Great photography captures the heart, soul and unique personality of a community. Our staff photographers highlight North America's most livable cities.

A Bird in the Hand is Worth at Least Two in the Bush at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in Scotland Neck, NC

 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

An old proverb meaning that it is better to be content with what one has instead of attempting to get more and risk losing everything.

But what if a bird eats off of your shoe? What is its value then?

If you’re the folks at Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in Scotland Neck, NC,  it’s the chance to educate people about our fine-feathered-friends and their important role in the ecosystem.

The Kids are Great at St. Albert the Great School in Burbank, Il

 I just returned from a photo trip to Illinois for the Illinois Farm Bureau’s Partners Magazine.

Over the course of the week, my assignments included shooting a woodcarver, a maple “sirup” producer, a bison farm, the town of Naperville, a gem and mineral museum and a restaurant that specializes in dishes with a distinctive local flair. Each one a treat in and of itself.

But perhaps the best assignment was shooting the students at St. Albert the Great School in Burbank, IL.

Kansas, We are Go for Launch

 Hutchinson, KS, is the most unlikely place to find a museum dedicated solely to space exploration. Though Kansas is the home state of three astronauts, Joe Engle, Ron Evans and Steve Hawley, it’s never been a launchpad of space exploration. Not even close. It’s 651 miles from Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX, and 1446 from Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, FL. But, Hutchinson is where you will find the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.

Having a Seat with History in Greensboro, NC

 On February 1, 1960, Franklin McCain and three fellow freshmen from North Carolina A&T State University sat down at the white’s-only lunch counter at the Woolworth’s in downtown Greensboro, NC, and asked to be served. They were denied service and thus started one of the most historic sit-ins of the Civil Rights era.

The Historic Churches of Charles County, MD

 On one of my recent trips, I found myself about 30 miles southeast of Washington, DC, in Charles County, MD.

As you drive through Charles County, you come across a lot of historic churches. I couldn’t turn a corner without coming across a church that wasn’t as nearly as old as our country, if not older.

Fall Foliage hits the Blue Ridge Parkway outside Asheville, NC

 It’s fall again. That time of the year when the days get shorter, colder and you before the warm confines of your home instead of venturing outside.

It’s also that time of year when the leaves on the trees turn a robust color and really show off their true beauty before falling to the ground.

In North Carolina there is no better place to witness this transformation than the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Lightpainting the Pisgah Covered Bridge outside Asheboro, NC

 I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been on a light painting kick.

It started with the aqueduct in Roanoke Rapids and now it’s moved on to the Pisgah Covered Bridge outside of Asheboro, NC.

The bridge was built in 1911 over the west fork of the Little River. In 2003, the bridge was washed away by a flood. It was rebuilt a year later using a majority of the original materials.

Portrait of Seagrove, NC, Potter Daniel Johnston

The little town of Seagrove, about 15 minutes south of Asheboro, is the self-proclaimed “Pottery Capital of the World.” It has a history rich in pottery dating back over 200 years and about 100 potters now call Seagrove home.

One of those potters is Daniel Johnston.

Chocolate Making at the Bluebird Candy Company in Logan, UT

When I stepped through the door at the Bluebird Candy Company in Logan, UT, I thought I knew what I was getting myself into.

I was totally wrong.

I’ve photographed many candy companies that make their own chocolate candies. For most, it’s like an assembly line. First you melt, or temper, the chocolate, you pour it into molds and then you let it cool and harden. The artisan chocolate makers add a little flair but it’s almost the same process.

Food Photos from the Lantern in Chapel Hill, NC

I really enjoy shooting food. It’s perhaps because I love food that I like photographing it so much.

One story that I’ve been working on recently, and seems to be exploding in popularity, is farm to table restaurants. These are restaurants who bypass the suppliers and go straight to the farmers and their locally produced food. 

The Lantern in Chapel Hill, NC, run by chef/owner Andrea Reusing and focuses on producing Asian food using seasonal and local ingredients.