2009- -A Time to Grow

There is a minor uproar in the mountains about a cartoon that seems to allude to the fact we might be more at risk for swine flu as a result of our penchant for being ignoramuses with a fascination for livestock. Sadly, other than a few vocal transplants taking offense, there seems to be little or no effort to break the stereotype.

Within the past couple of years, there have been numerous incidents that have done nothing but reinforce the notion that all the residents of western North Carolina are a bunch of ignorant hillbillies. The first and probably most painful blow was struck by the nomination of a local high school senior for a prestigious national award. On paper, the young lady was by far and away the most qualified recipient and was invited to NYC to the final screening process. Unfortunately, everything fell apart when she began speaking in the mountain vernacular, instead of using the more formal American English that she obviously knew. Sure, there is a certain charm to a subtle southern drawl....but this was far beyond that.

Local television affiliate WLOS-TV 13 does nothing to help improve the situation. It seems every newscast that they go out of their way to find people that only speak in near unintelligible gibberish to showcase on their newsreels. The subject matter doesn't seem to have any bearing...if they can find someone that talks like they have a mouth full of marbles, on camera they go. Not only that, but the less intelligent the comments appear, the more airtime they get. If you can come across as a total yokel, you virtually guarantee your appearance on the 5, 5:30, 6, 11, 5-7 and noon newscasts...if the story is hot enough, you might make the cycle on two consecutive days. And lest we forget, you will be shared over on the sister station WMYA-40.

There is nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage, but damn...the Civil War ended 144 years ago. It is high time to stop propagating the stereotype and move into the modern era. There are far more intelligent and well educated people living in WNC than there are hillbillies. It is high time to start showcasing the positives!

Cherry Blossoms and a Whole Lot More

Once again, I am back home on the range after a whirlwind trip to our Nation's capital. A rare opportunity cropped up to meet with a group of fellow Canon photographers and shoot some of the sights and history of Washington. One never knows what to expect from gatherings of strangers...and even though I had previously met one of the other participants, there was still a certain feeling of trepidation leading up to the actual event. I can now safely report that any fears or concerns were totally unfounded. The group I met with just as crazy and fun in person as they are in our online sessions.

DC and the Cherry Blossoms

The schedule this week calls for a quick trip to DC to meet up with some of the Canon photographers and see if we can get some interesting takes on the cherry blossoms. At least a couple of us also hope to spend some time shooting the National Mall after dark...perhaps get in a few monument shots. Should be fun for all involved. I expect to have pictures by Friday at the latest...maybe sooner if I have wireless service available.

Return to Reality

Vacation is over and the long drive from Central Florida to North Carolina is now just a painful memory. Sure wish there was a better way to do it....but I don't see anything on the horizon that is going to solve that problem.

On the way home, I stopped at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Even though the region is locked in the ravages of a drought, the bounty of wildlife and scenery was rather incredible. No, it isn't in the same league as the launch of the Space Shuttle...but it isn't far behind. Mother Nature provides some great treats for us as well! The whole purpose for going to Merritt Island was to gather some images of the Roseate Spoonbill, a very unique looking bird, with striking coloration and an even more striking bill.

It is going to take a while to process all the images from this trip...nearly 2000 shots...covering a wide variety of subjects....from the Everglades to the Shuttle and beyond. It was a great vacation...nice to spend time with my parents and my best pal...one of these days my wife might even get to come along too! I suspect she would have as much fun as I always do.

Greetings from Orlando

Haven't written much of late...busy recharging my batteries in sunny Florida. I've now been here a week and wish I had another week to do all the things I would love to do. For now, I'll just have to settle for the things I've done.

The main intent of this trip was to photograph the launch of the space shuttle Discovery. Originally slated to take off around 9pm on March 11th, STS-119 looked to be a full blown night launch...a small hydrogen leak postponed things for a couple of days and the new launch window called for a dusk launch...at 7:43pm on March 15th. From a photographic standpoint, it posed a few challenges...especially for someone that had no experience shooting a launch, much less one with tricky lighting. I will have to admit, at some point in the process, photography became less than important.

The site we selected for viewing was in the city of Titusville, directly across from the Vehicle Assembly Building and offering a slightly obstructed view of the actual launch pad. Ground level haze also added to the difficulty of shooting the event. Being 11 miles away, I was painfully short in the lens department. One of Canon's new 800mm lenses with a 2x teleconverter would have been just the ticket, especially when coupled to a tripod with a full gimbal head, which would allow for easy tracking. Instead, I attacked the problem with 2 cameras...one with a 300mm lens and stacked 1.4x and 2x teleconverters and a second one with a 70-200mm lens and a 1.4x teleconverter. While these equipment choices worked...I would definitely attack things differently for the next launch.

With me on this safari were my parents and my best friend Doug (who is also my step-mom's youngest brother). For those of you that don't know Doug, he has Down Syndrome. Perhaps his condition served to draw us together originally...starting the day we first met in Kindergarten some 47 years ago and continuing to this day. For whatever reason, Doug and I were drawn together that first day of school, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by our teacher, Mrs Cline. From that day on, she made a point of having Doug and I in close proximity to each other at all times. Even without the teacher's help, I am sure we would have spent most of that school year watching out for each other anyway, because for whatever reason, Doug and I have always had a special bond. Perhaps it came from our classroom, were we had a replica Mercury space capsule that we spent large amounts of our time in and around. Doug and I both liked rockets then and we still do.

As the countdown wound down, you could feel the excitement building. Suddenly, the timer hit zero...the sky lit up and Discovery began what appeared to be a gentle ascent into the twilight. I tried hard to juggle cameras and photograph the event...but suddenly I became more aware of what was taking place by my side...Doug was cheering at the top of his lungs...Go,go,go!!! Next thing I know, we were both cheering...slapping high fives and just plain dancing around with excitement. I tried to snap a few more photos...but a hug from Doug and more cheering just seemed a whole lot more appropriate. I honestly wished that I had a video camera with me so that I could have recorded that moment for posterity. Two small town boys from upstate New York had just flown over the moon without ever leaving the ground...fulfilling a nearly 50 year old fantasy and proving that dreams do come true. I can honestly say that I had leaky eyes for a moment...

I wish that I was a more skillful writer or even speaker, with the ability to craft this tale in a manner that would be easier for folks to fathom. I called my wife after the launch and tried to explain the moment. I failed dismally. She could sense the excitement in my voice, but she couldn't grasp the moment. If you have never had the experience of seeing a Shuttle launch in person, you simply can not begin to comprehend the enormity of a launch event. The sights, the sounds, the feelings...there is an assault on all of our senses...not a bad assault in the strictest sense of the word, but instead more of a sensory overload as the magnificent beast climbs to the heavens. There are only a few launches left on the calendar...if there is any way you could experience a launch in person...I couldn't recommend it any more highly! And I'm sure Doug agrees.

(I should also mention that my folks were pretty darn impressed with the launch too!)