Tracey and my 25th Anniversary trip was an exploration of France, south from Paris to the Pyrenees in Spain, then return to Paris via the Britany and Normandy coasts. Fantastic sights and food! Our adventure culminated with the final stage of the Tour de France as the boys raced 7 laps around the Arch de Triumph. Hope you enjoy the slide shows in the France 2019 Gallery!
Just back from a terrific vacation in Hawaii. We had a great time visiting with John and Nicole – touring, dining, and relaxing in Oahu. On Oahu we stayed in Waikiki, then finished out trip with a few days in Turtle Bay on the North Shore. The waves on the North Shore were too crazy to permit the start of Pipe Masters when we were there this year. We traveled to Kuawi for a few days, where the scenery is beautiful. Got a few nice photos – check ‘em out.
Tracey and I were privileged to host Kathy and Kyle’s wedding this June on Topsail Island. Over 70 guests made the trek to Carolina for the nuptials on North Topsail Beach. The weather , water, and location was about as perfect as could be be. Everyone had a fantastic week celebrating life!! See the photos on this site. My son Eric and I were the photographers. Truly a beautiful and memorable time for all. I think we’ll be seeing return visits from many soon.
I’m finally posting photos from Tracey and my trip to Sweden in 2014. We spent a week in Stockholm and were able to see and appreciate much of the beautiful and friendly country. A highlight was being able to visit the Carl Eldh Studio/museum, and to see much of his work on display throughout Stocholm. Tracey’s father is Carl Eld, cousin to the famous sculpter. We also had the opportunity to spend time in Amsterdam, Maastricht (our favorite town), and Aachen.
Here’s a gallery of some random Topsail vacation photos over the years. Most of the family is included in at least a few of the photos. Lots of Bathers, Beach, and Birds are featured. Enjoy!
Tracey and I meet up with her sister and husband (Lisa and Larry) at the Chicagoland Nascar Race every September. We’ve also been with them to Michigan and Indy (Nascar and F1). The gallery is a random collection of photos taken at various tracks over the last several years. Special thanks to Paul for the great pit passes for his Phoenix race. We always have a good time at the races and meet some great people.
Having been an avid fan of the Tour, starting with the battles of Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault, it was thrilling that Tracey and I were able to participate for a stage or two at several tours beginning in Hui, Belgium 1994, our last, the Rotterdam prologue in 2010. The goal was to capture at least a couple of keeper photos from each visit, which I think I did. The images were captured in Paris, Offenburg, Germany, and Rotterdam.
It is truly unfortunate that the subsequent revelations of banned substance abuse have
damaged enthusiasm for the event’s history, and certainly Armstrong’s legacy. Let’s hope that the future Tours are honest and clean. Gallery
Well, finally able to get back at posting some retrospective photo galleries. The goal now is to catch up and stay current, so I don’t have to re-train myself every time I make a change an update to the web site. The most recent photos are from our trip to Boston, Cape Cod, and Gloucester last summer. We watched the 4th of July fire works in Boston, had some terrific food, and spent several fun days with Jan, Steve, and family.
OK. I know it is winter, but moving through the archives, I selected some of the nice fall photos. We start the journey with the image/painting on this post – the most northern road in Door County, WI as it leads to the Washington Island Ferry. Included are memories from Door County – Starved Rock State Park, Lake Zurich, and Chicago, IL – Indiana,
and the mountains of Pennsylvania.
There is something about panoramas that make them special. They are visualized when the image(s) are captured, and then hopefully the result comes close to what was imagined when the cropping and combining is complete. The photos in the Panorama gallery cover a lot – global travel, weddings, sports, home, film, digital. The rainbow from the Eiffel Tower, and Moscow Red Square after a snow storm, were taken with my trusty Canon A1 on Kodacolor Film. The intention was to resurrect the color darkroom and piece the images together. Well, the enlarger never came out of the basement, but scanners, ink jet printers, and Photoshop arrived. Here I have posted a photo from Topsail Island (film!) of my wife Tracey during a busy day at the beach. No need to ask why we ended up living in this beautiful place!
It’s all about color at the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands. Situated in the middle of the famed tulip fields, the flowers brighten up an otherwise dreary day – just like they do in our home.
Hopefully the gallery captures some of the garden’s beauty.
Not quite sure what it is, but there is something magical about old covered bridges. I traveled a lot through central Indiana, and Parke County. If there was a little extra time on a trip we would cut off the main road, pull out the Parke County map, and see if we could find an undiscovered (by Tracey and I) bridge. I think that the most picturesque is the bridge in Turkey Run State Park. It crosses the sandstone walls above the river below. The first photos in the collection highlight this bridge and the surroundings. One early morning when I had finished shooting, a horse drawn carriage whizzed by. I didn’t have time to set up the camera – just turned and shot from the hip. The result was a dream like image. It is real, isn’t it? Check out the gallery.
The photos are posted. What a beautiful day, and a beautiful Bride!
Wow, what a phenomenal time! My son John and his Fiancée, Nicole, both live in Honolulu, and had a spectacular North Shore wedding this December. Many of our respective families and friends flew over for the event. We managed to engage in touring, snorkeling, body surfing, eating, and watching Pipe Masters as well. To be truthful, there was so much to do, I couldn’t focus on photography – but managed to get a few keepers.
Some of the photos of the wedding are included here. It was an absolutely perfect day. The complete wedding photos will be included in the next post. (Soon to come!)
I arranged this gallery as the menu item. Hawaii, with seven chapters – Mick’s Epic Ride (Won the 2013 Pro Surfing Championship), Pipe Masters, Snorkeling (my son Eric is the photographer), Around the Island, rehearsal, and first and most important, John and Nicole’s Wedding Day.
If anyone has photos they would like included in the album – send them.
Aloha.
I had a recent opportunity to spend a Sunday exploring Guangzhou, China. Having toured the city several years earlier, I was blown away by the transformation! I started in the brand new Science City, whose pristine park has bronze sculptures of the world’s renowned scientists. The sports complex was built for the recent Asian games. Most of the structures downtown have been completed in the last five years. We ventured to some of the historic sites, and pedestrian shopping avenues. The day concluded with a walk along the Pearl River, then across the bridge for a great dinner, and the evening light show. Special thanks to Allen for awesome tour, and to Daniel for dinner and a memorable evening on the Pearl.
My home town is Chicago. The weather forecast looked good for this Fall morning, so I set the alarm early and headed downtown on a Sunday. Hope you enjoy the old with the new. The Chicago lakefront and downtown is a magical place. I thank the early planners of the city. The park areas will be enjoyed and appreciated for generations.
First to Brazil in 2010, I was awakened to a culture and people of which I had very little knowledge. The photographs were all taken in Northern Brazil, Recife, Olinda (one of the first European settlements in the Americas), and Cabo de Santo Agostinho. The ocean, sky, and preserved buildings are eye opening. This is nation with great resources – almost all electricity is hydroelectric, auto fuel is primarily ethanol from sugar cane – it is deservedly independent , and is a richly diverse culture.
My first trip of many to Hungary was in 2000. Now several years later it remains one of my favorite, and most comfortable destinations. It seems that the country, and most notably Budapest, has grown more beautiful, and engaging with every year. Photos in the gallery were captured in Budapest, Estergom, Vac, Nograd, and Visegrad on the Danube bend.
The Airlie Oak
It’s been a couple of months since Tracey and I moved near Wilmington, North Carolina. Attached is an image of Tracey with the mighty 400 year old oak tree in Airlie Gardens – Wilmington.
This site has been developed to share some of the many memories and images collected over the last several years. I have included galleries from Brazil, Hungary, and Millenium Park – Chicago (my home town) to get things started, and to begin fine tuning the site. I’ll add comments on these collections, and add many more galleries over the next several months. Hope you enjoy the images!
John