Perry and Emily got married Sunday, June 28 at The Birkby House. A sampling . . more to come.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Perry & Emily: June 28, 2009
Perry and Emily got married Sunday, June 28 at The Birkby House. A sampling . . more to come.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Allan & Kim: June 27, 2009
Just a few images from Allan & Kim's wedding. Many, many more to come later in the week.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Promises of Reform
Consider for a moment some of the duties and programs government is responsible for: education, immigration, running elections, Social Security, Medicare, DMV. Now consider how many times the word "reform" is used with these duties and programs: education reform, immigration reform, Social Security reform . . you get the picture. Most, if not all, of these duties and programs given to government have been the source of frustration and disappointment to the public. People want reform because these things are broken and need fixed. But we know from experience that things that get bloated and that are old are difficult to move, and difficult to change. And when put in the hands of politicians, they can also be expensive to change. And so they remain broken.
Which leads me to this: so why do we want to turn over things like health care and energy to a government that has not proven it can reform anything? Maybe if the federal government can first prove they can manage immigration, then maybe we can consider giving them more responsibilities down the road, but not now. It's actually laughable that politicians get away with talking about reform like they do. I would love to see one Senator who has spent their lifetime in Washington, leave Washington, and go reform a company or some other private enterprise. Prove they can actually do it, then come back and maybe we will listen to them.
I believe the best solutions are market based. If an area can support the need for 10 motels, then 10 independently owned motels will be built. With 10 motels a customer has choices and a much better chance of getting a better price and better service due to competition. Now you could make the argument that it makes more sense to build one motel with 500 rooms rather than 10 motels with 50 rooms each. It would take up less land, it would be less confusing for travelers, and it would probably be more efficient. But with no competition, that one motel could set whatever price it wanted. It holds a monopoly on motel rooms in that area. Is that what we want when it comes to health care or with energy? Wouldn't something like education be better served if there was competition for students. Colleges do it, why not grade school or high schools?
It is unbelievable how much money and how much power is being thrown at Washington right now. Promises of reform: "just give us all your money and we will turn this thing around". And we are foolishly saying "go ahead".
Which leads me to this: so why do we want to turn over things like health care and energy to a government that has not proven it can reform anything? Maybe if the federal government can first prove they can manage immigration, then maybe we can consider giving them more responsibilities down the road, but not now. It's actually laughable that politicians get away with talking about reform like they do. I would love to see one Senator who has spent their lifetime in Washington, leave Washington, and go reform a company or some other private enterprise. Prove they can actually do it, then come back and maybe we will listen to them.
I believe the best solutions are market based. If an area can support the need for 10 motels, then 10 independently owned motels will be built. With 10 motels a customer has choices and a much better chance of getting a better price and better service due to competition. Now you could make the argument that it makes more sense to build one motel with 500 rooms rather than 10 motels with 50 rooms each. It would take up less land, it would be less confusing for travelers, and it would probably be more efficient. But with no competition, that one motel could set whatever price it wanted. It holds a monopoly on motel rooms in that area. Is that what we want when it comes to health care or with energy? Wouldn't something like education be better served if there was competition for students. Colleges do it, why not grade school or high schools?
It is unbelievable how much money and how much power is being thrown at Washington right now. Promises of reform: "just give us all your money and we will turn this thing around". And we are foolishly saying "go ahead".
Thursday, June 25, 2009
300,000
Just wanted to announce that sometime in July I will cross the 300,000 threshold for the number of images posted on my website. That's right, 300,000. Now if I could just sell each one for $5 each . . .
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Matt & Grete
I had the pleasure of photographing Matt & Grete's wedding June 20 at Meadowkirk Camp near Middleburg. Despite a full morning of rain, the afternoon and evening was really nice. Grete was a real joy to photograph . . very happy . . very confident . . and very comfortable in front of a camera. Looking forward to working on these images throughout the week.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Joey & Michelle
Wedding on May 31 at The Birkby House, probably my favorite venue for a wedding. To see some more images from this wedding, please go here.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
One Thing To Admire About Obama . . Maybe
I'm feeling generous today, so I am going to write about one thing that I admire about Barack Obama. Most politicians come into office with thoughts of transforming government. They believe they can be the one who takes control, persuade others to his side, and fundamentally changes how things are done . . for the good. Okay, that last part is a bit of a stumbling block because not everyone is in agreement about what is good. I would like to see a president who abolishes the Department of Education, cuts back on subsidies, denounces bailouts, and makes sensible, cost saving changes to the big items like Social Security and Medicare. Instead we get Barack Obama who seems intent on doing anything and everything to increase the size and power of the federal government. Before I forget, let me say what it is I admire about Obama: he has taken advantage of a weak and sympathetic Congress, as well as a weak and sympathetic press, to push along very aggressively his ambitious vision of a transformed federal government. Every day there is something new placed on the front burner. If I was a believer in what he was attempting to do, I would be in heaven; but I am not, and therefore I believe we are all looking at a form of hell on earth, or at least in the United States.
While I admire Obama's energy and ambition, I am not convinced that this seize the moment, let's change everything all at once approach is such a good idea. Let me offer this analogy: let's say that I want to transform my house. Instead of its three bedrooms I want seven. Instead of a one car garage I want a three car garage, with an apartment above it. I also want a small movie theater built into the house, probably toward the back. And I want to change the exterior by making it all stone. The price of all of this really doesn't matter because I plan on maxing out all of my credit cards and using anything else I have in savings, and I'll probably have to borrow the remainder from friends and family. So off I go, developing plans, hiring subcontractors, obtaining permits, and commencing to build my new transformed house.
Several months and several hundred thousand dollars later, my house is close to completion. People tell me that they like the design and tell me how different it looks than before. But in my neighborhood the house now looks out of place . . it would never appraise for how much I have invested into it. I am now getting bills for my credit cards and there is no way I can pay them back. My friends and family, who hesitated loaning me money, now wonder if they will ever get their money back. But I did get my transformed new house! I got what I set out to do. No one really stood in my way, and those who did I just ignored.
The problem now is holding onto my house. I have payments I cannot make, which means over time those payments just get bigger. I forgot to account for the extra costs for heating the place . . oops. Oh well, what is really important is that I got my new transformed house. Does it really matter that other people will eventually have to pay for it?
While I admire Obama's energy and ambition, I am not convinced that this seize the moment, let's change everything all at once approach is such a good idea. Let me offer this analogy: let's say that I want to transform my house. Instead of its three bedrooms I want seven. Instead of a one car garage I want a three car garage, with an apartment above it. I also want a small movie theater built into the house, probably toward the back. And I want to change the exterior by making it all stone. The price of all of this really doesn't matter because I plan on maxing out all of my credit cards and using anything else I have in savings, and I'll probably have to borrow the remainder from friends and family. So off I go, developing plans, hiring subcontractors, obtaining permits, and commencing to build my new transformed house.
Several months and several hundred thousand dollars later, my house is close to completion. People tell me that they like the design and tell me how different it looks than before. But in my neighborhood the house now looks out of place . . it would never appraise for how much I have invested into it. I am now getting bills for my credit cards and there is no way I can pay them back. My friends and family, who hesitated loaning me money, now wonder if they will ever get their money back. But I did get my transformed new house! I got what I set out to do. No one really stood in my way, and those who did I just ignored.
The problem now is holding onto my house. I have payments I cannot make, which means over time those payments just get bigger. I forgot to account for the extra costs for heating the place . . oops. Oh well, what is really important is that I got my new transformed house. Does it really matter that other people will eventually have to pay for it?
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wedding Season
It is wedding season. I just did 4 weddings over a 9 day period, plus weddings pretty much every weekend now until it gets cold out again. So far most of the rain has been happening during the week, leaving the weekends fairly dry. So far, so good. Anyhow, here are a few images. To see more, go here.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
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