Well, I can't access my blog, or any blogs, without using a proxy sneak server. Now, I can't upload photos. So for the time being, not much here until the firewall eases. I'm off to backpack and travel for a few weeks. Photos to come.

Well, I can't access my blog, or any blogs, without using a proxy sneak server. Now, I can't upload photos. So for the time being, not much here until the firewall eases. I'm off to backpack and travel for a few weeks. Photos to come.

Well, I can't access my blog, or any blogs, without using a proxy sneak server. Now, I can't upload photos. So for the time being, not much here until the firewall eases. I'm off to backpack and travel for a few weeks. Photos to come.

Well, I can't access my blog, or any blogs, without using a proxy sneak server. Now, I can't upload photos. So for the time being, not much here until the firewall eases. I'm off to backpack and travel for a few weeks. Photos to come.

Well, I can't access my blog, or any blogs, without using a proxy sneak server. Now, I can't upload photos. So for the time being, not much here until the firewall eases. I'm off to backpack and travel for a few weeks. Photos to come.

Rain and cancelled appointments have kept me off the road so we go back to the archives. As I have received a number of compliments on the header photo I’m posting some other photos taken during the hike when it was taken.....

During the era of the iron horse not all railroads were a rousing success. The line running from Fredericksburg to Orange is a case in point. Begun just after the Civil War the railroad went through three foreclosures before being abandoned in 1938. During its third and final reorganization in 1926 the line became know as the Virginia Central Railroad.

Today remains of the rail bed still extend from King George County (At one point it was though by extending the line it would become more profitable. This section was never built.) thru Fredericksburg and out to Orange. Plans are moving forward in the city to used the bed as part of our trails system. These photos were taken during the trail planning process.



Our Stroll Begins
Looking down the rail bed where it begins-- at Alum Springs Park. Not a view you would expect to see within the city limits.

Here are a couple frames from this morning’s ceremony at Culpeper National Cemetery.  I met a woman who was visiting her husband’s grave. He was a veteran of World War II and served in the Navy.  They had seven children together and were married for 53 years. I was on my way to my car when I saw her across the cemetery, bending over the gravestone and I hastily shot a frame. It would be fair to say I was almost in the right place at almost the right time. Instead, I knew that I had a picture, just not the picture. But I went over to get her name since invariably the picture you don’t have the caption for is the one the editors want.

As it turned out, I spent 15 minutes talking to her about her life with her husband; how he was a man of love and of God, a family man and how she still has tough days knowing he won’t come in the door, even 8 years after his death. She told me how after dinner one night he sat down in his favorite chair in the living room and had a heart attack, dying in the home they had built in the fifties. I wish I had made a picture half as beautiful as the story she told me but it was not to be. In the time we talked I shot a single frame. Nothing special I guess. I wasn’t too concerned though because I felt like I walked away for the better after hearing her story.

E&P selected a picture I shot last week at the dignified transfer of Cpr. Ryan McGhee as their Photo of the Week. I appreciate the attention though I wish it wasn’t for such a sad photo.
http://tinyurl.com/qqzpre

I suppose it is fair to say it may have been a half  marathon but a full dose of frustration.  Aside from getting up before five, I was looking at 100% chance of rain and a course not easily navigated due to road closures. I made sure to bring rain gear for the cameras which usually works pretty well but makes it slightly more cumbersome. But like the marines, the news photographer’s mantra should be ‘adapt and overcome.’ We had 5 people out there shooting and thought we had a pretty good coverage plan. Sadly the rain took its toll on some colleagues’ gear though I lucked out and despite being soaked, the cameras survived!  My major gripe of the day was that according to one of our reporters, the race organizers would not release the registration lists with names and bib numbers, only the results list with those that FINISHED the race. This was problematic as 3 out of the 5 photogs could not locate people in the results meaning that they did not finish or their race tags did not work. Thus a few good pictures could not go in the paper because we could not ID the runners. The Marines apparently said they were packed up for the day but would be happy to help us on Monday. We are a DAILY newspaper,  that does us no good. Marine Corps fail! Anyway, all in all it was an unpleasant day though I think the paper’s coverage was solid. Plus we conducted a brief review afterwards and came up with a plan that will help us improve coverage of not only the marathon but events of similar size and scope like the SoapBox Derby

Here are a few pictures - I only cropped and resized as my trusty Mac bit the dust the other day. I’m hoping the IT folks can salvage the images that were on there. In the meantime I’m using my little Lenovo netbook. It is handy to have in the field but not great for major image crunching!

Check out FL-S coverage including Becky Sell’s pre-race portraits series. Good stuff!

Military reporter Rusty Dennen and I traveled to Dover Air Force Base to witness the dignified transfer of the remains of Cpl. Ryan McGhee, an area resident and Army Ranger. Cpl. McGhee, a graduate of Massaponax, served three tours in Afghanistan and had recently deployed to Iraq. A stiff wind blew across the tarmac and dark clouds scudded across the sky as the carry team transferred the case containing Cpl. McGhee’s remains from the 747 to the waiting van.  Though the Associated Press covers every dignified transfer and despite the process lasting only a few minutes, we felt it was essential to travel the fours hours from Fredericksburg to record the transfer of one of Fredericksburg’s own.