's an amazing student and lacrosse player, already being looked at by colleges.  I hope to support that and become her friend.  She has enough Grandparents.

She's beautiful and smart like her mom.

I spend a lot of time with my granddaughter.  She's super intelligent, has a near photographic memory, and is into science like I am.

I enjoy taking photographs of her, and she enjoys posing.  She knows what she wants and must approve every shot.

This baby and I were great collaborators.  She was ready anytime Granddaddy wanted to take photos, as long as she got to review each shot and then push all the buttons on the camera.

When she had had enough of my camera and me, she gave me an emphatic "All Done!"  This also means, "Let me have a go with that camera."

At 5, she's not that into it.

I met my friend Cfn in Asheville for lunch .  It had been seven years since I had last seen her.

Yep. Still Gorgeous.

For this photo, I had her look down, close her eyes, and, on cue, look directly into the lens.  I used my 85mm lens and got in close.

Of the shots I took that day, I liked this photo the best.

I've taking photos of her since 2009, and each session has produced some amazing portraits.

She is one of my favorite people.

Lexington, 2009

Charleston, 2011

When my family converged on Tybee Island for SGM's birthday, I was still recovering from open heart surgery, into my third chemo infusion, and looking at a second surgery to remove my upper left lung.  To make matters worse, I had recently dropped a jack on my left foot.

I hurt all over, and I was tired.

Normally I love the beach, but all I did for four days was suffer.

On the last morning, I hobbled out to the car and drove to North Beach for sunrise, thinking it might be one of my last.

As I turned to head back to the car, this view caught my eye, and at that moment, I was a photographer again.  I was whole.

A former VMI Cadet, we became friends during the deaths of her grandfather and one of her Brother Rats.  Then, as always, life, time, and distance intervened.  That's normal, I think.

Our unlikely friendship has produced quite a few of my favorite photos.  It wasn't difficult; she is such a gorgeous young lady.

My camera loves her.

Also, she can throw a softball about a thousand mph.  Scarry.

When I told Kady how I planned to take this photo, she told me it would look "contrived."

Ryan didn't mind.  I bought her a coffee, gave her my copy of her favorite book, settled her in a chair out on the mall, and then got out of the way.  

What I captured that day was a scene you often see out there on the Mall, only with a more beautiful girl.  I love it.

One of her friends described it as very Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I'll take that.

Mckethan Park, 2014

Lexington, about 2016

Charlottesville, 2018

There are few people I love as much as this lady; I consider her one of my closest friends.

She sat for me when she visited us in Church Crookham, England, in 1988 or 89.  I shot three rolls of Tri-X and ruined them by turning on the wrong tap and rinsing in hot water.  I was able to salvage a few photos.

We email back and forth almost daily.  Kady and I are blessed to know her.

Unless I take her photo again, she gets to be in her thirties forever.  Not fair.

I've taken photos of this youngster since she was a teen.  It's easy to see why she was my favorite of all my kids' high school friends.

She has always been a beautiful, fun Tornado!

She married my son and gave me my Grandson, JK.  Even though the marriage didn't work, she will always be one of my children and a member of my family.

Bee recently remarried and moved out West.  I'll miss her.

This young lady was my daughter's college roommate and a permanent fixture in our house at VMI.  After a short stint in the Army, she worked in the Commandant's Office.  

I took my first photo of her when she was 18.  This was taken during spring exams when we snuck out of the office and drove up to the Blue Ridge Parkway for photos.

She was by far the easiest person I have ever photographed.  All I had to do was push the shutter release as she moved effortlessly from pose to pose, pausing for me to hit the shutter.  It was unlike any shoot I have ever done.

The Colonel was the VMI Band Director when I was there.  He recently retired.

We share a love for battlefields, traveling as far north as Gettysburg, and as far west as Shiloh.  

He reads descriptions of the battles in an amazing Shelby Foote voice.  Not too bad for a Yankee from Philly.

He stays in touch.

My Niece and nephew are such an amazing team that I can't write about one without mentioning the other.  They have built a great life out in Arizona, in a beautiful home, constantly full of children and grandchildren.

HJ is a professional family and addiction therapist and serves as the family fitness guru.  I have never asked her about anything physiology-related that she didn't know about.  I could listen to her all day.  

This guy is an ex-Army Special Forces NCO.  He works as a drilling engineer.  He is also an amazing cook and a born comedian.

These are two of the finest people I know, always willing to help someone in need.  I enjoy visiting.

While our niece lived with her grandparents, I asked her to sit for me.  What photographer wouldn't?  The Alabama sun coming in the window was harsh.  I underexposed and was unable to make a decent print in my darkroom.  I gave up and filed the negatives.  

Technology Improved.   

I scanned the old negatives, individually, and worked on them in Photoshop

 Finally.  Amazing!  Never give up on a photograph.

Professor and Artist, this was my hero growing up, though he plays golf and cheers for the other team.

Man, I need to take photos of him and his family.  That's always been hard, and harder now that he has moved from Alabama.

I never thought either of us would leave Alabama.

I like this photo for its illustration of my brother as the teacher he is.  As he was setting up the show, this young woman, staff as I remember, asked him a question about his art.  She was fascinated by every word he said.

I'm so glad he's safely out of Birmingham.

Erica came to see me a couple of years after graduation to take the photos we had talked about for so long.  She brought her dogs.

Yay!

While she wrangled the animals, I tried my best to get in some decent shots.  I got a few, but the day convinced me that I didn't like working with animals, especially while trying to take a portrait.

This was my favorite of the day.

I'd sure like another chance, sans dogs.  Erica is an incredible beauty and one of my faves from the class of 2004.

For the rock bottom price of "pose-with-my-car," I took this young Mary Baldwin College woman's graduation photos.  She was happy with them, though I never found out if she used them.

It doesn't matter; I like em.

She's married to a great VMI man and Naval Aviator.

Father to a VMI Cadet and Naval Aviator, I met this great man when he visited VMI.

For a long while, he recruited for a scholarship for North Carolina kids.  Almost every one of these young people became a leader in the Corps.

I gave him access to the barracks by escorting him anywhere he wanted to go, anytime he wanted.

We stay in touch.

By far, the finest soldier with whom I ever served.  He was the best shot, navigator, scout, and leader, and the second-best jumpmaster.  Hes a Combat Vet of Grenada, Panama, and Desert Shield/Desert Storm.

He and I are back in touch after far too long, and it is like we've never been separated.  The phonecalls are hilarious.

He and I met back in 1976, and became close friends when I moved to scouts.  I've been his boss, he's been mine, and we were Section Leaders in the Scouts.  We've done lots of crazy shit together.

I owe him.

Somewhere in all this fur is my new bud, my daughter's Bernadoodle, Scout.

He's a treasure—trained, happy, and well-behaved.  OK, he does like getting in the trash and has a stubborn streak a mile long, but he's a good boy.

I didn't think I could love another dog after Cooper, but this guy won me over.

When I'm in NOVA, he's My Dog.

Directly across the street from my apartment was a little coffee shop, Matisse.  The place was beautiful and frequented by attractive people, and I planned to give it a try.  But the pretty waitress working there gave me pause.  Every time I returned home, she watched everything I did, with what I took to be a disapproving look.

After a few days of this, I walked over and sat down at a sidewalk table, determined to show her that I was a nice guy and that we weren't all Ugly Americans.

She walked over with the first smile on her face that I had ever seen and said, "I have been wondering why you never came over for the best coffee in the city."

Matisse would become my place, for the great coffee and Burcin's smile.

This photo wasn't meant to look heroic, it simply couldn't help it.

This Guy is, by far, the most highly-trained and tested warrior I know.  He's done it all.  An Air Force Combat Rescue Officer, he was once my Cadet RSM and became the C1C at VMI.

I could tell you a lot more, but that shit's classified.

I took this shot in front of my quarters on the 4th of July.  Of Course.

Astronomy became my hobby through my father; he gave his boys the Universe.  

I'm working on my astrophotography, but it's not there yet.  I've been lucky a few times. 

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C-2023 A3)

Luna on a warm February night

Nikon D850, 500mm, 100 ISO, f5.6, 1/320, RAW

Waterloo, 2016

Sister-in-law, Sheri, 2001

This shot of Bolivian import and former Cadet, Nohelia, is a happy accident.  We drove out on the Rockbridge County backroads to take photos of her with her Jeep.  Most turned out OK, but I liked none of them.

As we headed back to post, I threw my camera up on the dash and aimed the best I could.  Tada!

I probably couldn't reproduce this, but I surely would like to try.

Syl - Mother-in-law

Wild Bill - Father-in-law

Sheri, Sister-in-law

Cooper - Best Boy & Singer of Songs