Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Henlopen State Park, DE.

Delaware Breakwater East Lighthouse seen from Cape Henlopen State Park in the early morning hours.

View of downtown Pittsburgh from an overpass over I-279 north of the city.

Cold temperatures in February froze Cathedral Falls in Gauley Bridge, WV

The late day sun shines through water droplets at Cathedral Falls in Gauley Bridge, WV creating a rainbow.

In both March and October 2019 I had the amazing opportunity to go to New York City’s financial district with the WVU Chambers College of Business’ Student Managed Investment fund.

WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics students visit the floor of the New York Stock exchange.

WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics students visit 9/11 memorial in downtown Manhattan, NYC.

WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics students visit Bloomberg headquarters.

In April I got to do one of my bucket list trips. I spent a week in Utah and visited all 5 of the state’s national parks (Zion, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon). I have visited several of the parks in Utah before but never all of them in one trip.  In total, I hiked about 50 miles, drove 1,591 miles and took 13,110 photos.

Storm approaching over Otter Creek Reservoir near Angle, UT.

Sunset along the Scenic Drive in Capitol Reef National Park near Fruita, UT.

Sunset along the Scenic Drive in Capitol Reef National Park near Fruita, UT.

Sunrise at the North Cainville Mesa in Upper Blue Hills near Capitol Reef National Park in Cainville, UT.

Sunrise at the North Cainville Mesa in Upper Blue Hills near Capitol Reef National Park in Cainville, UT.

Sunrise at the North Cainville Mesa in Upper Blue Hills near Capitol Reef National Park in Cainville, UT.

Sunset over Delicate Arch in Arches National Park near Moab, UT.

Sunrise as seen through Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park Island in the Sky section.

Sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park is one of the most sought after photos in the national park system so you have to get there early to get a good spot. I stayed in Moab, UT and got up at 4:15am. It took a little less then an hour to drive to the trail head of the mile long trail to get to the arch. I got to Mesa Arch about 5:25am (about an hour before sunrise) and there was already people there setting up. By the time the sun finally came up it was a circus.

Night photography at the North Window arch, Arches National Park near Moab, UT. The light in this image came from a mini battery powered LED light on 10% power. Exposure: 25 sec at f/2.8.

I’ve always wanted to visit the Fisher Tower area outside Moab, UT, a famous spot for hiking and rock climbing. I hiked the approximately 4 mile Fisher Tower Trail, its an amazing hike that lets you walk at the base of gigantic stone towers. I initially heard about the area because a TV commercial that featured a climb on one of the towers called Ancient Art (I was able to capture a few climbers on Ancient Art as I hiked by).

Approaching storm along the Rim Overlook Trail at Capitol Reef National Park in Fruita, UT.

Temple of the Sun and Moon in Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef National Park, UT. I was staying in Torrey, UT which is about an hour and a half drive from this spot so I had to leave about 4:45am to make sure I could get there and get set up before sunrise.

Yellow beeplant (Cleme lutea) blooming in the Upper Blue Hills near Cainville, UT and Capitol Reef National Park.

Yellow beeplant (Cleme lutea) blooming in the Upper Blue Hills near Cainville, UT and Capitol Reef National Park.

Scenic Byway 12 in southern, UT.

Maddie Harvey, Pharm.D./M.B.A Program student. The Pharm.D./M.B.A Program is a joint degree program between the WVU School of Pharmacy and the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics. Photographed at the WVU Health Science Center in Morgantown, WV for the Chambers College of Business and Economics.

Pendleton Creek Falls (middle falls) in Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis, WV.  There are several great falls on Pendleton Creek but they are off the beaten path and require some scrambling down steep inclines but if you are adventurous it is well worth the hike

William “Bill” Sheedy, Executive Vice President – Corporate Strategy and M&A and Government Relations of Visa, photographed at Visa’s offices in downtown San Francisco, CA for the WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics’ alumni magazine.

Day in the life of John Chambers , former executive chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems and WVU graduate, at his home office in Palo Alto, CA. Photographed for the WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics’ alumni magazine.

Sunset over the Blackwater River in Canaan Valley Resort State Park in Canaan Valley, WV.

Sunset over the Blackwater River in Canaan Valley Resort State Park in Canaan Valley, WV.

Jason Hubbart, Director of the WVU Institute of Water Security and Science. Photographed for the WV Higher Education Policy Commission’s Science and Research Division at West Run Creek in Morgantown, WV.

I spent July 4th exploring Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

Dark Hollow Falls in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, a A true-to-size, 363-foot-tall Saturn V rocket was projected onto the 555-foot-tall Washington Monument. A full multimedia presentation was projected to screens on the National Mall in conjunction with the projections on the monument. Washington, D.C.

In September, 2019,  I moved to Charleston, WV after spending nearly 10 years in Morgantown, WV.  I spent several evenings just walking around downtown and doing photos and videos. One of my favorite spots in town to get good photos is the Southside Bridge looking toward downtown.

I photographed this Leaf at the Sidling Hill rest stop outside of Hancock, MD in September, 2019. It was the first fall color I saw of the upcoming autumn.

Sunset over the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, DE. I started out the year at Rehoboth Beach and wanted to go back while there was still people there but without the crowds of mid and late summer. September is a great time to go to the beach, its not as hot and there is much less people.

I have been wanting to photograph the Bartholdi Fountain in Washington, DC for years but every time I have tried it has been shut down for maintenance. I finally got it on a perfect late summer evening.

WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics student Kahdidja Difour. Photographed for the WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics’ alumni magazine.

Stephen He, Assistant Professor of Marketing at the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics. Photographed for the WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics’ alumni magazine.

Richard Riley, WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics Louis F. Tanner Distinguished Professor of Public Accounting and Master of Forensic and Fraud Examination Program Coordinator. Photographed for the WVU Chambers College of Business and Economics’ alumni magazine.

Sunrise at the John E. Amos Power Plant as seen from the Raymond City Boat Ramp in Poca, WV.

I decided I was going to start 2017 by taking a hike on the Blackwater Canyon Trail near Thomas, WV on January 2. The highlight of the trail is the 35 foot high Douglas Falls. There was a decent snow melt and a lot of rain the night before so the North Fork of the Blackwater River was flowing very high and fast. As luck would have it a group of kayakers was getting ready to put in the water as I arrived and I got to see very rare and amazing feet. Professional kayaker Jared Seiler ran the falls with perfection. The amount of skill to pull that off and land it perfectly is amazing, I’m so glad I got to see and photograph it.

A week after the previous photo was taken I returned to Douglas Falls but the temperatures were in the low single digits with a wind chill advisory so I thought it would be the perfect time to go and photograph some ice!

In April, 2017 I took a trip to California to visit Joshua Tree National Park (my 7th national park).

Nipton Road near the Nevada/California border in the Mojave Preserve.  I can never pass up a good dessert (or desert).

In 2017-18, Troy Clemons, a WVU College of Business and Economics MBA student from Maxwelton, WV, spent his second year as West Virginia University’s Mountaineer Mascot.  Instead of his traditional buckskins I had him wear a suit to demonstrate his future career in business. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

WVU College of Business and Economics Hospitality and Tourism Management senior, Emily Dillion. Emily is a member of the WVU caving club, officially the WVU Student Grotto of the National Speleological Society. Emily is photographed at Laurel Caverns in Hopewood, PA. May 11, 2017. (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

Jerome Powell is a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Powell speaks to students from WVU’s College of Business & Economics. The talk is part of the College’s Distinguished Speakers Series. In November 2017 President Trump nominated Powell to serve as the Chair of the Federal Reserve. (© WVU College of Business and Economics)

John Chambers, Executive Chairman, Cisco Systems, delivers the lecture, “The New Digital Era and the Implications for Education.” Chambers lecture was a part of the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas and co-sponsored by the WVU College of Business and Economics. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

Sunrise at low tide at Slaughter Beach, Delaware.

Zachariah Etienne, Assistant Professor of Mathematics at WVU in Morgantown, WV.  Etienne has worked with  NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration on simulated computer models, most notably for the possible detection of colliding neutron stars.  Photographed for the West Virginia Science & Research, a division of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.

Matt Kwasniewski, head brewer and partner at Big Timber Brewing in Elkins, WV.  Photographed for the WVU B&E fall 2017 alumni magazine. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

Bron Kayal, Owner/Operator of Crab Shack Caribba in Morgantown, WV. Photographed at the Suncrest Towne Centre location. Photographed for the WVU B&E fall 2017 alumni magazine. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

WVU College of Business and Economics graduate David Solesbee is founder/owner of Belle Fete Catering in Newport Beach, CA and Solesbee Vineyards in Virginia wine country. Solesbee is known for his homemade blackberry cobbler he makes from berrys picked from his family’s farm in Virginia.  Photographed for the WVU B&E fall 2017 alumni magazine. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

Hot air balloons from the “Balloons Over Morgantown” event fly over the WVU farm along Stewartstown Rd.

Morning fog on the Monongalia river in Morgantown, WV.

WVU College of Business & Economics International Students Portrait Project:
Prakriti Guragain, MBA student at the WVU College of Business and Economics. Photographed for the WVU B&E fall 2017 alumni magazine. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

WVU College of Business & Economics International Students Portrait Project:
Emmanuel Ewald Mushy, International Business Major at the WVU College of Business and Economics. Photographed for the WVU B&E fall 2017 alumni magazine. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

WVU College of Business & Economics International Students Portrait Project:
Farnoush Reshadi, Ph.D. student in Marketing at the WVU College of Business and Economics. Photographed for the WVU B&E fall 2017 alumni magazine. (©WVU College of Business and Economics)

This fall I spent 3 days photographing at Bryce Canyon National Park in Bryce, Utah (my 8th national park).

Flying over the Mojave Desert in Nevada at sunrise.

Finance students taking part in the WVU College of Business and Economics Student Managed Investment Fund visit New York City to do their annual stock pitch where the present their findings and provide recommendations for asset allocation and security selection.  (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

As part of their trip to New York City the students visited the NASDAQ in Times Square.  During their visit the students watched as the company Stitch Fix have its initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ.

In July, select group of West Virginia High School students spent 3 weeks in Morgantown taking part in the Governor’s School of Entrepreneurship.  In the weeks they spent together they formed very tight bonds.  I got to photograph them several times during the course of their activities but the Closing Carnival on the last day they all got to let loose and have a good time. (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

(Video © WVU College of Business and Economics –  produced by WVU College of Business and Economics Communications and Marketing)

West Virginia Research Series – Charlie Chen (Alderson Broaddus University)

West Virginia Research Video Series – Michael Norton (Marshall University)

West Virginia Research Series – Dr. Umesh Reddy and Dr. Padma Nimmakayala (WV state University)

West Virginia Research Video Series – Blake Mertz (WVU)

I photographed Giuseppe Lucarelli, a WVU College of Business and Economics EMBA graduate, for B&E’s Fall/Winter 2016 magazine.  Lucarelli is the founder of Mountain Wind Productions, a film production company based in Pittsburgh, PA. I made this photograph at an old jail in Ambridge, PA at one of the locations for his upcoming film, “Bystander.”  I talked a couple crew members into standing in the background and used 2 strobes to light the scene.  The main light is an Alien Bee B800 in a medium soft box camera right and the accent light is a vivitar 285 flash placed in the jail cell to the left. (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

Anna McCarty Carrier is a WVU College of Business and Economics graduate and co-owner of The Cupcakerie, Morgantown’s first and only cupcake bakery.   I photographed her in their downtown Morgantown shop for the WVU College of B&E’s Fall/Winter 2016 magazine.  I used two lights in this shot.  The main light is an Alien Bee B800 in a medium soft box camera right.  There is accent light, an Alien Bee B800, with a spot grid to back and left of Anna to give some separation between her and the background.  (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

I photographed A. Stephen Stout with his father Steve Stout for the WVU College of B&E’s Fall/Winter 2016 magazine.  Stephen is a 2013 accounting graduate and runs Young & Stout, a 3rd generation family owned business.  Young & Stout is a USDA meat processor and premium wholesale meats and cheeses distributor operating in North Central West Virginia.   I used 3 strobes in this portrait.  The main light is an Alien Bee B800 in a medium softbox, slightly camera right, and there are two Vivitar 285 flashes behind the subjects at 45 degree angles as rim lights.  The 2 rim lights are feathered slightly toward the background to add a little light on the meat hanging behind them.   (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

Rebecca Wendt is a senior finance major in the WVU College of Business and Economics and a member of the WVU Cross Country team.  I did this shoot in the WVU Coliseum and used a similar light setup in both shots but with different results.  In both of these photos the main light is an Alien Bee B800 in a medium softbox, camera right.  There is also a Vivitar 285 flash behind Rebecca in both photos but in the first image the light is facing her back and in the second the flash is turned away from her toward the wall.  (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

West Virginia native Brad Smith is the president, chief executive officer and a corporate director of Intuit, Inc. Smith speaks to students from WVU’s College of Business & Economics as part of the College’s Distinguished Speakers Series. (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

Clayton Peachey, an MSIR student at the WVU College of Business and Economics, is a Strategic Communications Office Intern at NASA’s IV&V Facility in Fairmont, WV. In the first photo there are two lights.  I used an Alien Bee B800 in a 43″ Soft Lighter, camera left, as an overall fill light.  The white balance in my camera (a Nikon D610) was set to tungsten and the fill light was unfiltered giving the photo an overall blueish (daylight) cast.   The main light was an Alien Bee B800 with a grid spot placed camera right and aimed at his face.  The spot light was gelled with an amber filter to balance the light with the camera’s tungsten white balance setting.  In the second photo, there is only one Alien Bee B800, camera right as a main light.  The shot was taken outside the building and the white balance in the camera was still set to a tungsten.  The main light was gelled with an amber gel to balance the light with the camera.  (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

Garrett Spurgeon, senior accounting major from Canton, Missouri  is the captain of the WVU Rifle team. In his four years on the team, they have won four consecutive NCAA Championships.  I Photographed Spurgeon at the WVU rifle range. This is a two light setup.  The main light is an Alien Bee B800 in a medium softbox camera right, set up  almost directly in front of his face. Another Alien Bee B800 is placed behind him and aimed at his back.   (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

WVU College of Business and Economics alumnus Russell Bunio, a supply chain management expert, was formerly Vice President Supply Management and Procurement at The Boeing Company and Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer at Cummins Engine Co.  Bunio is photographed at Tampa International Airport in Tampa, Fl in front of a Boeing jet.  There is one light used in this portrait, an Alien Bee B1600 in a 43″ Soft Lighter, camera right. The main light was about a stop brighter then the ambient light.  I was able to cut down on the ambient light using Lee Neutral Density filters in front of the camera lens. (J. Alex Wilson – WVU College of Business and Economics)

This photo was from a shoot that was one of the biggest treats of the year for me.  The WVHEPC’s Chancellor’s STEM Speaker Series brought in Joel Sartore to speak at the Clay Center in Charleston, WV.  Sartore is a photographer, speaker, author, teacher, and contributor to National Geographic magazine.  He is the creator of the Photo Ark, a project that seeks to document every animal species in captivity.  Partnering with zoos around the world and the National Geographic Society, he plans to photograph as many as 12,000 animal species and is currently over half way to his goal.  I photographed Sartore while he was shooting a collection of West Virginia’s native Crayfish brought by students from West Liberty University.  He brought a portable studio with him and the shoot was held in his room at the Embassy Suites Hotel in downtown Charleston.

Antonia Orsini, WVU Physics major from Weston, WV, and several of her peers recently discovered six pulsars using the Robert C. Byrd Green Band Telescope in Green Bank, WV.  Antonia is photographed in White Hall on WVU’s downtown Morgantown campus.  In the first shot there are two lights.  The main light was an Alien Bee B800 in a medium softbox, camera left.  The background light was an Alien Bee B800 with a reflector and blue gel behind her and to the right.  I hung some white Christmas lights in the background and used a shallow depth of field to give a hint of stars in the background.  The second shot has just one light, an Alien Bee B800 in a 43″ Soft Lighter camera right. The 3rd photo below was made outside with one light, an Alien Bee B800 in a soft box, camera right.

Nadja Spitzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences in the College of Science at Marshall University, is Marshall’s 1st recipient of the National Science Foundation’s CAREER award.  She earned the award for her work to study how exposure to silver nanoparticles could be affecting the brains of children and adults.  I made these photos using only the existing light in her lab.

Last year I finally bought a beauty dish to play around with.  These two photos where just some experiments with that dish.  They both are two light setups.  The beauty dish, attached to an Alien Bee B800 is on a boom stand and there is another Alien Bee B800 with a spot grid behind the models facing the backdrop.  In the second photo there is a magenta gel over the light.

This fall, I traveled throughout the state photographing the fall color.  Some places I’ve been to numerous times and some places it was my first visit.  The fall color wasn’t as spectacular as in past years but I didn’t let that bother me at all.  Its all about capturing the best light and drama of the scene.

Sunrise at the Bear Rocks Reserve area at Dolly Sods.

Elakala Waterfall #2 on Shays Run in Blackwater Falls State Park in Tucker County, WV.

Sunrise at the Bear Rock Preserve in Dolly Sods.

Sunrise at Grandview Park near Beaver, WV.

Sunrise at Grandview Park near Beaver, WV.

Cheat River along Rt 72 near Kingwood, WV.

Stars above the New River Gorge bridge from Fayette Station on New River Gorge National River.

Dunloup Creek Falls near Thurmond, WV.

Pillow Rock Rapid on the Upper Gauley River is one of my favorite places in the state to shoot white water.  Its a difficult spot to get to if you aren’t boating in.  You start at Carnifex Ferry Battlefield State Park near Summersville, WV and hike several hundred feet down a very steep “path” into Gauley River Canyon.  These Class V rapids are some of the best on the Gauley.

This shot was taken back in the Spring at Coopers Rock State Forest.  In May of this year the 17-year Cicadas were everywhere in northern WV.  It was so impressive (and loud) that I just had to throw one picture of these guys in here.

I spent a lot of time in Pittsburgh this summer exploring, eating and photographing.  I spent most of the time there producing a short time lapse video called “Exploring Pittsburgh.”

Fourth of July fireworks in Pittsburgh, PA. as seen from Mt. Washington.

Downtown Pittsburgh, PA as seen from an overpass along I-279 north of downtown.

The Smithfield St. Bridge in downtown Pittsburgh, PA.

Pittsburgh Pirates  vs. the LA Dodgers at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA.

I visited NYC for a couple days last March to see Billy Joel in Concert at Madison Square Garden.  It was a gloomy couple days but it let up enough to go out and walk around the city.

The Brooklyn Bridge, Looking towards Manhattan in New York City.

The Manhattan Bridge framed by buildings in the DUMBO area of NYC. (J. Alex Wilson)

The Chrysler Building in Midtown Manhattan, NYC.

In my job with the WVU College of Business and Economics I photograph A LOT of students and student events.  Out of the hundreds and hundreds of these photos I just thought I would grab a few that I thought were successful.

“The Eve of the Inauguration”

Because I lived so close to the Capitol, I was able to hang out on the block outside my apartment the night before and see all the excitement surrounding the inauguration.

“Waiting for History – The Inauguration of Barack Obama”

I woke up around 3:30am to walk over to the north side (Senate Side) of the Capitol to wait in line to get into the swearing in ceremony.  It was freezing, the temperatures where in the teens, I believe.  I spent an hour or so just talking to and interviewing people along with capturing the sights and sounds.

Estimates of the attendance varied from 1.2 to 1.8 million people but most experts agreed that it was the largest audience of any event ever held in Washington, D.C.

A couple days before the Inauguration I was also able to attend the “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.” ALL the famous people where there…Denzel Washington, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Jamie Foxx and Steve Carell were just a few of the actors and musicians that performed and spoke. 

A couple weeks before the inauguration I also had the opportunity to interview the long time Inaugural parade announcer Charlie Brotman.  Brotman announced 10 presidents and 15 inauguration parades dating back to Dwight Eisenhower.

Charlie Brotman – The President’s Announcer

Waterfall along the North Fork of the Blackwater River near Thomas, WV.

Douglas Falls, along the Blackwater Canyon Trail near Thomas, WV.

Snow covered trees near Thomas, WV.

Blackwater Canyon in Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis, WV.

The Main Falls in Blackwater Falls State Park near Davis, WV.

Snow near Terra Alta, WV.

Icicles along along Rt. 7 near Morgantown, WV.

A small waterfall along the Blackwater Canyon Trail

A short walk from Douglas Falls is Kennedy Falls. Its a little tougher to get down to Kennedy Falls then Douglas but its a nice spot. With the huge amount of water going over the falls there isn’t a lot of texture and contrast in the photos.

It was a relatively warm day for the season so there was a lot of great fog to shoot so I took a short walk in the woods near Fairfax Stone and loved the color of the moss on the trees against the fog.

Here are several of the still photos that I took of Pittsburgh during the project…