We’re expecting...a FURRY new family member!

So.....It started about a year ago. "I want a dog." This from our oldest son, a kid that had almost never touched a dog until one year ago. Almost every day he would say, "I want a dog, I really want a dog, I really really want a dog". So, what did we do?

We got 6 fish!

I mean, fish are easy, carefree pets, right? Two months into having these fish one started to "fall up". After some googling about the problem we determined that he simply had too much gas! To resolve this problem, and keep the poor fish from flailing helplessly at the surface, we were instructed to feed him cooked shrimp and peas. This apparently helps him with "nature". Well, wouldn’t ya know it worked! So now every three days or so the fish need to have frozen peas cooked and PEELED for them. Easy peasy;)

Despite this weekly excitement provided by their fish and his buoyancy issues, the boys have not been thrown off the doggie acquisition trail. Just in case we might be concerned, the boys assure us they will still love their fish.... even if we have a dog.

Of course you can see where this is going...especially since I posted the picture up top! When a friend of Laura’s told her she’d been to see some super cute Westie puppies last week...and that there were several left for sale...we made plans for a visit.

May I introduce the newest member of the Bushnell family....



He and his puppy brothers and sisters are still too young to take home, so we’ll go back to pick him up in about ten days. This gives us time to prep the house, which will primarily consist of making he boys learn to keep all small toys off the floor! And, of course there’s the whole naming dilemma. Lot’s of ideas are under consideration, but I'm sure we'll get it together by the time we bring him home.

Texan Flight

Although I certainly intend to share recent work on the blog, I thought I'd also share a few of my older photos... along with an interesting story.

Early last year, while down in Florida at my wife's parent's vacation condo, we just happened to catch part of the annual airshow in Stuart. Of course I had my camera with me, so I grabbed a shot of this team doing aerobatics.

Aside from commercial travel I've had no experience with flying...particularly in vintage aircraft. Little did I know at the time that this would change in the not too distant future.

A few months later, in the early summer, I received a call from a real nice guy, Jim, who was interested in having photos taken for his acting portfolio. Seems he'd recently won a flight in a WWII airplane and had this wild idea to rent an authentic era uniform to wear for the flight. Well that sounded like fun to me so we lined it all up!

While there at the airport (in Culpepper, VA) I spent time talking with the pilots and aircraft enthusiasts at the hanger. They are all part of a group called the Commemorative Air Force or CAF for short. These people acquire, restore and fly vintage military aircraft. The folks taking Jim up for his flight run Texan Flight, and offer rides in their beautifully restored 1943 North American SNJ-5 "Texan", a retired fighter/trainer from the US Navy. Here's a shot of Jim and #77.



































Well, as a result of the shoot with Jim, the Texan Flight folks had this wild idea to invite me back to fly with them! So, a few weeks later that's just what we did. As it turned out I went up with them during a formation practice session with several other Texans. Here are a few shots.






Needless to say it was quite a thrill! Who'd have guessed that less that a year after taking a picture of those planes in Florida I'd be up in one myself and photographing them in formation! What's also funny is that, until very recently, I'd never realized that the aircraft in that initial aerobatics photo were actually Texans!

Mike and Laura's Wedding

We had a wonderful time shooting Mike and Laura's wedding just prior to the holidays last month. They are both such terrific people. It was an honor to share this important day with the two of them, not to mention their awesome families.

The ceremony took place at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Reston.

Afterward we all headed down to Occoquan for the reception at Bistro L'Hermitage. This place was amazing...cozy and sophisticated at the same time.

Enough talking...on with the slide show!

Let's get things moving!

Happy New Year to one and all! I've finally decided to use this blog to augment my photography business.

Let's start by showing off some recent work and see how things go from there.

Hello 2009...it's time to blog like it's 2007!