October 2022: I'm about two years behind updating this (it's Thanksgiving Eve 2024 lol). I returned to North Dakota just over two years ago, in Williston this time, driving in the Bakken oilfield yet again (winch trucks mostly). I'm not fond of the winters but the pay is better than transporting the windmill blades, believe it or not. I also invested in new camera gear based upon an Olympus E-M1X body and a variety of lenses, mostly from their Pro series. New gear, a new Leofoto tripod/leveling base/ball head, Nisi filter holders and various filters and a few other odds and ends. Now I simply need more time to go shoot!

October 5, 2020: I've moved on to Casper, Wyoming, where I am now employed by a transportation company that specializes in transporting wind generator blades (my usual duty these days, so forgive me for the traffic tie-ups lol), hubs and drive-trains, as well as a plethora of vessels and such for the oilfields, etc. We primarily haul the huge, oversized loads but also pull step-deck flatbeds and rgn's as necessary to fill in between oversized/overweight jobs. There is also a crane and logistics side via a sister company. It's far more rewarding than the small company at which I was driving for the better part of five years but I haven't a great deal of time to do any shooting... Yet... Sooooon, I hope!

June 23, 2014: I'm now an official resident of Watford City, North Dakota while working in the Bakken oil field hauling water (freshwater to drilling and frac sites and saltwater from oil well sites to disposals), as well as drill cuttings from the drilling rigs to a company-owned disposal site. There is the added benefit of this being a great "base" for going to nearby regions in South Dakota (the Black Hills, especially), western Montana and Wyoming, etc., in addition to shooting in nearby Theodore Roosevelt National Park and other areas of North Dakota.

February 21, 2011: ALL of the images within this account are copyrighted and should be considered intellectual property. If you wish to use my images for any purpose, you must have my written permission for it to be legal, otherwise you are stealing. If you are an educational outlet, I generally have no issues with your use of my images if you email me for written permission. If you wish to use my images for a commercial purpose, however, please email me so that appropriate arrangements may be made. If I DO discover stolen images (be it on the web or in print), I will not hesitate to take legal action to recover any losses to which I may be entitled. Thank you all for understanding (I had hoped such a disclaimer might never be necessary!)... :-)

November 11, 2011: On the subject of the Flickr groups that I join and enjoy most, I tend to avoid those groups that utilize a lot of flashy comment/invite/award codes. I find these to be rather impersonal much of the time and such codes tend to litter one's comments, making "real" comments more challenging to sort from the code-clutter. I do occasionally become a member or add to such groups following an invitation but I'd much prefer those groups that invite real human comments and interaction. I enjoy sharing my work and receiving comments as much as any other person (who doesn't, eh?) but I shall always favor quality over quantity. This applies equally to my contacts and I thank each and every one for the inspiration and feedback they provide.

What does "VFR" stand for, since it's obviously not my initials? "Visual Flight Rules"... Tis an aviation term that seemed to apply equally to aerial photography flights, which was the original intent for opening this particular Flickr account to share some of the aerial work. It's obviously expanded a wee bit beyond simply aerial images (in fact, it's been far too long since I have been flying!) but the name seems to have stuck much like an airname would have back in my days in radio.

I was a long-time resident of Clarksville, TN (1977-2014), working a civilian transportation contract at Ft. Campbell, going to school to finish my bachelors at night (better late than never, eh?) and shooting aerial photographs whenever my pilot friend and I had the opportunity.

I opened this account at the suggestion of a few that followed my work via www.panoramio.com/user/2401160 . The images posted on Panoramio were all posted here long ago, and I rarely open the account these days. The vast majority of my Panoramio images may also be found displayed on Google Earth. Thanks so much for the support from those that have commented and enjoyed my images.

All of the images within this account were taken by me (with the exception of any shots of myself) and certainly demonstrate the "learning curve" I've endeavored to overcome while using both an Olympus E-1 in the earliest images, and an Olympus E-510 I purchased early in 2008 that is now my full-time digital SLR. Comments are always welcome and appreciated!

By the way, any images relating to my past work at Ft. Campbell will be of the most generic nature in both content and any related description in order to play things safe. These images are not the main focus of my sharing and are intended to be artistic in nature only.