An altered view of reality and possibilities. Photography....

Have you ever wondered what different places would look like if the Earth suddenly had another flood?  Well, here are three photos I did that might give you a hint....   Yosemite Falls (in Yosemite Valley is just over 2,000 feet above sea level).   Mount Rushmore near Keystone South Dakota is just over 5,700 feet, and the last one would be a view of the full moon coming over the top of Mount Everest at 29,029 feet.

I like experimenting with photography and the many different effects I can create with my photos.  This is one of the new special effects I've been experimenting with recently.  It sure puts things into a different perspective when you take a photo of something you have seen many times and add a new feature to the photo.  Adding water really changes the view and reality of what was taken in the original photo and alters it to be something outside of what was really taking place when the photo was taken. Seeing things out side of the norm.  It tests you and allows you to just let your imagination roam.    

A Albinoni's Adagio (by William Moore)

My love of photography can only be surpassed by my love of music.  This video combines these two pastimes of mine into a project that I’ve been working on since 1968.  Back then I was in the Navy and stationed in Sicily, Italy.  Prior to entering the service I was a music/drama major in college.  After studying voice and acting (like many music majors and drama students) I came to the realization that my choices were really limiting me in what I would be able to do in life… so I volunteered for the Navy (like my father and grand-father before him did).  I wanted to see more of the world and grow up and figure out what I really wanted in life. 

After being stationed in Sicily I continued to take voice training and being in Italy, I fell in love with Italian music.  I had been in Sicily for about a year or so when in 1968 I was spending a weekend (which I did often) in Taormina.  On that particular weekend I heard a song that was sung by an Austrian named Udo Jürgen...  The song is an adaptation of “Adagio in G minor” by Tomaso Albinoni… originally written around 1708 then tucked away in Dresden until the city was bombed in February and March of 1945 by the British and American Air Forces….   The people of Dresden had evacuated and preserved most of its cities music collection and shortly after the war a guy named Giazotto's purported discovery of a tiny manuscript fragment and recreated the long forgotten music of Albinoni.   I was sitting in a restaurant and the recently released song was played in the background.  The song rattled around in my brain for 44 years when I decided it was time to do something about wanting to sing the song.  I had purchased a 45 rpm recording of the song after hearing it that first time.

It took months of searching and finally I found someone (Rene Jocharde of Austria) who knew the song and he (through Facebook) contacted me and sent me a German version of the sheet music and then later the translation into Italian.  From there I contacted someone (Chad Pippin of Modesto) who arranged for me to make a recording of the song.  Yvonne Thompson (whom I’ve known since 1975 and who is one of the best pianist I’ve known) recreated the feel and tempo of the song.  Chad Pippin added acoustic guitar and strings to the background, and I was off to the recording studio to record what had been on my mind all these years.  By this time 45 years had passed from the time I first heard the song until I was able to make this recording at age 67.  My version of the song was for my family – however, after hearing from many people that they liked the song and wanted me to post it, I made a version mixed with photos that I’ve taken (rather than the version I did with me singing that I did for my family) and this is the result.  I enjoyed finally being able to finish this project after so many years.  I hope you enjoy the video with photos.  Thank you for taking the time to listen and view the photos.    

Belonging to a camera club really does help you improve the quality of your photos (especially if it is associated with the Photographic Society of America in the judging and critiquing of your work).  The photos above are my April 2013 submissions.  I really get a lot out of the judges critiques.  Each time I submit a photo I learn something new about my style of photography and how I can improve.  I belong to the Modesto Camera Club  The above photos are titled (from top to bottom): 1. Half Dome from Cooks Meadow ; 2. Rushmore ~ The Presidents; 3.  Female Yellowstone Elk; 4. Wintering Western Crow (Yosemite Valley); 5. Ever Changing Weather (Bodie, CA.); 6. Bodie Car Rusting with Lights On (Bodie Calif.).  (these photos are CR protected)....   Out of 60 total possible points I earned 57 for the above collection.  The critiques will help me improve during the next competition.  If you're thinking of improving your photos, you might consider joining a PSA approved camera club. (The larger photos received 10 out of 10 and the smaller on's 9 out of 10 (leaving room form improvement).... Something to shoot for.