Dec 26th, This Red-bellied Woodpecker was hanging out in the back yard. He seemed to be getting somewhat of a feast going from the bird feeder to the tree back and forth.

Dec 23rd, I went with my Mom and Dad to the Old Farmstead at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park today. We got a nice up close look at the Elk, which are always a great photo op.

27th Nov, Took a short ride to Soco Falls today. We got there a little early, so had to wait for the sun to set and almost go down. This would be great falls to photograph from the bottom, if you didn't have to slide down an billy goat hill! I might have been able to slide down there, but don't think I could have got back out without a rope and climbing gear.

Indian Creek Falls, Deep Creek, NC

Map of hike: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=104053193349078639589.0004793a091e4f8996e5e&z=16

Nov. 15th, As I was driving to meet a friend, I noticed the nice Yellow tree next to this inlet. It was very nice to see some fall colors after all the rain and not getting a chance to photograph any.

Nov 4th, Great Blue Heron have been hanging out at this pier lately. This guy was pretty close to the road. I pulled off and shot right from the drivers seat of my mobile blind....aka Ford Focus.

23rd Oct, I was one my way into work and decided to take the long way around. That takes me along the coast of the Chesapeake Bay and the Patuxent River. I figured I might see one or two Great Blue Herons or maybe an eagle where Glenn and I saw one a few days ago. I approached the area where I got pictures of the last eagle, and nothing was out on the osprey nests, the T pier, or pilings in the water. As I looked around I noticed something large in a tree. It kinda looked like a squirrel nest from a distance, but I quickly found it to be another eagle. He stayed right in the top of the tree as I got out of the car and even walked across the road toward him. Didn't bother him at all. I did miss my chance to get him as he flew from the tree. Maybe next time!

20th Oct, Went on a short ride for our lunch break at work today, and it was well worth in. When we left work my buddy Glenn was half joking, when he said "we were going after eagles today". I say half joking because that is really probably what we both wanted to get a shot at. The problem with this is, they don't just set around in certain spots like the Osprey and GBHs do. Then we get to an area of Osprey nest just off shore, and there is a large bird on it. We couldn't see what it was while we were driving toward it. Pretty much knew it wasn't an Osprey, they are all gone for winter. It had to be an eagle or buzzard. We go a nice surprise, it was a Bald Eagle and it was happy to sit there for some pictures.

Oct 11th, While at some friends campsite I got this idea for a picture. With the big dipper in the back ground it made for a cool setting. I shot a test image to see how long to expose for the stars. Two minutes worked for that. Then I had to get everyone to sit still for two minutes! I like how it turned out, but if I would have bumped the ISO up I could have cut the time in half and the star trails wouldn't have been as long. Now we know!

Sept 28th, Went out to take some pictures with a friend and it turned in to one of those nights. It's funny how you can start out looking for a sunset shot, and not stop taking pictures until around midnight. Time flys when your having fun and getting some good results I guess. This we shot a Piney Point Lighthouse on the Potomac River. See more of the shots from this night by .................Clicking Here

Sept 19th, Jefferson Patterson Park in Calvert Co. had a Re-Enactment for the War of 1812. It was hard to get some of the shots I wanted do to the act taking place when the sun was still high in the sky and harsh. I did manage to pull a couple out of the day.

Sept 18th, I usually don't post but one picture from a day, but I couldn't help post this nice buck.

Sept 18th, I got the chance to take my parents to Piscataway National Park, and Fort Washington. The for was a cool place to take photos, but trying to get the entire for is a task, even with a wide angle lens. I really want to go back and catch this place again. Some more clouds and at sunset would make for a great photo. I will be back!!

Sept 7th, I found this little guys while out camping this weekend. It was a little cloudy so I used just a little fill flash to get some good light. Sure was a nice weekend to camp and it was cool to find one or two things to shoot that I didn't expect! Can't wait for Colubus Day weekend, to camp again!

August 29th, It was a hot and sunny afternoon of shooting, but I cam away with some cool shots. A local park had a 3 on 3 basketball Challenge. Hard thing with this was the cameras metering was up and down with the sky in the back ground then the court and trees. Thing like that kept the metering changing a lot. Even with spot metering it would blow the background and shirt color would have a large effect on it. I ended up going with matrix metering, and +1 EV then fill flash at about +1 also. that seemed to work about the best. Sure was hot though!

August 22nd, First turn of the first moto in the 250 class at the Lucas Oil Ama Pro Motocross from Budds Creek. Great time, this was the first time I got credentials and photo vest for a Pro Motocross. A high light in photos for me to have that access.

Sugust 15th, Joe crushes this one. The St. Mary's Sheriffs team took on the local radio station 98 Star. Good event with a bunch of good people on both sides!

Aug. 11th, A big group of us had a little fun today with some cardboard boats and various types of super soakers. Not many stayed dry that was for sure!

For a few more pictures.................Clicking Here

Aug. 10th, I stopped by a dry pond bed on the way home today. While there I came across a Great Blue Heron, in a weird position. I am not sure if he was sunning himself, or trying to cool off. I think this is a way for them to cool down, since it was pretty hot out there.

Aug. 5th, I took a walk down to the beach this evening to see what sunset would turn out like. Sunset wasn't much at all, to many clouds rolled in. As they say though, when photographing sunset, look behind you too! The moon had just come up over the bay. This made for the best shot of the evening!

July 31st, I can't tell you how much fun these guys are to watch. I super nice group of people that help one another out a bunch. To beat all, all they win in a trophy, no money involved!


This shoot, was in a fast turn on the track, after dark. This is a pretty difficult area, since there wasn't much light. ISO turned up, and shutter speed a little to low. But its fun!

For more pictures.......Clicking Here

11 July, The US Military All-stars took on the Latin All-stars for a great cause at Regency Field. Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, was the big winner for the evening, with much donated to the cause. You can read more about this project and how it helps the wounded and disabled veterans at.... http://www.projecthealingwaters.org/. The US All-stars team is made up of a bunch of great guys and you can see more about them at.... http://usmilitaryallstars.us/

7th July, I got to cover a good concert this day that brought back some old sounds to our area. The show was headlined by Styx, with a special appearance by .38 Special, and an up and coming young star named Tyler Dow Bryant and Band! You can see more of this gallery by........Clicking Here

4th of July, Hollywood VFD had a very nice 4th celebration at their firehouse. They held a car show, a band, and fireworks. John mentioned getting the firetruck and fireworks in one shot, and I tweaked things a little to get this image. I really wasn't that excited about shooting this evening. We were supposed to shoot for the production group at the Trace Adkins concert, but once there were told "no cameras on the in field'. So instead of shooting from the stands, 120 feet away, we left. Oh well, I got a cool shot of a firetruck on the 4th instead! I'm happy.

July 3rd, After shooting the firework from the cemetery of Trinity Church, in St Mary's City, Caleb and I decided to start shooting some of the cemetery. You can see some more of these night shoots and others ....Click Here

July 3rd, I decided to photograph the fireworks at St Mary's College after the River Concert Series. I started by scouting the area for a good and interesting spot earlier in the day. I found a nice view over looking the boats in the harbor area and the point where they were setting off the fireworks. I wanted a foreground with something and the fire works in the background. It would have been a little better if the water wasn't moving the boats as much but I can't stop that.

June 20th, I got the chance to have an all access pass to Pinks All Out at Maryland International Raceway. This is the second time John Douglass and I got to cover Pinks All Out. The Speed crew is great, and the guys you see on Pinks every week are better in person than on TV. It was difficult to shoot this event, but not why you would think. Usually the troubles come from not having enough light to shoot evening or night events. (Speed TV's crew takes care of that! You could shoot at 1/200 SS, F 2.8 and ISO 400 with no problem. Go up to ISO 800 and you could go to SS 1/400th) No the problem was the lights themselves, everywhere I wanted to shoot from had a big light right on the other side of my subject. Unless you shot direct side profiles of the cars the lights were right behind them. Oh well, it was still fun, and I found the roof was a good place no matter what the lighting was.
Click Here

June 19th, Went be a friends house to see if the field near his house had a few deer in them. We drove about five miles total and were gone about an hour, and we figure we saw near, if not over 200 deer. They were mostly hidden in fields of wheat, and corn, but we did find a larger group in some soybean fields that were close to the road. To see a few more.... Click Here

June 14th, Five O's had another warm up game. I switched from using the 80-200mm to the 300mm. Little more difficult to get things in the frame, but images turn out nice! Click Here

June 13th, High Point Nationals, Lots of pics and a great day of racing! Click Here

June 12th, A friend and I found this bridge and thought it might make a good sunset picture. I didn't, the sun hide behind some clouds and really have little color. So we waited for the sun to go down and shot some night stuff. Lots of fun!

June 12th, Well after the pleasant surprise of the amount of Blue Heron, I did finally shoot a few pictures of Great Falls.

June 12th, Found that Great Falls on the Maryland side seems to be a hot spot for Great Blue Heron. There must have been almost a dozen out on the rocks just under the overlook.

June 9th, Got a quick minute to visit a Great Blue Heron. It was kind of nice to have an overcast sky so the white of the Heron's head doesn't over expose. Overcast days can be really good days to shoot stuff the doesn't include the sky, but set your white balance to cloudy!!!

June 7th, Found a nice moon cloud mixture while leaving a friends boat this evening. Sometimes nights are a great time to shoot some pictures!!!

June 6th, Stopped by Leonardtown High School for 12th Annual Relay for Life. It was late in the evening, but there were plenty of people still walking and running. Great event for a great cause!! For a night time pano, thing worked out pretty good here!

June 6th, T Pain and Flo Rida came to Regency Stadium (Blue Crabs Field). It wasn't to bad of a show over all. Lighting was a little tough do to skin tones, but concerts are always a challenge. Click Here

May 24th, We had a very nice sunset over Goose Creek campground on Patuext River this weekend. I hope you enjoy as much as we did. Click Here

May 23rd, Hank Jr. put on a good show at the Calvert Marine Museum. Concert photography is such a pain. The red lighting they use just ruins pictures!!! Click Here

May 23rd, A great friend was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force this day. Good luck my brother!!! Click Here

May 22nd, Shooting in mid-day sun is never good. It make for harsh shadows and you have to over expose to get things to not look like silhouettes in the sky. Plus shooting for five hours in the mid-day sun make for a lobster photographer. Click Here

May 18th, Sometimes you just get more than you expect. I was out for some sunset pictures close to the house, and while shooting a couple deer walked right into the scene. I planned on just shooting with the wide angle lens, but was very glad I took the 300mm zoom with me when they walked out. Pays to be prepared!!! For more pictures....Click Here

May 15th, While looking for some Osprey to photograph, I ran into this little fellow. I believe he is a Eastern Kingbird. It was very nice of him to sit a few for some pictures. For more bird pictures....Click Here

May 14th, During a trial run of the new 300mm F4, I got a really good chance to get up close and personal with some Osprey. I really like the new lens!!

May 12th, Ran across a Green Heron while out with the camera. Didn't get many good pictures, and I am not real happy with this one. Besides the background, the detail just doesn't seem to be in its feathers. Oh well. Practice Practice!

May 9th, Visit to MIR for some pictures of the Jr. Dragsters. Got a few good shots, but the sun was bright and made things a little difficult. Usually I shoot with the 80-200mm, but I thought I would try the wide angle 12-24. Paid off pretty well, I liked the shots with this lens of the cars leaving the line and panning as they passed the tree. The Juniors seem slow but these kids are doing around 80 MPH in the 1/8 mile. You can see a few more by, Click Here

May 8th, I finally got a few good shots of some Great Blue Heron. A friend and I have stalked these birds for weeks now, and it paid off for me today. Got the shutter speed, aperture, right lighting, and ISO to come together this morning. The background isn't even to bad. I think they just got tired of us and let us get these pictures so we would leave them alone. Next to try to get them feeding! This may take all summer to get! Still having fun though!!!

May 4th, Always keep your eyes open while out shooting photos. I was looking for Great Blue Heron, but found a branch to take pictures of. I like how this looked, but I could not get the depth of field and shutter speed I wanted. Tripods are a must!!!

April 29th, As some of you know, I have been on a mission to get a good shot of a Great Blue Heron. Well, I can report that I have NOT got it yet. I have had a few chances and just not got a good exposure, not gotten close enough, or just missed the shot. This is a case of not being close enough, but I will keep trying, and trying.....and trying!

April 21st, The Maryland Blue Crabs held an exhibition game against College of Southern Maryland, After waiting out the rain it was a great night for shooting. Night sports pictures are always hard with noise from turning up the ISO, but if you get the exposure close the noise isn't as bad. This one is a little under exposed but not to bad. See more from the game.....Click Here
Or see the Blue Crabs info ...........Click Here

April 12th, Bay District VFD had a training event with a house burning this weekend. Even as a training event, this shows what it takes out of a firefighter. For more pictures see this gallery.
Click Here

April 10, I got a set of strobe studio light and starter playing with them. This picture is using one light and a single reflector. Not bad for a first attempt.

April 9th, The trees around the neighborhood are starting to bloom. I can't wait until it feels like spring every day!!

April 6th, The Osprey are getting back to their nests and that makes it a good time to get them on camera. It gets tricky to get the exposure of the Osprey correct, so I use spot metering and Aperture priority mode. This lets me set me metering up ahead of time, and Aperture mode lets me get the depth of field I want. Sure is FUN.

April 4th: Walking out to my car this evening, I noticed it was a really good time to catch a twilight or after twilight shot. I wanted to see what kind of setting worked good at this light, I have something planned at this time of day in the near future. I think with the right sky and scene, it will make for a great shot. Keep looking for it on here!

March 31st. The Osprey are coming back to their nests now. Glenn and I decided to see how many were around. We ran into about five or six flying around. While looking to get a picture of a Great Blue Heron, this guy flew right towards us and circled and flew away, like he wanted a picture taken. We got one or two other shots that are posted in my Birds Gallery under wildlife. Click Here

March 27th, I made it to a fire call this evening. driving to the scene you could see the smoke really towering up. We got there before the fire trucks and could only see a ball of fire in an apartment parking lot. The call was put out as a motorcycle fire, but you couldn't tell what it was. The owner said he started the bike and it rev'ed up and then just burst into flames. He's lucky it didn't happen while he was driving down the road.

March 22nd. Went to Solomon's Island this evening to catch the sunset, and found this guy and some friends out and about. They diidn't worry to much about me, so I good pretty close. That always makes it easier on bird shots. The sun almost setting made for great lighting. There are a few more in the gallery linked under the picture. Click Here

March 18th. Stopped by a favorite spot for a friend to test a new wide angle he had gotten. So I snapped off a few my self. I am going to get this shot just the way I want it one day, calm water, at sunset, nice blue sky with puffy clouds here and there. One Day!

March 13, I helped John by taking a few pictures that the wide angle was needed. One problem I have is, I don't like being the center of attention. I find this is a problem when taking group shoots like this. I need to take more control of the situation when doing these shots, so I get everyone looking in one place....hopefully at me. Otherwise, I like the look of this image. Check out the Joie Spa and Salon at, Click Here

March 7th, The snow melted, the temperture rose, and things got crazy. After a bomb threat, an accedent where three were flown out, drunks laying around town, a car hitting a pole and driver running, this roll over seemed like nothing in town. All involved at this scene were ok. I would love to see stats on what county in the US has the highest number of roll overs, we have to be at the top of that list. Oh and don't think this night wasn't any less crazy, to find out what some fools did later.Click Here

March 2nd I woke up this morning to about 6-8 inches of snow. I snapped a few pictures on the way into work. This one shows a road just up from mine. It took me one or two pictures to remember to over expose to get the snow nice and white. I hate snow!
A few more snow pictures: Click Here

March 1st Well with the temperature and the snow falling, it was a good time to do some indoors photo work. I setup my lightbox, tripod, and camera to make a little miniture studio for some fun. I took photos of this coin, a family crest ring, and one or two other little things. I liked the way several tunred, you can see more of them in this gallery: Click Here.

Feb. 27th I headed home from work the long way to try again at this Blue Heron. He sits back in a little cove that I have tried to sneak into several times. He has won this game every time....so far. I will catch him off guard one day, or he will just get used to me. This day it was just starting to rain, and as I snuck into the cove, he spotted me right as I was going to focus on him for a shot, and flew to the back and out around. He usually flies right out past me once he spooks, and I had hopes on getting him in flight, but no luck. He did stop to rub it in just across the cove on an old dead snag. Patience, and I will get the shot one day.

Feb 23rd Some times you get lucky and some times you don't. I got lucky enough to spot this guy in a low tree limb and close to the road. Heck I even got pulled off beside him without scaring him off. Unlucky part is, as you see, the sun was back lighting him and I was shooting right into the brighter portion of the sky. This caused the sky to either be extremely bright or the hawk to be very dark. This is about the best I could get to not blow the sky way out. If i could have been on the other side of him it would have been a much better picture. I think if I got into this postion again I would shoot to expose for the hawk and let the sky blow out to white. Position and timing are so important with lighting.

Feb. 21st Stopped to take a few pictures of these guys. They use a large kite to pull themselves in a three wheel buggy. Pretty cool stuff. I wanted to see what the wide angle lens would do here....wasn't a good idea. It just pushed them to far back. I think next time I will stick with the 80-200mm and isolate on the rider more.

Feb. 20th Ran in to a couple old friends at the TRICODA Open. Katy and Tori, just walked right in out of the blue. Katy is volunteering with the Calvert K9 Search Team. Got to meet one of two of the other team members too. Got a shot of them with the sign given to them for donating to the TRICODA open. Thanks gang!


You can find out more about them at Click Here.

Feb 20th Stopped by the board walk in Solomon's Island to catch the sunset. It was around 36 degrees, and the wind was coming off the water at 15-20 mph. Made for a tough time to shoot such a nice sunset. I wanted to check out the new wide angle some more, and I think it worked out very well for this shot. I just wish I could have hung out for another 45 minutes to see what the sky did after sun down. Can't wait until warmer weather comes in!!!

Feb. 17th After getting my new Tokina 12-24mm wide angle lens, I had to take it out after work. I stopped by an over hang at Hogs Point, and got this nice wide shot of point. I wanted to show the old decaying picnic table under the water, and the blue sky. There was a little to much contrast for it to really show the table and sky in the best way. I should have gone back to my bag and got the ND Grad filter and it would have been much better. Next time.

Feb. 14th Hockey Tournament on Feb 14th-16th. Indoor light always sucks, but hockey rinks seem to be one of the worst. I was shooting at 1/400th at F4 and ISO 1000, and this is still a little dark. This kid, just would not give up on shooting the puck here, even flying threw the air he still put the puck on goal. Find more hockey photos here: Click Here.

Feb. 2nd This is another outting for the hotel pictures. The front is difficult to get, do to a parking lot full of cars, a street lamp, and a bush all in the way. Trying to get pictures, we sometimes find ourselves in crazy places to get the image. In this case a resident of the neighborhood found me on top of a 6 ft brick wall that goes around her trash dumpsters. But they liked the picture!

Jan. 25th First Hockey tournament pictures from Ashburn Va. Cool place, and a COLD rink. we shot over 31 hours from Fri. evening until Sunday evening. Indoor lighting is never good. This is at 1/400 F3.5 and ISO 800. Then I brightened it up in CS3. Fun time, but hard work.

Jan. 14th A good friend passed from a long battle with cancer. Paulo was a retired deputy of St. Mary's Co. and the Sheriff's department put on a great display for a fallen brother. My brother, you will be missed by many. *****Paulo Martinez 1957-2009 *****

Jan. 11th This is one of the many photos John and I have been working on with a local hotel. This is really a photo taken in the mens room to show the marble and a statue from out in the hallway.