Roadside Cafe

I am often driving on long roadtrips.  Sometimes I'm heading to or from photoshots, and sometimes I'm just out to find some amazing things to explore and photograph.  On a recent trip from Chicago to New York, I stopped at the Roadside Cafe and Creamery outside of Falls Creek, Pennsylvania.  There were so many fun things to see and shoot here.  If I had more time I would have stayed to play a round of miniature golf, or played with a small herd of goats.  Time being a factor as it often is, I only stayed for a half an hour or so, but that was plenty of time to see some amazing pieces of roadside kitsch.  Enjoy.









CDC Quit Smoking

I am so excited to share these images I shot for Golin Harris and the CDC for their quitting smoking campaign.  The campaign featured portraits and interviews with former smokers and non-smokers who have been affected by second hand smoke.  I was never a smoker myself, but meeting all of these people and hearing their stories made me that much more adamantly anti-smoking.  I have urged and continue to urge all my friends and family (anyone for that matter) who still smoke to please quit.

Here is a little bit about each of the people I photographed.

-Bill mixed smoking with diabetes and was forced to have his leg amputated.
-Jameson developed asthma triggered by second hand smoke at the age of 16.
-Michael was diagnosed with COPD at age 44.  He had to have part of his lungs removed.
-Nathan worked in a casino for years and developed severe asthma caused by the second hand smoke.
-Terrie was diagnosed with oral and throat cancer at age 40 and had her larynx removed.

Each of these individuals has a harrowing story about what smoking and cigarette smoke has done to alter their lives forever.  Please visit the CDC website to read more about each of their stories, as well as several others.






Land Between the Lakes

On the border of Kentucky and Tennessee is a fantastic place called The Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area.  It is well worth exploring if you have a few days.  In the center of it, just on the Tennessee side is a working 19th century farm known as the Homeplace.  It is like stepping back in time.  It actually made me want to live a more rural lifestyle.  Maybe someday, we'll see.







Hatfield McCoy EP Shoot

The new EP by DC based Hatfield McCoy was just released on iTunes.  I had a great time working with all the guys in the band shooting images for the album jacket.  We took the band out to an old lock house on the canal running adjacent to the Potomac River.  We shot in and around the house and down by the river's edge.  Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.







Out in the Field (Museum)

Before I became a photographer I studied biology and zoology.  My passion for the natural world has not waned since changing my career path.  I have also recently developed an appreciation for taxidermy, especially its use in interior design.  Visiting natural history museums allows both of these interests to be satisfied.  One of my favorite natural history museums to visit is The Field Museum in Chicago.   I don't always carry my big camera with me, but I always have my iPhone.  It has allowed me to photograph things that I would otherwise have missed out on.  Shooting in museums is something for which the iPhone is well suited.  Here are a few images from my last trip to The Field Museum.




Mauna Kea Observatories On An Empty Tank

If you've never driven up to the observatories on the top of Hawaii's Mount Mauna Kea, I suggest you do so.  The 4,200 meter (13,800 feet) high summit of Mauna Kea houses the world's largest observatory for optical, infrared, and submillimeter astronomy. 

 If you do decide to make the drive, I have two pieces of advice for you.  First, even if you are wearing shorts and t-shirts because the weather at the beach is so warm, once you reach the summit at nearly 14,000 feet, it is a hell of a lot colder.  I'm not saying you need to take a coat on your Hawaiian vacation... actually that is what I'm saying.  Second, make sure you have a full tank of gas before starting your drive.  I was making the trip with my assistant in our rental Jeep Wrangler.  I had nearly 3/4 of a tank of gas when we started the journey so I was not at all worried.  By the time we reached the summit, the tank was nearly empty.  I wasn't sure if AAA works on island mountain tops and I didn't want to find out.  Luckily, there was a mountain to come down, so gravity was on my side.  Once  I got the car going a few miles an hour, I killed the engine and put it in neutral.  Then I just coasted down the mountain with my foot on the brake.  When I finally rolled into a gas station, the jeep was on fumes.  Was it worth risk? Of course! But next time, I'll fill up first.







Splash Down Dunes, a Forgotten Water Park

On the drive from Chicago to Detroit, we came across an apparently forgotten water park called Splash Down Dunes.  The only real evidence of a human presence was an abandoned wheelchair a third of the way down into a shallow swimming pool.  Perhaps the healing water of the pool caused the chair's occupant to rise to his feet, leaving the unneeded chair behind.  But probably not.

It could just be the off season... way, way off season.







Beijing Underground City

One of the most incredible things I saw while exploring Beijing was the Underground City, also known as Dixia Cheng.  It is a series of tunnels compromising a bomb shelter that was constructed in the 1970s in anticipation of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union.  Thank goodness it never needed to be used for that purpose.  I spent an afternoon doing some urban spelunking and wandering the tunnels with my Hasselblad.  The tunnels were dark and damp and filled with some odd artifacts, like a series of folding chairs with framed portraits of communist leaders, including Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Chiang Kai-Shek.  There is even a portrait of Karl Marx that from a distance looks like Frederick Douglass.





A Stormy Morning on the High Line

There are parts of New York City which are usually overrun with people (actually that would be most parts of the city at most times of the day).  It's rare to see any part of the city when it's a complete ghost town with not a soul in sight.  I woke up early one stormy morning and went to the High Line in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood.  Due to both the early hour and the ominous weather, the place was deserted.  Although I even love the High Line when it is packed with locals and tourists and the occasional celebrity (I'm looking at you Ethan Hawk); seeing it empty and silent and almost solemn is a unique way to experience it.  And I recommend it.