{"id":705,"date":"2017-09-18T10:46:12","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T10:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/promo-theme.com\/novo\/dark\/?page_id=705"},"modified":"2025-04-19T12:51:07","modified_gmt":"2025-04-19T12:51:07","slug":"facts-from-fiction","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/facts-from-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"The Facts from Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1505137157448{padding-top: 50px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;fadeInLeft&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1690059584960{border-right-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 250px !important;padding-bottom: 250px !important;background-color: #b2b2b2 !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;2444&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_border_circle&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;fadeInRight&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1690059669526{padding-top: 80px !important;padding-right: 60px !important;padding-bottom: 80px !important;padding-left: 60px !important;background-color: #eaeaea !important;}&#8221;]      <div class=\"heading-block heading-5d67b7780c108 tal h-h3 with-line vc_custom_1620875814484\">\n                  <h3 class=\"h\">The Facts <span>From Fiction<\/span><\/h3>\n              <\/div>\n          <div class=\"button-container button-5d67b7c8992ea left\">\n        <a class=\"button-style2\" href=\"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/about-me-2\/\" target=\"_self\">\n          <span>for more about Mike Tripp<\/span>\n        <\/a>\n      <\/div>\n    [vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Has over 30 years experience working as a photographer and journalist.<\/li>\n<li>Has won so many Virginia Press Association awards that he has lost count along the way.<\/li>\n<li>Has NOT won a Pulitzer Prize \u2026 yet.<\/li>\n<li>Spent over a year following the old-school crafting of a masterpiece of a pipe organ by Taylor and Booty Organs. <a href=\"https:\/\/miketrippmedia.com\/index.php\/it-took-5000-hours-of-old-world-skills-to-create-this-pipe-organ\/\">Checkout the story here.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Has photographed three United States presidents.<\/li>\n<li>Identify as a Klingon named \u201cKa&#8217;nej Hauk.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Built his own lightsaber in a workshop on the planet Batuu.<\/li>\n<li>Was in Charlottesville, Va., on news assignment on the day of the riot in 2017.<\/li>\n<li>Been pepper sprayed and splashed with acid while covering an assignment.<\/li>\n<li>Photographed warriors from China\u2019s Terracotta Army.<\/li>\n<li>Served as rear sweep (steering oar) of the 50-foot long 18th century-style wooden batteaux, named \u201cPride of Rockbridge\u201d and later \u201cVirginia Creeper,\u201d during past James River Batteau Festivals.<\/li>\n<li>Served as Army provost under General Maupin on the General\u2019s staff over the reenacting group, Longstreet\u2019s Corps.<\/li>\n<li>Had the chance to hold a bear cub. (You should see the claws they have!)<\/li>\n<li>Served as pilot, gunner and engineer aboard the Millennium Falcon.<\/li>\n<li>Have flown aboard World War II bombers more than three times.<\/li>\n<li>Almost fell over laughing when I photographed a governor kissing a baby in a parade while he was campaigning. \u201cLook! \u2026 A baby! \u2026 I\u2019m gonna kiss the baby as it\u2019s what we do!\u201d he joked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1505376354305{padding-top: 50px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;fadeInLeft&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1690059655877{padding-top: 80px !important;padding-right: 40px !important;padding-bottom: 80px !important;padding-left: 40px !important;background-color: #eaeaea !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Used a drone to photograph a sea monster in Lake Robertson in Rockbridge County, Virginia, on a past April Fool\u2019s Day.<\/li>\n<li>Hiked through the dark way back in the woods as those I was with searched for Bigfoot.<\/li>\n<li>Have yet to photograph an actual Sasquatch, although \u2026 I did see footprints.<\/li>\n<li>May have had a rock (with video of said rock) thrown at him by a Bigfoot.<\/li>\n<li>Listened as Coach Hamilton of the Booker T. Washington High School talked about how his basketball players could fly \u2026 and know the secret of how the did it.<\/li>\n<li>Has NOT run a marathon. Does hold a red belt in American Freestyle Karate, however.<\/li>\n<li>Stared down an officer of&nbsp; the First Order.<\/li>\n<li>Privileged to listen (and photograph) as a World War II veteran shared his vivid memories of being in the middle of Pearl Harbor as the Japanese bombs fell.<\/li>\n<li>Has been sprayed by a skunk \u2026 twice.<\/li>\n<li>Sat in \u201cChitty Chitty Bang Bang.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Learned to respect the natural world from a Cherokee elder.<\/li>\n<li>Captured what looked like a ghostly orb on video while doing a story on local ghost hunters.<\/li>\n<li>Photographed sunflowers in the snow.<\/li>\n<li>Hold the rank of Vice Admiral and serve as Fleet Commander of an international Star Trek fan organization called Fleet 31.<\/li>\n<li>Watched a lady (and others) box back against Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/li>\n<li>Fell in love with Staunton, Virginia, while photographing the \u201cBig Dig\u201d when utility lines went underground and sidewalks were bricked. Watching the city change and evolve as a result after cemented that love.<\/li>\n<li>Looked a black bear square in the eye from a couple of feet away and lived to tell the tale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;fadeInRight&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1690059598797{border-right-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 250px !important;padding-bottom: 250px !important;background-color: #b2b2b2 !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;2455&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_border_circle_2&#8243;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;fadeIn&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1690059686878{padding-top: 40px !important;background-color: #eaeaea !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;2456&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_border&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;34px&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;10px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row equal_height=&#8221;yes&#8221; content_placement=&#8221;middle&#8221; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1505137157448{padding-top: 50px !important;}&#8221;][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;fadeInLeft&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1690059584960{border-right-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 250px !important;padding-bottom: 250px !important;background-color: #b2b2b2 !important;}&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;2444&#8243; img_size=&#8221;large&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;vc_box_border_circle&#8221;][\/vc_column][vc_column css_animation=&#8221;fadeInRight&#8221; width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243; css=&#8221;.vc_custom_1690059669526{padding-top: 80px !important;padding-right: 60px !important;padding-bottom: 80px !important;padding-left: 60px !important;background-color: #eaeaea !important;}&#8221;][vc_column_text] Has over 30 years experience working as a photographer and journalist. Has won so many Virginia Press Association awards that he [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-landing.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-705","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4895,"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/705\/revisions\/4895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/f8explorer.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}