I was in Washington DC in June with Kentucky Living Magazine to photograph Kentucky kids on the Washington Youth Tour. We did the shoot on Father's Day in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I hung out Saturday with editor Paul Wesslund, as we did some sight seeing around the city. The history buff in me loves DC and all it has to offer. I spent quite a bit of time at Section 60, one of the newer sections at Arlington Cemetery. It stands out among the other sections because the grief there is fresh. It was different seeing many of the white stones decorated with photos. There are a lot of Vietnam veterans buried there, along with many vets who didn't return from Iraq or Afghanistan. It averages between 25-30 funerals a day.

I saw one thing that really moved me. Seeing the Vietnam Memorial lined from end to end with roses on Father's Day was a touching sight. I also saw two things that I may never see again. The Washington Monument was totally encased with scaffolding, needed to make repairs from a 2011 earthquake. And the eternal flame at JFK's grave has been moved temporarily to repair the original copper lines that feed gas to it.  

As a photographer who shoots with his big boy camera and lenses daily, it's good mental therapy to get away from them and use a my iPhone. I love the Hipstamatic app, and all the effects you can do with it. So everything on my sight-seeing-day was shot with my phone.

First Lady Michelle Obama gave the spring commencement address at Eastern Kentucky University. The Obama Administration chose Eastern because of its commitment to returning veterans. Of course everyone will give you their political opinions when people like this come to town. But I think it's a great moment for any regional university to get a visit from a president, vice president, or a first lady of any political affiliation. Here are some images that I did for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

It was a wet one at the Derby this year. I didn't make the race because of an accident back home, but I spent most of the day shooting a wet sloppy infield.