Archive for the ‘2009’ Category

As I head back out on the road again and I had the pleasure of spending the first part of my trip in the Outer Banks of North Carolina where the weather was exceptional. That was, until Hurricane Ida picked a path across the southern states, out into the Atlantic and then proceeded to head north.

I left my girlfriend and the Outer Banks on Wednesday trying to keep a level on my anxiety as the weather reports started coming in. A nor’easter of incredible magnitude, now named Nor-Ida, was headed to NC with the potential of 8 - 15 foot swells and expected to threaten most the east coast with heavy rains, huge waves and flooding. Luckily for NC if was not near as bad as originally expected but the beauty of the coastal terrain and the dunes were mostly washed away and life on the islands has been interrupted. Hwy 12 lost a major portion of the 2-lane road stranding traffic and residents north and south of Oregon Inlet. Unfortunately coastal cities in Virginia did not fare as well with extensive damage to costal communities with heavy flooding.

Prior to my departure I spent my last night at the southern tip of Cape Hatteras looking south out over Hatteras Inlet at the setting sunset. You could see, with the dark clouds that a storm was brewing. The attached shot is a panoramic view of the inlet and the first visible sign of Nor-Ida.

With this blog we start a new year of documenting new mis-adventures.

Best regards …….
~ dK ~

Once again we - actually YOU – find yourselves with another 3 day holiday weekend. As such, Labor Day marks the end of summer. I trust you spent you vacation days off wisely.

As I reflect back on this past summer and all the travel, I cannot help but digress back to the days when I was in school and how much two holidays … Memorial Day and Labor Day played in marking such an important part of my childhood existence. The exhilaration, with Memorial Day, of knowing that school was out for the summer and the sadness, with Labor Day, of knowing that summer was over. Each year it was the same,  the stark realization that on the horizon was 9 months of sitting in the classroom. I could only ask myself “where did the summer go?”. I am not sure that I ever realized how much that time off meant until I entered the work force and the 3-month hiatus of freedom was no longer in the cards.

As I sat watching yet another spectacular sunset close out another glorious day on the Outer Banks I noticed this young boy, fishing rod in hand and somewhat oblivious to all that surrounded him. Lost in his own world, looking forward to his next big catch. I could not help but wonder had he given any thought to what awaited him the following week with the end of summer and the start of his next school year. More importantly, with him so intent on his next catch, had the thought of anything other than the “photo worthy catch of the day” crossed his mind? How important those days become and how valuable the photo memories of our time spent.

I would venture to say that we all miss those days and maybe that is why I find such an affinity for the time I spend in the Outer Banks. Trying to recapture my youth? Some might say I never grew up. Either of which is ….. All right by me!!!!

As I indicated last week in my blog, I am very excited to announce that my OBX art is now being handled exclusively on the Outer Banks at the Roads End Gallery in Hatteras and the Down Creek Gallery in Ocracoke.

I return home this week and look forward to catching up with you all.
Have a great week!
~ dK~

I hope you all had a great weekend and now face the week ahead of you with a refreshed outlook.  After spending 5 days in Michigan City I find myself once again in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

I stepped off the plane in Norfolk, Va. with a little bit of anxiety knowing that hurricane season had begun. Hurricane Bill was the first to leave his mark the previous week and Hurricane Danny was due to visit the Outer Banks last weekend.  As much as I felt a little wee bit anxious about heading to the Outer Banks, on the other hand I did so with quite a bit of exhilaration. Having grown up surfing the east coast of Florida, I was quite familiar with the effects a Hurricane can have on the quality of surf and North Carolina is known for its surfing.

Luckily Danny stayed off shore and got no larger than a Category 1, which was a welcome relief for the tourists and residents of OBX. More importantly though, it was extremely welcomed by the surf community. Surfers from up and down the east coast flocked to the “S Curves” in Rodanthe, NC to take advantage of Hurricane Danny’s gift of pure perfect waves.

For a moment it took me back to my early days when I was doing the do – Hanging Ten – surfing in Cocoa Beach. But for today I find myself instead, photographing the pageantry and spectacle of the sport. From past to present, one thing still remains constant …..  it is …. the best show in town.

I am also pleased to announce that my OBX art is now being sold exclusively at the Roads End Gallery in Hatteras and the Down Creek Gallery in Ocracoke.

If you find yourself in need of someone for an upcoming photographic assignment give me a call.

Best regards …..
~ dK ~

Summer is in full bloom and tourists are ever so prevalent on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. But isn’t that really what summer is all about …..  Family Vacations, Family Reunions and each of us in some form a traveling tourist?

I remember as a child, growing up in Florida, our annual summer family outings back to Georgia to visit my mothers’ parents and all of my relatives in Athens, Ga or off to Lake Jackson, Ga. spending time with my Dad’s side of the family.  The traditional picnic lunch was eaten in one of the many roadside parks while traveling.  When not traveling to Georgia many weeks were spent entertaining relatives at the beach. As time went on and I got older, my summer days with family were shared with trips to the east coast surfing with friends.  In a lot of respects my east coast travel buddies became my “second family.”   Family can be defined in many ways in this day and time but without a doubt it remains an important and integral part of each of our lives.

While traveling recently to the North Carolina island of Ocracoke, I came across a local surf shop with a display of surfboards. In an odd sort of way, with the different sizes, shapes and appearances, it was if this collection of surfboards were representative of a family. Everyone lined up properly for that once a year vacation portrait. I look at it and I hear the  old tune by Sister Sledge … We Are Family.  “We Are family, I got all my sisters and me, We are Family, Get up everybody and sing!”
Enjoy!!!

If you are in need of a photographer for an upcoming photographic assignment, I am no further that a phone call or email. Ring me up!!!

Best regards ….. ~ dK ~

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 ~

This week finds me back writing you from Cape Hatteras, my home away from home. It is such a mesmerizing place. And like the lighthouse, it continues to beckon me back.

Being here gives me lots of time to think as well as capture the beauty of the area. It provides me ample time to wander off on self guided journeys to explore and contemplate just what the future might hold. It helps me “fix” things. And isn’t that what we all tend to do. Seek a place that allows for the solitude of the moment for us to think, refresh and charge our batteries. A special place that we all go to “catch a breath of fresh air!”

The photograph was captured at “Cape Point” on the Outer Banks where two bodies of water from the north and south shores, moving in opposite direction, collide. It is a spectacular site to behold and from what I hear, it is an incredible fishing spot.

As I always say, I am no farther than a phone call or an email away  from assisting you with any of your photographic needs including  corporate or personal art.
Have a wonderful week.

~ dK ~

We find ourselves this week witnesses to a very historical time in our lives – the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama. I know that we all wish for a brighter future for our Nation and for our new President.

A collaboration of man’s and Mother Natures talents ……. The guiding light for sailors off the Outer Banks ……….. Cape Hatteras Lighthouse!!!

Looking for stock images or needing a photographer for a specific assignment, please keep me in mind. I look forward to working with you in 2009.

Wishing you the best !!!!!

~ dK ~