Hobbies

My hobbies have included a variety of activities.

  • I raced an Austin Healy Sprite Mk II for 6 years in Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) sanctioned national races. The exhilaration was terrific! Lots of fun, good friends and lots of dollars. It was the dollars that terminated that hobby. Also, my wife said NO kids until I stopped racing. I raced at Mid America Raceway outside of St. Louis, Mid Ohio, Road Atlanta, Indianapolis Raceway Park, Elkhart Lake in WI, Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in OK and a few others.

  • Today I race a 2016 Porsche GT4 Clubsport in Porsche Club Racing. This is the entry level Porsche factory built race car. The car is managed by Autometrics Motorsports in Summerville, SC. It is an exhilarating experience! It makes me feel alive! The initial question was “Do I still have it?”, but winning my fifth race proved I did. The cost can be staggering to get started which includes buying a car, doing all the track-days necessary to get a racing license, safety equipment, car upgrades and buying the tires. Without financial support, I am not sure how much longer this will last.

  • I started playing golf at age 13. Becoming a better golfer was always a challenge. I played on the high school golf team with minor success. After college, I played more but not particularly well. When I moved to South Carolina I began to seriously work at becoming a good amateur golfer. I joined a country club, played twice a week, practiced multiple times a week, got custom fitted golf clubs, numerous golf lessons and finally added hypnosis to improve the mental aspect of my golf game. The net result was a 3 handicap. Then, after a few years, I returned to serious photography and hardly ever play anymore. What I learned was if you want to be good at something you have to commit and invest time, energy, focus and dollars. I think that is true of everything in life when you want to excel. In my opinion I couldn’t play golf at a high level and create great images at the same time. Photography won.

  • Wine connoisseur! Is this really a hobby? Well, my wife and I started going to wine tastings years ago. We started with white and blush wines. Today, my preference is heavy reds, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Malbec and to a lesser extent Pinot Noir and Merlot. But, my palette is diverse. I like oaky, buttery dry Chardonnay, sweeter Rieslings, Muscats, Sauternes and Ice wine. I started a technical wine tasting group that has morphed into a social event with gourmet appetizers and desserts paired with casual fine wine tasting. It could be known as the “Red Wine Bigots” since we almost always taste and drink reds. I am now branching out into single malt scotch, e.g. Macallan 15 Triple Cask and I am exploring more. I am also a fan of Baileys, XO Cognac, Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray and Woodford. I rarely drink alone. A few glasses a week would be about average.

  • I love skiing! The exhilaration at quick cruising speeds and deep powder can approach sports car racing. I started at the small ski resorts in eastern Pennsylvania, then made trips to Stratton, Killington, Stowe and Jay Peak in Vermont. But once you have been out west to the Rockies, that is where you want to ski. Now I ski in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, California and Canada. My favorite ski areas are Vail, Beaver Creek, Snowbird, Alta, Deer Valley, Aspen, Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, Big Ski and Lake Louise. I can ski most anything, but as I get older, I am trying to avoid more visits to the orthopedic surgeon. I thought I would retire the skis at age 75, but last year I met a group of skiers in their 80’s and 90’s having a great time, so we’ll see.

  • Oh, photography! While I took pictures with my parents Kodak Brownie and Instamatic cameras, that wasn’t really a hobby. Then I bought a Minolta SRT-101 in college for what might be called travel & nature photography. But, it got more serious when I added a darkroom. I always enjoy watching a print materialize in the darkroom and now come out of inkjet printers. I spent summer vacations hiking and photographing national parks in the western US. It also got more serious when I got into motorsports photography at venues including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Road America, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, Long Beach and more. The races included the Indy 500 and the Trans AM and Can Am series. This all happened with film cameras with manual focus lenses.

  • Chief outdoor cook. I got a Big Green Egg in 2018 and enjoy it. We added an outdoor kitchen in 2019.