Archive for June, 2009

One week back in Huntsville and the heat is grueling. Thank god that all of my shoots have been in-doors. I wish you a “Cool One” for the week ahead.

It is difficult at best to keep in touch with clients while on travel but even more so to find time for family and friends… exactly why the dK Blog was started.  On my return to Huntsville I have had the opportunity to not only reconnect with my clients but also to find time to catch up with some very dear friends. I say all of this because I realized just how wonderful, how important and how valuable their friendships are.  How appreciative we all should be for those special moments that we share we those that enhance our lives. It really is … all about relationships!

I was reminded of a photograph that I shot while touring on the island of Ocracoke, NC and how much the photo brought back memories of my of my childhood friendships that have influenced my adult relationships.

Two friends out for a watering stroll, lost in their own world of adventure  and most likely discussing what the future holds in store for  them – enjoy!!

Remember that I am no further away than a phone call or email!!!

~ dK ~

It seems like it has been an eternity since I saw Huntsville but the good news is I am headed home. After six weeks on the road… I return to  Sweet Home Alabama.

Trips of this length give me time to reflect and like a fisherman… allot of my time is spent in wonderful solitude looking to capture the big catch.  Like the fisherman below, it is not the obstacles that matter most but the chance to face them and conquer… Hoping the next cast will bring in the big one.

The shot is of a single fisherman with the Oregon Inlet Bridge, connecting the Outer Banks of North Carolina, as a backdrop.
I wish you well for the upcoming week!!!!!

Remember that I am no further away than a phone call or email!!!!!!

~ dK ~

As I spend my last few days in the Outer Banks of North Carolina before heading west to St. Louis, I sit and wonder what your coming week might have in store for you all. I would imagine that most of you, while heading to work this morning, sat in some form of stop and go traffic, daydreaming and wishing that you were somewhere else.

These days in OBX is “TOURON” season, the affectionate title local’s have given to the visiting tourists. Traffic on the two lane island roads can get rather backed up with all the visiting beach bathers, rubber-neckers, surfers, kite-boarders, windsurfers and boaters, each vying for their own little spot of paradise. The ferries traveling to Ocracoke are jammed packed. The southern most OBX island, it is best known as the spot where Blackbeard, the pirate, was finally captured and be-headed.

While out shooting the sunset at a local Hatteras spot called Canadian Hole, I came across the more common type of an island traffic jam ….. Wind surfers vying for air and the perfect ride. Thank god no one jack knifed.

Remember that I am no further away than a phone call or email to be able to assist you with any and all of your photographic requirements! Best wishes to you all for an enjoyable week.

~ dK ~

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and are very eager to punch the clock. Having traveled to Houston and Orlando, I now find myself back in Cape Hatteras, NC. If you have ever visited, you know just how mystical and beautiful the Outer Banks are.

The photograph I have attached today will most likely not make it to my “top ten best ever” but it might just be one of the most enjoyable and important photos I have had the pleasure to be part of in quite sometime. I had the honor to accompany a select group of 5th Graders from Cape Hatteras Elementary School on a photographic field trip to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. At the beginning I talked with them about my profession and gave them some photographic pointers and ideas. I then provided an assignment for photographing the lighthouse and was able to mentor them during their photography outing. On the following day I went in to the classroom to view their images.  As you might imagine, I marveled at the variety of captures of the lighthouse.

How amazing it is to gaze into their eyes and see the “ light bulb” come on. To see how eager they are for life and their thirst for new experiences. Some of these children may never venture far from the islands but it is gratifying to think, that in some small way, you might just have effected and give direction to a new course of thought and dreams to one or more of them. What a wonderful burden to be part of.

My reward for all of this.. Many thanks from the 5th graders and one very special hug from a little lady as she departed the class.

You know … giving back and inspiring the youth of today is such a rewarding and worthwhile venture. I had a college photography professor who gave me inspiration and direction and I would not be who I am today without his keen insight, mentoring and friendship. I think of him often but not a much as when I sit in a classroom of children and thank god for the wonderful gift I have been given as a photographer.

To that end, I present you the 5th Graders of Cape Hatteras Elementary and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Have a great week!
~ dK ~