Please welcome my Dad - new to blogging! heymorandphotography.blogspot.com

On March 2nd, my Dad celebrated his - let's call it a "milestone" - birthday. He's a wonderful high school science teacher at T.L. Hanna HS in Anderson, SC (home of "Radio") who loves teaching and his students. He began teaching when I was 15 - a second career for him, but one to which he is certainly well suited. He's that crazy science teacher who goes to some extremes to make the kids talk about his class - like getting cow's hearts from the butcher to dissect on Valentine's Day or swabbing the drinking fountains in the hallway to see what bacteria from them will grow in a petri dish. Of course what they don't realize, is that although they think he may be a little "unorthodox" - they are learning. And that's what makes him a great teacher.

For as long as I can remember, Dad has also always been behind a camera. Every major event in our lives has been documented by him - willingly or not :) In the beginning he had a decent film camera and a tripod, and every family photo consisted of "just one more" shot until he got the right one, while the smiles of my mom, sister, and I turned into blank stares and signs of frustration. You've never seen so many eye rolls captured on film until you've seen our family photo albums!

Over the years his skill has gotten better, his equipment has become more sophisticated, and his "eye" for a great shot has gotten sharper. I think part of this was fueled by his interest in taking photos of his students at their sporting events. It was in the high school arena that he really started to capture great sports action shots. His photos now are nothing short of stunning. A byproduct of his new thirst for photography is also that he has gotten a little more "artsy" with his landscape photography. Beautiful scenery shots and interesting angles - he's really learning some great techniques. Not only that, but he enjoys shooting human portraits, and has a knack for capturing the sunlight in just the right spot. 

So for his "milestone" birthday, I decided to share my newfound love of blogging with him, and encouraged him to start a blog so that he could share his talent with the world. In fact, I started one for him, and with a quick tutorial he has hit the ground running! He quickly picked up how to watermark his photos (as he does sell his sports photography) and enjoys getting reactions from his subjects and observers alike.

Please check out his blog HERE and especially view his previous posts. Most of his photos for now are of student sporting events but his Yosemite Vacation post has some beautiful scenes. His post on his favorite photos has a wide variety of great shots from over the years - and even features a pseudo-celebrity :) I'll also feature his photos in a few months after My Best Friend's Wedding in Panama, as she has asked him to be the photographer.

To amend the movie-ending quote from the movie Radio (if you haven't seen it, you should),

"So if you're ever in Anderson on a Friday in the fall, get there early. You'll see the man they call Morand...snapping photos of the Yellow Jackets as they take the field."

Happy Birthday Dad; I look forward to you sharing your talent with the blogging world!