 Getting
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In January 1984 I unknowingly signed up with one of my best friends, Rick Weaver,
while still in High School. From our first
day in "boot" (Orlando, FL, Jan. '84) throughout our 
electronics schooling in Florida, we were inseparable. In late
1984 I reported to the U.S.S. Comte DeGrasse, a Spruance class destroyer and
Rick went onto additional schooling in Great Lakes, Illinois. Rick was a great
friend...and while he was stationed in Norfolk attending even more schooling in
1985, he offered to "car-sit" while I deployed for 6 months (June-December) to the Persian Gulf.
 On
May 17, 1987 while Rick was stationed on the U.S.S. Stark,
this time on his own deployment to the Gulf....we lost Rick
to a missile attack.
During the night, two Exocet
missiles were launched from an Iraqi F-1 Mirage fighter jet and they both
entered Rick's sleeping compartment on the port side. With temperatures
reaching 1800 degrees and while mortally wounded, Rick saved twelve shipmates by
carrying them to safety. He succumbed to his injuries while performing these heroic acts.
I was asked to escort Rick's remains
back home to Clarion...he was laid to rest in a small
country cemetery along the same countryside he grew up......Godspeed
Rick. |
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Navy
Days | | | |
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 During my four year tour in the U.S. Navy
in the mid-1980's most of my time was "haze grey & underway" on the
Spruance Class
Destroyer, U.S.S. Comte DeGrasse. My main duty was as an Electronics Warfare Technician,
but I was also part of
the ship's "Snoopy" team. The idea was simple, when
we saw a
non-U.S. vessel or ship, we took photographs of it
for intelligence purposes. One of my favorite stories I love to tell is while in the
Mediterranean Sea in
1985. "The U.S.S. Comte De Grasse (my ship) and a Russian Krivak II Cruiser
were playing cat & mouse for a couple weeks, basically following each
other around and targeting each other's radar on the other....anyway...I
literally  have photographs of Russians taking photos of us...very cool!"
My travels through European and Middle Eastern countries afforded me
opportunities to photograph some of the most fascinating sites and structures,
such as the Vatican and the Coliseum in Rome, Leaning Tower of Pisa, the
ruins of Pompeii and so much more. Someday I'll get around to posting
some of them here.
In 1999 I founded ProPoint Media Photography. I wanted to
offer the public my photography
and graphic design
services because I grew tired of the photography
business that clearly were inexperienced and never really understood nor
could deliver what most customers wanted. Photography, for me, is
far more than just a point and shoot function....it's an art
form that allows me to capture a moment in time, and once it's
gone...it's gone. Lighting techniques, movement, emotions, and enhanced graphic
skills,
can all have potential to influence the composition of a photographic image or composed print; knowing and understanding these
characteristic traits as well as how to manipulate them
is what makes my photography art. Placing my spin on what I see through the
camera lens (and virtually stop) what I envision around me are priceless.
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