I had checked in and paid for our checked bags the night before. When I arrived at the TSA station, I asked the guy was I in the correct place to drop off my luggage and he said “Oh you are flying with Virgin, drop your bags with them, they check their own bags downstairs.” That was the first wow moment. After that I turned around and just took it all in and thats when I noticed their electronic kiosk (pictured below) and the fact that their employees were dressed different than all of the other airline workers. They had a coolness factor that was on 100.

I have included a few descriptions with the photos so you can understand a little bit more about the experience. Needless to day, Virgin America is now my airline of choice and I will by flying with them whenever possible.

The e-ticket desk for Virgin America. As you can see the other airlines have nothing like this set up for their customers.

On weekends, Virgin America employees are allowed to wear these cool t-shirts! Sorry for the blurry shot.

This was the place you could pick up headphones before your flight. They have Clark his on complimentary pair.

You can’t really tell from the photo but the vents on the right with the purple lights passed a mist through them while we were on the runway which added a cool look to the cabin. The mist didn’t enter the cabin, just rolled through the visible vented area.

I love the ambiance of the cabin. Just like the photos on the website. I felt like I was in a limo.

This was were the flight attendants kept the water for when passengers needed them. Very cool.

Thirsty or hungry? Just order something from your seat and they bring it to you right away. This same RED system was used for in-flight entertainment.

The tail of a sister plane waiting to push back from the gate.

After going to the track for an entire season I started pushing the bike to a point where I felt like I needed a little more power and decided to step it up to a 2006 GSX-R 1000…enter Vanessa. Over the next 4 years I traveled up and down the east coast to different road race courses and even ventured into Canada to Calabogie Motorsports Park. In 2009, I had my only two wrecks at the track. One was on my birthday weekend during a race weekend at Carolina Motorsports Park and the other was later that summer at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The first wreck wasn’t so bad… taped up some body work on the bike and went back out the next day. My asphalt surfing in New Jersey was a little worse. I completely destroyed the bodywork, broke a few pieces on the bike and bruised a few things on me including my ego.

5 years later, and another two wheel adventure begins! This time I removed the engine, put on some off road tires, took off the HOT leather suit. That’s right… time for some mountain biking. On New Years Day this year, I went out for the first time with my friends and instantly knew that this would be something that I would love doing. Not only was it challenging, but it was in incredible workout. Today I picked up the newest member of the family a 2009 Mongoose Meteore Comp aka Victoria Cruz. I can’t wait to hit the trails for some water, mud, jumps and branch ducking. The bike is pretty trick with an XL frame because I am somewhat tall and some pretty nice components to go with it. But the reflectors have to go, if I keep those on I might as well hold out my arm when I am about to make a turn. I will be sure to blog about our first date.

Now onto something a little more tasty! I have just entered into my 5 week of P90X. Part of my nutrition plan happens to be a delicious chocolate shake once a day. Don’t shake your head, this shake has my full day supply of vegetables and happens to taste better than many chocolate shakes I have had in the past. Of course I am talking about Shakeology!

It’s almost something that has become exciting. I find myself always looking for something to photograph! And once I turn on my camera, I start working on composition. On my phone I have several photo editing applications and I publish most of my “mobile art” via the Instagram iPhone app. One cool thing about that app is the online community that exist for it.

Below are some photographs that I thought I would share. These are 100% shot and edited from my iPhone.

Office Building in Rosslyn Virginia

Peter Pan bus stop in Baltimore

Building in New York

Washington Monument

Bridge during a family road trip

This is a frozen lake on the property of the mansion where Kelley and I where married.

The gate to the mansion.

The one thing that Vonda made sure was greater then the diagnosis was her faith. Regardless of how she felt, she went through it with her head up and always spoke encouraging words to those around her NEVER playing the role of the victim. Treatments, body changes, you name it, never interfered with her thoughts on being a champion, beating breast cancer and “knocking it out” of her life.

Well after a little less then a year, she has WON and we couldn’t be more proud of her. Kelley and I wanted to do something special for her so we decided on a photo shoot so that she can say to the world, “Look at me, it’s possible….. JUST BELIEVE!”

As you can imagine we took quite a few photographs during the shoot. I selected these because I really feel they represent her personality. Congrats Vonda we love ya!!!

1. Boldness
2. Strength
3. Luxury

I didn’t want to complicate things with crazy designs or a lot of bells and whistles. I started changing my online presence to include my blog and website first. And then I moved to my business card. There are SO MANY options available for business cards today and they range from cheap to expensive. Most people order business cards because “It’s the right thing to do in business”. The most dangerous thing I believe you can do is not to put any thought into the card or design. A client or prospective client typically receives your business card one of two ways, after a conversation with you or from someone else as a referral. That is why for me, it is vitally important to make sure my card represents myself and my company to the best of its ability.

Over the years, I have had my share of business card designs. I received many compliments and comments on my last set of business cards but my brand has changed and I needed something else with more impact. Well what was I going to do this time to top what I did the last time? I finally decided to take a second look at letterpress. At this stage in my business, letterpress really embodies and represents several things that I feel are important to communicate to my clients or potential clients.

My clients typically have had some experience or at least knowledge of letterpress and understand that it cost more than a standard or traditional business card but however it is a great investment. That’s the exact message that I want to carry over to my photography. With that in mind, I made the decision to contact Zida over at Studio-Z Mendocino in California to help me bring my vision together for my new business card. We talked back and forth via email and phone, sent mockups back and forth and finally settled on something that I felt was perfect. Below are a few photos of what she put together for me and like I said, I couldn’t be happier. I recently handed someone my new card and he said “With a card like this, I know your photography is incredible”. Mission Accomplished!

Zida, thanks for making this happen! I really appreciate how easy you were to work with and how you created exactly what I wanted! I can’t wait until phase 2

Studio-Z Mendocino
www.studio-z.com

I haven’t seen a Datsun since the 80′s. I have a feeling the character(s) will be hilarious!

My stare down with Optimus Prime. I probably would have ran if his headlights turned on LOL.

This was the only decent view I could get from the side for Optimus Prime.

Decepticon or not… I really liked this truck!

Ratchet, Optimus Prime and one of the new Autobots.

1. Am I doing everything I can do for my clients?
2. Am I staying on top of everything and meeting all of my deadlines?
3. Am I devoting enough time to my family?
4. Am I going to be able to consistently meet my health goals?
5. Should I use Michelin’s or Bridgestone’s on the motorcycle for the next track day?

When it was all said and done, I realized that life should not be just about one big investment of yourself but rather the small little investments of time you make into the lives of others.

Friendly register service!

The line of people with watering mouths!

Selection of flavors!

Chocolate!!!!

MORE Chocolate!!!

Branding and Packaging!

Inside treats

Red Velvet Cup Cake (the whole reason for my visit)

Coconut Cup Cake (I LOVE COCONUT)!!!!!!!!!!

Key Lime Cup Cake (nice twangy kick)mmm mmm good!