Through The Lens 11 – Toy Soldiers

The Toy Soldier segment of the Once Upon A Christmas Time Parade is one of my favorites. After several attempts to capture this sequence, I finally got it during a trip in Decmber 2013.

Through The Lens 10:  Colonial Christmas

Christmas in Williamsburg is a great time to visit Virginia’s Colonial Capitol.  Interestingly the decorations we enjoy there today are a 1940’s compromise between residents and the Colonial Williamsburg foundation. The residents wanted to decorate the homes in a modern manner but the Foundation wanted to keep to strict colonial traditions meaning no decorations.  They settled on decorating using only the natural materials that would have been on hand in colonial times. While the displays we see today would have been considered wasteful three centuries ago, they’re beautiful

Through The Lens 9:  Antietam Memorial Illumination

Every year on the first Saturday in December, 23,110 luminaries are lit on the fields outside Sharpsburg, MD representing the casualties from the battle of Antietam.  It is a sobering site when driving through the illumination and even more so when walking the grounds with a photography permit.

Through The Lens 7:  Dam Eagles

Bald Eagle

Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna River in Maryland is home to what is considered to be the best eagle viewing outside of Alaska. While photographing them I learned why the regulars often call them “those dam eagles.”  They’re frustratingly unpredictable in that days when you expect a lot of activity will be relatively quiet or they’ll fish way out in the river or even in the shadows during the best light. Despite that, a day photographing them is a lot of fun. Stop by and check them out if you’re in the area. The population at the dam peaks during late November through Early December.

Through The Lens 6:  Mustang

In honor of Veteran’s Day earlier this week, I thought I would share a photo of one of the greatest planes flown by the greatest generation.  Andrew McKenna put on an awesome demonstration of the P-51D’s capabilities during the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s WWII Weekend.