Author: rgetter

Reflections

Stanley Chumway knew he was never the kind of person who attracted a lot of notice. He was thin, with nondescript hair and, quite honestly, a nondescript face, of which the glasses he’d worn since the third grade had always been the most prominent feature. Though he would have been an ideal target, not even the schoolyard bullies noticed him. They picked on others who were more noticeable. Now, in his thirties, his hairline was receding, and he would still only wear a hat when it was truly needed for warmth and not style. He was, of course, still single, escaping the recognition of women as well.
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11/24/2025
The Value of a Good Photo Workflow
- Shooting lots of photos can create lots of trouble over time
- Having a good process for getting things done really helps
- File naming is key
- A little extra time before you start can save lots of time later
When you start taking lots of photos, whether for fun or for profit, having a great workflow can save you not only time but trouble. And lots of photos can mean lots of both.
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11/21/2025
On the Sidelines…

When I’m out shooting sports, what I need to bring back is not all technically sports—what is happening off the field, court, track, pitch, etc. adds to the story. This is especially true with emotion filled school sports. When they’re published, these images garnish the game action shots. Here, I’ve collected some of my favorites from the past year or so to give them a chance to tell a story of their own
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10/24/2025
When the Children Fount Out

Sarah never slept very well. She’d lie in bed listening to the regular, soft breathing of her little sister Macey and feel jealous. As tired as she could become during the day, usually late morning and early afternoon, now she was awake and sharp as a tack. She would try to will herself to sleep, but that never worked. It would make her worry even more about how tired she’d be the next day if she couldn’t make herself sleep.
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09/20/2025
How I’ve Dealt With Depression

Full Disclosure:

I’m not a medical professional (or any kind of professional, for that matter), I’m just someone who has spent most of their life dealing with depression. Along the way, I learned a few things that helped me. The purpose of writing this is to pass them along in case they’re helpful to somebody else.
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09/16/2025
Shaken & Stirred: My First Quake

Earthquakes and Faults in the San Francisco Bay Area 1970-2003 (Map by USGS)

This, I would imagine, only happens to new immigrants to California. Though rare, natives will have grown up with them. (Please note that “though rare” can apply equally to California natives and earthquakes.) I had just turned 30 when I arrived in the Bay Area from the Boston suburbs. Within three weeks, I found a cheap, furnished apartment and a graveyard shift doing data entry for a small startup nearby.

I moved to California from a Boston suburb after my first visit, staying with my aunt and cousins in the Bay Area. I unexpectedly fell in love with the place. So much so that I pulled up stakes and moved back there a little over three months after I came home. And I’m not normally the kind of person who does radical things like that, giving up a newspaper job I had for over ten years and quite likely my media career. But after seeing California, I couldn’t face another New England winter.
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09/04/2025
Iceland in Words and Pictures

This year, 2025, I made my second trip to Iceland. Part of the reason was that my photos from my first trip last summer convinced my wife to visit. But I think the main reason was that I simply fell in love with he country, its people, its geography and even its history.

This is a section my website dedicated to Iceland. I plan to return, so expect it to grow in the coming years. But for now, I invite my viewers to share my fascination and my affection for one of the world’s most remarkable place.
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08/10/2025
Why I Love Iceland

Leirvogstunga horse farm

My second trip to Iceland led me to discover what truly makes a country “great”.

It’s not the size of the land, the population or the economy. It’s not even the influence it has or had in history and world events. Nor is it measured by its contributions to art, culture, or science. What makes a country great is the quality of life it maintains for the people who live there. For that, I can say that Iceland is a great country.
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08/08/2025
Reykjavik: This City’s Made for Walking

Apartment block

Walking in the center of Reykjavik is wonderful. Driving, for the record, is not. The map apps on my phone led us through all sorts of alleyways and paths where no cars could go. Nearly all the streets are one way, and some unexpectedly dead-end onto pedestrian plazas that may have once been streets but now are wide walkways.
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08/08/2025
Golden Circle – Iceland’s Most Popular Tour

Driving the winding Golden Circle

The “Golden Circle” is the very popular 140-mile loop around west central Iceland that offers a sampling of the island’s geology and history, along with some outstanding sights and a stop at one of the country’s more traditional hot springs. With stops for lunch and a couple of hours at the hot spring, usually Secret Lagoon, it’s a full nine hours. Some options include the huge, manmade Blue Lagoon between Keflavik and the airport. If time permits, both hot springs are worth trying out.
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08/07/2025