Gaines Group Blog

Join us for a very special First Friday night before heading downtown to the Harrisonburg Holiday Parade. On December 1st, Santa will join us at the Depot in the R.S. Monger & Sons window and door Showroom. Take pictures with the kids and start your Christmas celebration early. Then join us upstairs for hot chocolate, cookies, and libations. Red Wing Academy will be performing in The Gaines Group Architects office. Brad Striebig will have his photography on display in our gallery. Everyone is welcome!

 

I grew up in a farming community in Pennsylvania and loved the outdoors. I spent as much time as possible in the mountains and waters along the Appalachian mountain chain, ofter with camera in hand. I love the vibrant colors of the seasons throughout this region.

The photographs in this exhibit represent the beauty of this region’s Shenandoah Mountain. Located west of the Shenandoah Valley in the George Washington National Forest, Shenandoah Mountain is one of the largest tracts of wild land in the Eastern United States. Shenandoah Mountain provides diverse wildlife habitat, outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities, and clean water for drinking and aquatic life.  It also helps support our local tourism-based economy.  Friends of Shenandoah Mountain is a coalition of local citizens, businesses, faith groups, wilderness advocates, mountain bikers, hikers, hunters, and other forest users working to protect the wild heritage of Shenandoah Mountain for future generations. To help provide good stewardship for this unique are visit the Friends of Shenandoah Mountain website to endorse a proposal to make this area a National Scenic Area at:

www.friendsofshenandoahmountain.org

Photography is something I’ve enjoyed since I was about 6 years old, when my father introduced me to to film cameras. I haven’t put the camera down, although the camera has changed quite a bit, since that first brown plastic Kodak I had as a kid.Over the years, my work has been published in newspapers, calendars, magazines, book covers and numerous websites. I have been fortunate to be able to incorporate photography into service work with Engineers Without Borders and other NGOs. Currently I am working with Friends of Shenandoah Mountain to help conserve this rare wilderness in the Eastern US. Photography has played an important role in documenting various projects in Benin, India, Malta, Rwanda and the Nez Pierce Reservation in Montana. I have also worked with local non-profit organizations, donating services to the Lehman Center, a home for children, and the Interfaith Peace Camp at Eastern Mennonite University.

In addition to photography, I am a founding member and professor in the Department of Engineering at James Madison University. Prior to joining the JMU Department of Engineering I was a faculty member at Gonzaga University where I helped developed the WATER program in Benin. I am also the lead author of Engineering Application in Sustainable Design and Development, published by Cengage Publishing in 2015.

I’ve been blessed with two children who bring home the importance of pursuing sustainability. They also serve as a constant reminder that the pursuit of one’s curiosity can be a fun, exciting and sometimes downright silly pursuit – and also a meaningful journey.