I took this photograph as the captain of our ship, Carnival's Ecstasy, expertly threaded the needle between two storms. That same ship was steaming directly toward Hurricane Matthew earlier this week and was diverted to Mexico to sail around and avoid the storm. My thoughts are with the crew and guests of the Ecstasy this week. I have a feeling the seas won't be nearly as calm as they were on our trip in May.
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
When we were in Paris, Invader was all over the place. This one was on the statues leading over the Louvre Seine Bridge. A bit of old world photoshop brush palette meets the Olde World.
This photograph was captured with a Nikon D90.
The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance, remotely-piloted surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft.
The "drone" is piloted remotely by a crew of three and it can remain in the air continuously for up to 34 hours. With an operating ceiling of 60,000 feet and range of 12,300 nautical miles, it can fly half-way around the world without refueling.
Amortizing R&D, each unit costs over $200 million to deliver to the USAF.
This Global Hawk is on display at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Warner-Robins, Georgia.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
As the leaves begin changing, biking season comes to an end for another year on Beech Mountain. The Beech crew is now busy making upgrades to the mountain for this winter's ski season! The new terrain park expansion looks great! Come on up and check it out this winter!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
The construction of the Linn Cove Viaduct marked the completion of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It just floats over the mountain, providing one of the best views in North Carolina.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.
We spend a week every summer at The Villages for some beach time with the kids. The Villages is made up of one-, two- and three-bedroom condos up top and shops, a restaurant and a spa on the promenade level. It's a great place for a beach week!
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone (very likely to soon be replaced with a DJI Mavic Pro!
Happy birthday to Lori, the love of my life and the best mother you could ask for to our two children. I don't normally post portraits but today is a really good day to make an exception! We're grateful to our friends who are traveling from near and far to help celebrate with us this weekend!
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
If you're on Beech Mountain and you need a fishing license, you go to Fred's General Mercantile. If you need lunch or wine or snacks, you go to Fred's. If you need bird feeders or snow shovels or hammers or just about anything else, you go to Fred's.
No matter what you need, Fred's has you covered and no trip to Beech Mountain would be complete without stopping in for a quick visit. Need a place to stay on Beech Mountain for the upcoming ski season? Check out Slopeside.
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
Barracuda are one of the toughest-looking fish in the sea. Whenever I see one, it takes me back to a little snorkeling adventure we took at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park when I was about twelve years-old.
The swells quite large and I was one of the only people on the boat who didn't get sick. While everybody else was rocking up and down on the boat, I jumped into the water for a snorkel.
A barracuda that was nearly as long as me caught my attention and I started following it. We swam for a few minutes pretty quickly and rounded a huge piece of coral. Just as we made it around the bend, we came upon a half a dozen or so barracuda. Most were smaller than the big guy I was following and I had a moment when I thought it was pretty cool to see his family.
Just then, a really big swell came through and I dropped straight down toward the family of fish. At the bottom of the swell, I could have reached out and touched them. It seemed like an eternity before the other side of the swell came through and I was lifted back up to a more comfortable distance. At that point, I had a little freak-out moment and popped my head out of the water to see how far I had swum. Our boat was about 200 yards away, which felt like miles. I began swimming as fast as I could to get back to our boat.
When I was halfway there, I realized the boat I was swimming to was a giant catamaran and our group definitely did not set sail on a catamaran. I looked around again and realized I was swimming to the wrong boat, in the wrong direction. Our boat seemed to be a little dot on the horizon. I had this sudden fear that our boat might leave without me so I swam the distance as fast as I could. When I arrived at the boat, nobody even realized I had wandered off. I didn't say a word. I just climbed back into the boat with a very deep appreciation and respect for the vastness of the ocean.
This photograph was captured with a Sony a6300.
If you ever visit Brussels, check to see if the Hotel Metropole is available. It's the oldest hotel in Brussels and one of the first luxury hotels in the world. In 1890, two microbrewing brothers opened Cafe Metropole in order to sell their beer. It was such a success that five years later, they bought the adjoining bank and turned it into a luxury hotel named Hotel Metropole.
Taking the open-air cage elevator to your room as it soars through the lobby is like stepping back into the Belle Epoque world of the Great Gatsby. This photograph is a detail of the chandelier, moulding and wall paper of our suite.