It’s been awhile since I’ve taken my camera out for some fun photos. I took a little stroll around my home and neighborhood and enjoyed the beautiful green colors, flowers and textures that come with Spring.
I’ve always wanted to experience the Great Smoky Mountains in the midst of the beautiful Fall season. This October, my wife Briana and I finally made that dream a reality. We packed our bags, booked a campsite in the Cades Cove Campground, and spent 4 wonderful days enjoying the outdoors. When I say wonderful, I […]
Wowzers, my wife and I had a fabulous Hawaiian honeymoon! It was Briana’s first time ever in Hawaii, and my first time returning since I lived there over 10 years ago. We planned to spend the first half of our honeymoon on the island of Kauai, where the pace is a little bit slower. Then, […]
Some friends and I planned a recent trip to the Shawnee National Forrest in Southern Illinois. It’s an area known for many trees (duh), but also a few natural wonders. The “Garden of the gods” is probably the most famous of those, and attracts multitudes of tourists each year. We had a good-sized group, 9 […]
Well my sister Kaylee and I took a wee break from our “Bankstameets” over the past year. The last one we went on was our California Coast trip a full year ago. I guess it was so epic that we needed some time off. In any case, we decided to resurrect our tradition, and recently […]
It’s been far too long since I took my camera out just for fun. No clients. No expectations. Just me and the scenery. Tonight I had nothing planned. It’s Christmas break, and I’ve taken the week off from work, so there hasn’t been much going on all week. Earlier in the week, I made a […]
These last couple of weeks in Nashville have brought unbelievably beautiful weather. How can you resist a weekend hike at Radnor Lake, Nashville’s hidden-but-not-so-secret nature park? That’s exactly what my girlfriend Briana and I did yesterday. I challenged myself by only bringing one lens – a Nikon 58mm F1.4. It’s my new favorite lens, mostly […]
Man oh man do I love Fall in Nashville! When it comes to landscape photography, color is the number one element that makes a great image in my opinion. Yes, composition and lighting are crucially important, but I think color is what really makes an image pop. I had a little spare time this past […]
The World Music Mission to Kampala, Uganda has been accomplished! It’s been a week since we returned from our long and successful trip. After a little breathing room, I’m ready to recap the last few days of the trip. Buckle up, this will be a longer, but most insightful post. With three days packed full […]
Today marked the halfway point of the World Music Mission Kampala Conference. We have seen such a great response already from everyone involved. Another busy day of teaching and breakout groups was in store for today. Before all the action started, however, I had a mini-adventure in the early hours of the day. I was […]
The second day of the World Music Mission Conference is in the books. Our team gathered together late last night to discuss what worked and how we could improve on the first day. I’m pleased to say that we put our ideas into action and had a successful day! We saw many new faces today, […]
The first day of the World Music Mission Kampala Conference was a big success. It passed like a blur, but many awesome moments took place, and God was definitely among us! Things have been going at a fast pace, with lots of students attending and lots of responsibilities for each of our team members. I’ll have to […]
I’m finding that sleep is a relative idea here in Uganda. It seems like the entire town, goats and dogs included, comes together to form a constant stream of noise. Perhaps the most perplexing is the local mosque that chooses to broadcast it’s morning prayer over a LOUDSPEAKER every morning at 5am. It’s woken me […]
African rains ushered in day 4 our of trip. I found them to be peaceful and relaxing. It made for a slower morning, since apparently everything here gets delayed when it rains. It gave me time to enjoy some time alone and a cup of African coffee (coffee with milk and sugar). A few more […]
Wow. What a day. It’s fairly late as I’m typing this. We packed a lot into our day today, and it’s taken me quite awhile to prepare the photos and video. Still, I’m filled with joy after the day’s events. Our team spent some memorable moments with children in a local orphanage during the morning hours. In […]
It’s incredible to witness a talented songwriter in action. During our layover in Washington DC, we enjoyed a relaxing evening around the fire pit at Kurt’s sister’s house. It’s customary for Kurt and the WMM team to write a song for each trip they take. They usually team up with the local musicians to create a […]
We made it to Africa! It’s been a pretty intense two solid days of travel, and our team is wiped out. Our travels from DC to Dubai to Kampala were arduous, but not without their joys. For starters, we were treated to a beautiful display and full moon in the sky during our flight to […]
The World Music Mission team is on mission to Kampala, Uganda. We’ll be teaming up with East African Gospel Mission to host a worship music conference for several students. Our first stop is a layover in Washington DC, where we stayed with Kurt’s sister, Eileen. We were treated like kings, which was a nice way […]