This morning I received a really nice comment left by Lauren. Lauren also left an URL with her comment so I immediately had to investigate. You see, there are a lot of people who leave comments on blogs which are truly just SPAM. They leave a link to their web page in hopes of just raising their standings in Google searches. It’s all done by computer robots and very annoying. But I have filters that weed out most of the SPAM. Anyway, whenever someone leaves a comment with a link to their webpage…you have to make sure they’re not spammers trying to sell whatever scam they think up next.

Well, Lauren is certainly not a SPAMMER and I really enjoyed reading her blog which details her adventure for a year to Thailand, specifically Bangkok, as an English teacher. She is 22 years old (Happy Belated Birthday!) so I would guess pretty fresh out of college, and like most 22 year olds she is still very actively exploring her thoughts about meaning in life, our purpose here if there really is one, and the direction she wants to take the rest of her life in.

But, what is great about reading Lauren’s blog is the refreshing youthful idealism and yearning to see the world that comes across one way or another. To break out of one’s conventional life and explore those areas that don’t have the comfort of familiarity is really a hard thing to do for most people. Certainly, traveling half way around the globe and taking a teaching position in a “third world” country is not for the faint of heart. But Lauren has braved doing without many of those things that we spoiled creatures of comfort often take for granted (like potable tap water and toilets that flush with the touch of a lever, and…..oh and yes……family), and landed herself in a new world where a new perspective on life will inevitably manifest during the time she is there.

I really see Lauren and other young people like her, those who take time out of their life to explore the rest of the world a bit, as great ambassadors. They eventually become a bridge between the different cultures they have crossed to, and people on both sides benefit in so many ways. In this country, we desperately need more young people like her and the friends she will meet along the way.

Before I sign off, I really wanted to share a very thought provoking quote that I read on Lauren’s blog. It made me think about a lot of things, including my photography and my business.

“We are not made for the mountains, for sunrises, or for the other beautiful attractions in life- those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life, and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength” – Oswald Chambers

I think what I try to do is capture those moments that inspire us in one way or another. Maybe these captured images relate something beautiful that we have never seen before, or perhaps show it to us in a different way. Or maybe they remind us of a time or place that was a “sunrise” in our life, our personal moment of inspiration. Hopefully, the beautiful things in our life, the people we love, the special times we’ve lived and the wonderful places we have seen, can be an inspiration that sustains us as we live the ordinary.

So Lauren, thanks for stopping by my blog. It was really nice meeting you and maybe our footpaths will cross one day. Actually, reading your blog has made me a little “homesick” for Thailand and the rest of Asia. I wasn’t quite sure whether you had been able to look at my website as it does require high speed internet, something that even the big cities in Asia haven’t quite caught onto yet. So I am going to post some of my favorite shots taken there. See if you recognize any of these places!

Kemper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, regarding the aforementioned toilets that have levers that flush FOR you, this is an example of a fairly luxury public toilet in Bangkok. Why luxury?

It had a lid!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A February wedding at the VT War Memorial Chapel, with black and white all the way. Awesome! I’m hoping for a little beautiful snow, but not too much to bog things down. Maybe it’s going to be 70 degrees in Feburary, too.

Started at the War Memorial Chapel for this session and by the time we had walked around to Burrus Hall, there were EMS helicopters landing on the Drill Field. What?? Of course that got Trey a bit distracted since he is in the Fire/EMS biz down near Raliegh. But what was going on? Just minutes before not a soul on the Drill Field seemed concerned like there was something up. I

Turns out that Carilion and Lifeguard 10 were landing for a photo op. By the time we were done and walking back from the duck pond, there were a ton of EMS personnel with helicopters and ambulances all arranged for a group pic.

So here’s to Annie and Trey. You are a great looking couple and I’m pretty sure this is going to be an awesome wedding. Have a great holiday season, nice long winter naps, and we’ll see you guys in February.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I predicted several blogs ago, despite the dry weather this summer this fall has been spectacular, not to mention the longest on record I would expect! I mean we have had almost a month of great fall colors and it hasn’t stopped yet. This is November for crying out loud. Thanksgiving is next week!

I really don’t spend much time in Tidewater during the fall, but I was there for Shannon and Kurt’s wedding on the 27th. As I was driving down the Colonial Parkway towards Yorktown, I spotted this splash of color on a bridge as I was crossing a tributary near the Chesapeake Bay. I stopped and captured this panorama of fall color which is not done justice on a little computer screen. Ever since I read James Michener’s Chesapeake I have this very romantic view of the bay’s natural areas. I would be willing to bet that, standing on the edge of this river bank or one like it 400 years ago, things looked just about the same.

Here’s to a very beautiful lack of progress. Save the Bay!