Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
This was taken at the wedding reception of my classmate, Cassie Brewer, and her new husband. Seated to my left, classmate and close friend, Crystal Starks Daniel, and to my right, another classmate, Chris Kavanaugh. Crystal, Cassie, Chris, and I were all members of a multi-semester cybersecurity study group at Stark State College. This weekend, Cassie and I are on a cyber forensics team competing in a one-day hack-a-thon contest at the college. Cassie and I both graduate in less than a month!
This is a photo of Jeff Tobin, KC3NJE, and me, KN4FYR after we both passed our FCC License exams a couple of years ago. (Photo by Jeff’s wife, Laura)
Also from a few years ago, a group of Westminster College radio station WKPS alumni gathers at our local hot dog hangout, MP Coney Island, in New Castle, PA. Noteworthy is the presence of Mark Klinger III, our professor and faculty advisor who passed away recently at age 78. (Photo by WKPS’s Charlie “Pretzel Man” Weisel.)
A screen shot taken from an 8mm movie transferred to video, me as a freshman member of the East Pennsboro High School marching band in 1970, I believe, not too long before moving from Camp Hill, PA, back to Fostoria, Ohio.
Over the years, I’ve been asked to do some digital photography as part of my employment. Since I’m not a very good photographer, by necessity, I’ve learned to use Adobe Photoshop. As gag projects, I’ve created parody movie posters for Beth Geyer’s birthday and on occasion, for the rest of the family and others.
Below is a compilation of these posters. Click on the image to show the full-ish resolution version.
Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
In the summer of 2017, Nate, Garrett and I went on a biking tour of the National Mall in Washington, DC. We stopped at all the sights – and there are many. Here’s some select snapshots from the trip including the Lincoln Memorial, The White House, The Ohio column at the World War II Memorial and the Capitol.
Here’s a video of the ride. It’s 15 minutes long and the battery gave out, but it captures the event.
I was sitting at a soccer game last year and turned my head to see this dog relaxing on the sidelines. Glad I had my good camera with me!
The solar eclipse in August of last year swept across the United States. Prior to this event, no solar eclipse had been visible across the entire contiguous United States since June 8, 1918; not since the February 1979 eclipse had a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in the mainland United States. The path of totality touched 14 states, and the rest of the U.S. had a partial eclipse.*
The boys and I road-tripped to South Carolina to the home of Lisa Shuler, who graciously hosted us for the event. This is an edited version of the photo I took at totality. The only change was to add color to the corona, as that’s what most people expect. However, the actual corona was pure white.
This is an oldie but goodie. I shot this in 2009 at the Dog Paddle in our community pool. At the end of summer upon the closure of the pool to humans, the pool is open for one day for dogs to come splash around and enjoy the water. These two were observing the action from a comfortable distance.
* Most of this paragraph was excerpted from the Wikipedia Page.
Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
#alternativefacts: I am neither in nor did I take any of these. Unless that’s not true. Then maybe I did. Or not. Click on any photo to enlarge in a new window.
This has been posted on Facebook before but I was surprised to learn that I’d not put it anywhere on this site. This is my Dad in 1949 right about the time he started working for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in our hometown.
F-Tower was the railroading equivalent of an air traffic control center. Dad routed trains through a complex network of five different railroads traversing Fostoria. This was his professional home for 30-plus years, not counting his multiple times on active duty in the Army. He retired from the B&O on December 16, 1980.
I have no idea how to credit this, but it looks like a publicity shot perhaps for the new electronic traffic control system at F-Tower.
Last post, I showed you photos of the pups that have blessed me with their presence over the years. This one is also Addie, the Wire Fox Terrier, with my Mom in 1952 in Germany before he, Mom and Dad returned from duty in Europe.
My guess is that Dad took this one.
I miss the days when you got photo prints with the month and year on it. Makes it easy to identify.
This was taken at the Camillia Apartments in Columbus, GA while Dad was stationed there for the Infantry Officers Advanced Course. We lived there for a number of months, but as I was just three at the time, I have virtually no memory of being there. That’s my sister, Bobbi Jo and my Mom in the photo with me. I suspect Dad took this one, too. He was quite the shutterbug.
When I went back to Fort Benning for Airborne School, I had the strangest, spooky feeling when I walked through certain areas of the post, as if I had been there before, but had no real, solid memories. When I went there again with BJ in 2003, I warned her that she’d have the same spooky experience and she didn’t believe me until it happened.
This one was among my Dad’s photo collection so I suspect this is his. It’s a guess, but I’d bet substantially that this is from the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. A quick photo search on Google seems to indicate that this is the case.
That’s Chief Wahoo up there, by the way, who remains the mascot for the Cleveland team, for better or for worse. This article talks about what happened to this neon Chief Wahoo when the Indians moved to then Jacobs Field.
Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
From a few years ago when Nate and Garrett and I went to the Potomac Nationals game. They got to run the bases afterwards and this was taken shortly thereafter. Fun night!
I took this at the STEM Symposium this year. Tom was checking out one of Turner-Fairbank’s connected vehicles that was on display.
Fun selfie from nephew Andy’s graduation from the Army’s CGSS, which I presume means “Command and General Staff School,” but I don’t really keep up with such things anymore. To my left, Emily, Andy’s spousal unit; Andy himself; my sister and Andy’s mom, B.J.; and in the back, Andy’s’ Dad, Michael and stepmom, Brenda. ‘Twas a nice graduation conducted in the typical Army fashion.
Me in a Marine Corps uniform on the set of “House of Cards” season four. It was a tense moment.
(A couple of these have already been on Facebook. Yeah, this is a lazy man’s post today.)
Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
Emmett captured while asking politely for a taste of dinner. I call this his Dachshundasaurus Rex pose because he’s got those T-Rex hands going on there.
This is a panorama I took with my cell phone of the Transportation Research Board exhibit hall at their 95th annual meeting this week. Click on the photo to open at full resolution in a new tab.
The Nathanator, of course. He has a natural comfort in front of the camera that can’t be taught.
Emmett and I take short road trips when we’re batchin’ it.
This is purported to be the only known photo of me working. Truth is, I was just talking with a friend. So no, there’s still no photo anywhere of me doing actual work.
Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
While enjoying a ride on the canals in Venice, Italy, we encountered this guy who looks as though he’s enjoying his job piloting a gondola. (May 2008)
I took this on the Piazza San Marco in Venice. This small human was chasing the pigeons and he was adorable. He stopped momentarily and I was able to grab this photo. Always liked this snapshot. (May 2008)
Took this over the weekend. You may have seen it on Facebook already. It’s Nate, of course, Beth’s small human. Dude loves having his picture taken and it shows. Plus, it’s amazing how good cellphone cameras have become! All I did to this was remove the Toad tattoo on his arm and remove some chocolate.
From left to right, Rodney Leitzel, Carl Valente, me and John Scheneman, the drum line of the Valley Forge Military Academy Band circa 1973. I believe this photo came to me from Bill McKibbin, but I am unsure of its origin.
That’s me in the back row fourth one in from the left , this time playing trombone and being conducted by Eugene Ormandy, then the conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Our band appeared on stage with the Philadelphia Orchestra at President Nixon’s second inaugural concert in January, 1973.
I’ve used this photo collage around Veterans Day both as a header for this here blog and for my Facebook cover photo as well. I call it my “Career at a Glance.”
I’ve received a lot of kind feedback from people on this collage. I even made similar ones for other people.* I chose these photos of me as I passed through the officer ranks of the U.S. Army during my nearly 29-year career. There’s two of me as a captain because I spent an unusually long time as a captain before getting promoted to major. Here are the original photos and the brief story behind each. Click on any one of ’em to see it full sized.
Army ROTC Cadet, 1977:
This was taken at Fort Lewis, Washington at graduation from ROTC Advanced Camp. I’m third from the right on the next to the top row. We had great weather that summer. It only rained one day and it was the one day we had leave around July 4th. Our platoon produced one general officer that I know of, Maj. Gen. Megan Tatu, who as a cadet is standing in the front row second from the left.
Lieutenant,1980, U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon:
I’m not certain the occasion during which this photo was taken. But here’s a semi-educated guess. It may have been at the promotion to lieutenant general of the post commander at the time, Maj. Gen. William J. Hilsman.
Brand-New Captain, 1984, AFN-SHAPE, Belgium:
This is me and my dog, Esme. I’m sitting outside our apartment in the Belgian countryside about 20 miles or so from the office. My oldest son, Jonathon was born in Belgium some months after this photo was taken.
Captain, USAR, 1992, Camp Pendleton, CA:
This was taken during WOUNDED WARRIOR 92, an Army Reserve medical exercise conducted at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in Southern California. That’s Captain Me and Master Sgt. Jeanie West. We both worked for the public affairs office at the 63rd Regional Support Command at Los Alamitos, CA. Army Staff Sgt. Jim McGehee took this photo of us as we were sharpshooting Lt. Col. Stan Kensic’s rehearsal press briefing or some such thing. I remember laughing uproariously during the rehearsal with all of these folks plus Ted Bartimus, who was 63rd’s full-time civilian PAO. I’m pretty sure this is the first digital photograph I ever saw.
Major, 1997, AFN-Balkans, Bosnia:
This was taken outside the Armed Forces Network station in Tuzla, Bosnia. This was relatively early in the deployment, as I recall. In the photo with me from left is Capt. Shawn Jirik (now Colonel Shawn Woodbridge), Spec. Darius Sims, Spec. Jennifer Lopez (now Jennifer Lamb O’Cuinneagain, according to Facebook), and Sgt. Jennifer Braden. Shawn, Darius and I were Reserve Soldiers and the two Jennifers were active component broadcasters on loan to us for a few months from AFN Europe.
Lieutenant Colonel, 2001, Army Forces Central Command – Saudi Arabia:
This may have been taken in 2000. Hard to tell – it’s always summer in Saudi Arabia. Anyway, Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of U.S. Central Command at the time, paid us a visit. As a one-man PAO shop, I was doing all the photography for the event. By the time this photo was taken, I think I had room for just one or two more photos in the digital camera’s storage. Maj. Mike Downs, who went on to retire as a lieutenant colonel, took the camera from my hands and said “Let me take this. PAO’s never get their photo taken.” So Gen. Franks and I assumed the “grip and grin” position and Mike took the photo. That was a terrific assignment and people like Mike made it memorable and fun.
Colonel, 2003, Fort Benning, GA:
This one was a truly special occasion. My nephew, Andrew Kimes, went to the U.S. Army Airborne School at Benning as an ROTC cadet. When he was ready to graduate from the Basic Parachutist Course, my sister and Andy’s mom, Bobbi Jo, invited me to come down to his graduation and pin his jump wings on him. So she and I flew to Columbus, GA where we had both lived for a few months as REALLY little kids while my Dad was in his branch advanced course. I carried an extra set of airborne wings in my pocket so that I could remove mine from my uniform, pin my wings to his uniform, and then replace mine with a different set so I wouldn’t be out of uniform. This photo was taken after the graduation ceremony. Andy went on to have a great career and is currently a major and the acting battalion commander of a unit in Ohio. My sister was recently award a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Otterbein University. I’m crazy proud of how they both turned out.
* The first one of these I did for my Dad:
Then I did one for Shawn Woodbridge:
And one for my younger brother, Jefferson Wolfe. Jeff is now serving somewhere in Africa in support of the Army’s Ebola eradication efforts there.