andyFootography's Xanga

Transition

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:16:20 GMT

Holy cow, I haven't been paying much attention to xanga. I'm almost done w/ the Army. I'll be flying back home in April and begin ETS leave. Since I'll still be technically IN the Army until June, I'm thinking of flying Space A to Europe for free and backpack around. A friend of mine who is also leaving might join me.

I've also applied to Art Center, RIT, and in a month or so to Brooks. I've read up on "School vs. Self-taught/assisting", as well as the Brooks investigations, but with the new GI Bill, I'll essentially be getting a $100k discount. Anyway, I'm excited at the prospect of finally going into photography full-time. My parents flew into town, and I had a chance to share w/ them my plans. They were skeptical at first, but after a good discussion, it's good to know they support me now.

What else...oh yea, I started going back to church again. Meeting some good people at Onnuri. Wish I'd started going earlier. Here's a couple shots while waiting in line at Dos Tacos in Gangnam...

New Year 2009

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:59:55 GMT

Met up w/ MINNAMINNAMINNA in Seoul!

Then for New Years, I went over to Incheon Beach on a last minute decision

Here's my first iMovie....err movie. Don't know what's up w/ the choppy transitions towards the end. Bah...it didn't come out widescreen either.

LOL

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:49:16 GMT

My dad just called and told me what he got for Christmas... 5D Mark II, 16-35L, 24-70L, one each. Add to that the 70-200L IS he received from the same guy a year ago. Must be nice knowing people at Canon LOLOLOL

Work blows...go hiking

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:25:17 GMT

Work blows. So I went hiking. The cool thing about Korea is that it's full of mountains. Bukhansan is about an hour away. Reminds me a lot of Shenandoah back home. I think I went at the perfect time to enjoy the fall foliage.

Rockin the KK.com shirt =]

It's been real foggy lately. When I wake up for PT in the morning, you can't see 50 feet in front of you. By noon, it clears up, but I guess it starts building up in the evening again.

The sun set so high in the sky b/c of the fog.

This guy was one of those guys who was eccentrically excited to be up there. Rock on haha...

Stayed there until nightfall. Overlooking Uijeongbu..

Chillin at the top while a monk was sharing his views on life...

Matthew & Heather

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:03:49 GMT

It's been a while. More pics added. They are finally married. =]

Just a couple quick edits of an Army buddy & his fiance here in Korea. They wanted some engagement shots that you could tell were shot in Korea, since they will be living here together after the wedding. So....Gyeongbok Palace we went. More pics to follow. ..maybe

Sincerely, CEO, Amurica

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:18:02 GMT

[Reuters]

[Getty Images]

Here's an email I just received...

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:55:15 GMT

Dear Andrew,

28,000 petition signatures.

32,000 letters and thousands of calls to Congress.

With your help, we made history. When the GI Bill was signed into law by President Bush at the end of June, we hope you took pride in the fact that you contributed to this remarkable victory.

Two of the main co-sponsors of the legislation, Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE), want to thank you for your dedication to the cause, along with Patrick Campbell, IAVA's Legislative Director, and myself.

Take a minute to watch.

Click here to watch.

As mentioned in the video, www.GIBill2008.org will relaunch in the next few weeks as a comprehensive resource for veterans to learn about the new GI Bill.

This is your victory. Generations of veterans to come will benefit from the new GI Bill, thanks to your hard work. Pass this video along to your friends and family and be proud of this accomplishment.

Sincerely,

Paul Rieckhoff
Iraq Veteran
Executive Director
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Facing a potential 6-figure student loan, I was planning to simply go right into the business, a la School of Hard Knocks.

But thanks to the new bill... PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL HERE I COME!! =]]]]]

Forest Gump Turn-Around

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:58:44 GMT

As I was flying to LA, I woke up from a brief nap, and looked out the window to see if I could terrain-associate and figure out where we were. Sure enough, I see the famously straight Highway 191 and knew instantly we were right on the border of Arizona & Utah. It's the road where Forest Gump randomly decides to turn around on his cross-country run.

Here's the screenshot from the movie:

Here's a picture of my car on that highway. Forest Gump stood about the first yellow dash. Oh yea...the sunset was stunning as well.

Another shot from the area, just a little further west...

Aztec Ruins..

Bonneville Salt Flats..

...yes, I'm rehashing old pics. =]

DC as a playground

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:02:25 GMT

Went on a photo-tour of the capital w/ the pops last week. It's nice to be able to enjoy spend some father-son time. So what did I learn? My dad likes scenery/nature shots, while I'm more a people photographer, as evident below...

4. Despite being a local for almost 2 decades, he rocks the tourist look haha. He has nice tastes in lenses though..

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11. Cool old iron bridge

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22. Jefferson Memorial

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24. THIS...IS...SPARTAAAAA

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31. Give it enough blur, and it'll start to look like a painting

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Isaac Easter Party

Sun, 04 May 2008 11:10:27 GMT

For the past decade or so, my unit has been in partnership with the Isaac Childrens Home. It's an orphanage based in Uijeongbu that houses 96 kids from ages 3 to 18. Being the Community Relations Officer for our brigade, I've had the pleasure of being directly involved in several events throughout the past year. Playing with the kids immediately reminds me of the important things in life. Being a photographer at heart, I of course didn't waste the opportunity to capture the moments. ("Capture" being the operative word. I've fallen behind on editing them hehe). I did have a chance to present to the Isaac staff photos from an Open House event back in September, and their reaction was priceless.

In any case...I'm ready for a good long vacation. I'll be home in May-June, then to LA for a weekend before I come back here. Anyone want to hang out?

Pics from the Easter Party....

8. This girl was so honest that she wanted to return a lollipop that dropped on the ground

10. "I am not amused"

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13. Mr. Vaia, a retired SGM who does free balloon animals for charity events around Korea

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49. This girl had the greatest smile, too. Anytime I pointed the camera at her, no matter what expression she has, it imediately turns into the biggest cheese, like you see here...

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