I recently had an opportunity to visit the updated Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California. July 19, 1990 the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace opened. I was there as the photographer for President Bush to document the opening. In attendance were President and Mrs. Nixon along with Presidents George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and first Ladies Barbara Bush, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan and of course the entertainer Bob Hope. 
The updated libray displays were great with a lot of interactive exhibits, I highly recommed visiting the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and all of the other Presidetial Libraries around the country. These photos were made on a Nikon D750. In 1990 I was a using a Nikon F4.

Over the my 49 years of being a professional photographer there have been many stories on my photography. Today Facebook reminded me and all of my followers about a story Sun Rays magazine did on me 5 years ago. September 2017 will be my 50th anniversary of being a photographer!

I was honored to participate in the 75th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor rememberance at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library on Dec 7, 2016. In attendance were Former President George H.W. Bush and former U.S.A Senator Bob Dole along with World War ll Veterans. Opening the event was David Jones, George Bush Presidential Library Foundation CEO followed by the Texas Flying Legends, narration by Ken Crites.

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Former President Bush was the last United States President to fight in World War ll. In 1940 George Bush was an impressionalble 16 year old when he heard Henry Stimson give a speech about the coming threat from Nazism and facism, and that it was the duty of the country to stand up to it. Stimson told these Andover schoolboys, "Look, it's up to you, to you young leaders, future leaders of America, to stand up to evil and fight back." These were words Bush never forgot. Two years later at graduation ceremonies, Stimson urged the class to go to college before joining the service. Bush rejected both Stimson's advice and his father's to do so. Later that day, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. It was June 12,1942, his 18th birthday. He volunteered for this service rather than waiting for his draft number to be called, a service he considered "a duty, yes but truly and honor."
His father took him to Penn Station, and put his arms around him and had tears in his eyes when he said good-bye. That was, Bush recalled, the first time he saw his father cry. After completing a 10 month program, he was commissioned as an ensign with the U.S. Navy Reserve and became a pilot, the youngest at the time. In 1943, he was assigned to torpedo bomber squadron VT-51 as a photographic officer. In the spring of 1944, he was assigned to light carrier San Jacinto and in August he was promoted to Lieutenant JG.
On September 2nd Bush flew an Avenger aircraft to attack Japanese facilities on the island of Chichi Jima. Encountering heavy anti aircraft fire, his plane was hit and his engine caught fire. He struggled to complete his mission by dropping the bomb over the target. Both of his crew members were killed in action and he was forced to bail out and float for hours before being rescued by the submarine Finback. He returned to the San Jacinto in November. He continued flying missions in support of the American invasion of the Phillippines.
In all, George Bush flew 58 combat missions, logged 1,208 hours of flying time and made 126 carrier landings. He returned to the United States at the end of 1944 where he served at Norfork Navy Base as torpedo bomber instructor and later as the commander of torpedo bomber squadron VT-153. He was honorably discharged in Septemeber 1945. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, 3 Air Medals and a Presidnetial Unit Citation.

The above information on President Bush is courtesy of: The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum
                                                                                            PBS.org/WGBH/American Experience
                                                                                            Military.com

The photos in this blog were taken with a Nikon D750 with the Nikon 28-300mm lens. I set the picture control on Vivid so I could punch up the color since it was an over cast day.

In September 1971, I received an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force. I left McDill AFB in Tampa, Florida where I had been stationed and went straight to the University of Texas in El Paso, Texas. I was 21 years old and had completed my first 2 years of college at the University of Tampa while I was in the Air Force. It was a bit of a culture shock leaving the military and going directly into college full time. Having grown up as a "military brat" this was really my first time in a full civilian environment. I spent one semester there and then made the decision to move to Oxon Hill, Maryland where my parents had moved. There I enrolled at the Universtiy of Maryland in College Park. I also needed a job. I never really thought I would be a photographer in my new civilian life but when I went looking for work the only skills I had were my 4 years as an Air Force photogrpaher. My first job was with Dunlap Studios in Washington, DC as a color printer. I printed thousands of professioanl color prints mostly for advertising and marketing clients. I was there about a year when I landed a job as a photo lab technition with the United States Department of Agriculture. Who would have thought that would be a place for professional photography, but I learned that the Farm Security photographers from the depression era had worked for the Agriculture Dept. Roy Stryker was the Director who hired photographers such as Walker Evans and  Dorothea Lange. While working at the Department of Agriculture, I realized I could be a full time professioanl photographer. Even though I had been hired at the Department of Agriculture as a photo lab technition I volunteered to do any photo assignment that was available to me. That lead to doing official portraits in the studio and that evolved into doing most of the still life work in the studio. I learned to just jump in and figure out things as I went along. I also asked lots of questions and was not affraid to let people know I needed help or advice. That led to my offering to help mentor young people who worked for me years later.