Blog
CityLine Live - John Herbert
Beautiful weather for alfresco dining, live music, and a little late night shopping at CityLine.
Anatomy of Gray
Opening night of the Wylie High’s Fall production of Anatomy of Gray. So proud of my son who had the lead male role!
Gear, Packing, and Flying with Photography Equipment
In the lengthy post below, I talk about photography equipment, vital things to consider when flying with such equipment, men’s clothing for this type of cruise, and a little more.
Photography on a Cruise
If you want to be happy with the photos you captured on a cruise, you’ll need to assume the mindset of a candid photographer. Have your camera with you at all times, be open minded and observant, and take photos of everything that catches your eye. That’s what I did, and I’m very happy with the results!
Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs
Everyone of a certain age remembers exactly where they were when 9/11/2001 became a tragic part of American history. I know I do.
Ketchikan, AK
For us, Ketchikan was a day of stories. Our story of a run-in with two black bears, stories of a hawk who is scared of his prey, stories told in totems, and more. If any of that sounds interesting to you, click through!
Wylie High School Homecoming Parade
Photos of the 2023 Wylie High School Homecoming Parade
A Quick stop in Anchorage, Alaska
The last thing we wanted to do was arrive in Alaska on our departure day. Too many things could go wrong, and we could wind up missing our train to Seward, or even worse, miss our ship’s departure, so we decided to call NCL to book an earlier flight and arrange to land in Anchorage a day early.
From Anchorage to Seward by Train
I definitely recommend taking this train excursion if you haven't already. Yes, it is a 4-hour trip, but I would rather spend 4 hours seeing Alaska like this than a 1 hour in a cramped bus. We chose to cruise Alaska instead of somewhere else, because we wanted to see Alaska. We could not afford some of the more expensive excursions, so this was a pretty good compromise that enabled us able to see parts of Alaska that you can’t see unless you take this train or fly in. The last half of the trip, not being accessible to those who take the Alaska highway.
Hubbard Glacier, AK
Trying to take photos of the Hubbard Glacier and the surrounding landscape was a bit of a challenge, but it was glorious! A cutting wind was blowing off the glacier, throwing water and ice directly at us and my camera and lens.
Skagway, AK
Soon after arriving in Skagway, we attempted one of several self-guided nature walks. We ended up biting off more than we could chew but before turning around, we were thrilled to experience some gorgeous landscapes, interesting conifers, and several varieties of moss and lichen that I have never seen before.
Juneau, AK
Whale-watching, Mendenhall Glacier, and beautiful mountain scenery.
The Theater
I’m in the middle of culling and editing around 2500 photos I took last weekend during a nearly 3-hour-long production of Something Rotten performed by Wylie Actor’s Group (WAG), our local community acting group. While the editing process is still underway, I thought I’d post a couple of my favorite individual photos from the shoot.
Between Ketchikan and Vancouver, a Day at Sea
One of the great things about cruising Alaska is that compared to other cruises, there are more port days and fewer at-sea days. For me personally, I’d rather be off the ship doing something than spending the majority of my time at sea. However, an at-sea day on calm water did provide time to stop, look, think, feel, and listen. Oh, yeah, and time to take some photos too.
Port of Vancouver, Canada
Docking at the Port of Vancouver marked the end of the cruise and the start of the journey home. I had never been to Canada before, and one of the things that I found interesting was an obvious effort to make the dense city more “green” with gardens and trees growing on the tops of many buildings.
A Quick Afternoon in Grapevine, TX
On a return trip from out of town, my wife and I stopped in Grapevine, TX for lunch and a quick walk around the historic downtown/Cotton Belt Railroad Historic District. The area is full of restaurants, a farmer’s market, the kind of shops one would expect in historic downtowns, and maybe a few you wouldn’t.
Hoona and Icy Strait Point, Alaska
Hoona truly is a beautiful place. To get the most out of a visit, you will need to spend more time here than we did. The hours we spent in Hoona served only as an introduction and still was one of our favorite destinations of the entire cruise.
Cruising Alaska with Norwegian Cruise Line®
My wife and I recently returned from a seven-day Alaska Cruise aboard the Norwegian Spirit. Neither of us has ever been on a cruise, and other than one bad weather day on the open sea before sailing through Alaska inside passage, we both had a great time.
The next several blog posts will cover various facets of the cruise including thoughts about cruising in general, our itinerary through photographs, a discussion of photography while on a cruise, and related gear and clothing for this unique cruise experience.
Photographing Fireworks
Last year, on the 4th of July, I made my first attempt at photographing fireworks. I had no plan, did no research, and just went for a walk and tried to take photos of some fireworks in the distance. It was a complete failure. This year was different
New Headshot Gallery
I had the privilege of photographing the 2023 cast and crew of Wylie Acting Group’s production of Something Rotten. Photos from my headshot session with WAG are now available in my new Headshot Gallery.