Favorites of 2020 and Quarantine 2

Photographing landscapes it was easy to keep 6 feet from everyone. Usually it was only Greg and I. Greg Kullman and I made a lot of one day photo trips starting early in the morning and coming back home in the evening. Also, on a whim, I stopped at a junkyard which turned into another photo session. Also, I started a major project with one most creative persons I know Nina Assimakopoulos that took me underwater. I did several interesting portraits plus some table top photography which are fun to do and couple clients purchased my fine art photos. Plus I was able to process some images I photographed years ago. Unfortunately I have built up another backlog on photo sessions as I jump from present photo sessions to past photo sessions depending on what I want to do.

All the WVU football and basketball games I usually photograph were off limits to me and most photographers because of the virus but I did get to photograph one football game for TCU when the Mountaineers played TCU at Puskar Stadium.

Considering everything it was productive photography year but tough mentally as virus struck closer to home and realizing how bad it is for some people especially the health workers and people in the service industry..

A photographer friend of mine that lives near Summersville said he could drive Greg And I down to a great spot for taking photos of the kayakers on the Gauley. Sounded great to me. The last time I photographed the kayakers on the Gauley I had to climb, walk down an unbelievable steep trail. The night before we were suppose to drive down he called me and said he could not take us to the spot. The locals were all upset about the kayakers spreading the virus and he did not want to get caught up in the controversary.

We were psyched to photograph the kayakers so we went to Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park and took the trail down to the river that I took several years earlier. Not sure should call it a trail or just a drop off that you walk slide down.. It was fun day photographing the kayakers but I won't forget the climb back up the mountain. My heel still hurting months later. Had go to foot doctor and waiting on my shoe insert so I can walk without hurting again...lol

You Tube Videos

Rafter hitting Pillow Rock with paddles

Kayaker flipping upside down

Raft tipping over

Hydrology water projects

We started this project taking photos of Nina Assimakopoulos in outdoors swimming pool and then as weather turned colder moved to the Aquatic Center for her Hydrology Projects. Been photographing this exciting project since summer and will continue into 2021. It has been a learning experience photographing underwater with everything from background to camera settings and just the added hardship of staying underwater and photographing with facemask on and bulky waterproof case for the camera has been challenging.. Just figuring out the weight needed for the camera and myself took some experimenting. Not easy but very exciting, create and fun,.

Video You Tube

Photographing Nina underwater in a outdoor swimming pool

Nina at indoor pool working on Hydroflute project

Steffi at the junkyard

For years as I traveled to Canaan Valley and Dolly Sods I would pass this junkyard with all this junk (or props as photographers call it). So this time I stopped and asked permission to come back and photograph in the junkyard on another day. Ernie said it was okay and gave me a number to call when I was coming back to photograph in the junkyard. Just happened not long after that, Steffi texted me asking if looking for model. I told her about the junkyard and she knew the place and said she would model for us.

Steffi at the junkyard