Your Bio

I was born in Washington D.C. in July of 1974 and grew up in the state of Maryland, USA. As a temporary "diversion" from my ultimate career goals, I started a career in information technology in 1998 and stumbled upon a job opportunity that required me to travel to Latin America. The majority of what is on this site is the result of that accident. Before long, I decided I wanted to live there and after a year and a half wait, I finally got my chance. In April of 2000, I moved to Lima, Peru where I resided for 4 years until February 2004 when I move to Bogota, Colombia until July of 2009.

The main reason for this site is to more easily share my experiences through the pictures I have taken but, since photography is also a part time hobby for me, I also have a number of photographs I took for the purpose of creativity.

Like many of my hobbies in my younger days, I experimented with photography on and off over the years but became a lot more serious about it when I began to do a lot of traveling. I have also come to realize that memories are among my most cherished possessions. That, along with my strong desire to share my experiences with my family and others, is what has driven me to improve my photography. I haven't limited my efforts to just pictures, by the way, to date I have amassed more than 130 hours of video of my travels since 1999.

Let me be clear that, no matter how many pictures OR video you take, there is nothing like REALLY being there, but that will never stop me from trying to come as close as possible to sharing the essence of the experiences that inspired me to preserve them.

If you want to contact me, send love or hate mail to: rkornilo -AT- gmail.com Just replace the -AT- with @, I wrote it that way to defeat spammers.

Also.. I changed the way I organize the galleries. The more formal arrangement begins at the top until around the Bio Pic gallery. From there below is the 'dumping zone' where I have been posting stuff just to make it available to friends and family.

*** Note: I've heard reports of trouble with the slide show feature. Apparently it has to do with older versions of Netscape. Either use Netscape 8.0 or later, Firefox, or Internet Explorer.

Around the World

Galleries

Favorites : A collection of my most favorite photographs. You can view each caption without clicking on a picture simply by placing your pointer over the picture and the caption will appear.

Favorites

A collection of my most favorite photographs. ...

Updated: Sep 17, 2010 1:02pm PST

Barbados 2012 :

Barbados 2012

Updated: Aug 22, 2012 5:19pm PST

Afghanistan : The toughest job I'll never love.

Afghanistan

2009 - September - CV69 EIsenhower :

2009 - September - CV69 EIsenhower

Updated: Sep 18, 2009 7:54pm PST

2009 - July - Aerial tour of Virginia with fmr astronaut Tom Jones :

2009 - July - Aerial tour of Virginia with fmr astronaut Tom Jones

Updated: Jul 22, 2009 8:23pm PST

2009 - July - Leaving Colombia : The end of an era. The beginning of a new chapter.

2009 - July - Leaving Colombia

The end of an era. The beginning of a new chapter.

Updated: Sep 17, 2010 12:59pm PST

Lima, Peru, 2009 : Sure, I could be back some day. Couldn't tell you when, though..

Lima, Peru, 2009

Sure, I could be back some day. Couldn't tell you when, though..

Updated: Jul 22, 2009 11:02am PST

2009 - February - Colombia - Meeting with rescued hostage Keith Stansell : Extra special thanks to Mark Morris for taking these pictures.

2009 - February - Colombia - Meeting with rescued hostage Keith Stansell

Extra special thanks to Mark Morris for taking these pictures.

Updated: Apr 22, 2009 12:02pm PST

2008 - The Conference - Ft. Lauderdale/Miami : Another step closer to the unstoppable approach to the edge of forever.................... --- Possibly the final conference ---________________________________The HBO video clip featuring The Fray's track Over My Head is in this gallery. So take a look at the same video clip who's soundtrack caught my attention and would become a part of my life's greatest hits.

2008 - The Conference - Ft. Lauderdale/Miami

Another step closer to the unstoppable approach to the edge of forever ...

Updated: Sep 06, 2008 9:39pm PST

2000-2007 - Diplomatic Matters : Rubbing elbows with other ex-patriots.

2000-2007 - Diplomatic Matters

Rubbing elbows with other ex-patriots.

Updated: Nov 30, 2008 9:16am PST

2007 - The Conference - Dominican Republic - Punta Cana : Lets go to Dom.Rep. and be stuck in a resort the whole time. Could've been worse I guess. :-)

2007 - The Conference - Dominican Republic - Punta Cana

Lets go to Dom.Rep. and be stuck in a resort the whole time. Could've ...

Updated: Jul 27, 2007 11:59am PST

2006 - August - Arizona, USA - Fighter Combat International : Simulated arial combat, BUT WITH REAL PLANES! Now with video clips. __________________________ Captions will come as soon as I have some more time to sit down and write them.... Well, on second thought.. I don't know when if ever I will write some captions. So don't expect to find any as you look at the pictures. Maybe some day I'll get around to it. :-)

2006 - August - Arizona, USA - Fighter Combat International

Simulated arial combat, BUT WITH REAL PLANES! Now with video clips. __ ...

Updated: May 23, 2009 5:01pm PST

2006 - February - Bogota - Juliana's Birthday : The night I met Fonseca and didn't know it!

2006 - February - Bogota - Juliana's Birthday

The night I met Fonseca and didn't know it!

Updated: Feb 17, 2006 1:56pm PST

2004-2006 - The Colombian Jungle : That part about my job I never told mom and dad about.

2004-2006 - The Colombian Jungle

That part about my job I never told mom and dad about.

Updated: Jan 16, 2009 5:50am PST

2005 - September - New Orleans - Mom's Katrina Animal Rescue : You can read the captions under each picture as you go along.. To see more detail you can click to enlarge the pics.

2005 - September - New Orleans - Mom's Katrina Animal Rescue

You can read the captions under each picture as you go along.. To see ...

Updated: Oct 25, 2006 10:53am PST

2000-2005 - The Conference (Miami and Key West) : Every year us over seas people get together for some work and play. OSTR stands for On-Site Technical Representitve. Traditionally, it has been called the OSTR Conference but the name has varied a bit (the OSTR training symposium, the OSTR training conference). Most of us just call it "The Conference". While I have been with this program, the conferences have been in Miami with one exception, that being Key West, FL for the conference of 2002. I have heard a bunch of the guys gripe about these conferences, but for me, they have always been something to look foreward to. I get to spend time with some of the guys I work with that work in other countries, I always drop a wad of cash on eating out and shopping, and I always go home for a visit since I'm already half way there and most of my air fare is paid for. Also, its summer time so the weather is warm.. these conference trips have always been a good time for me. For the conference of 2004, I added 'fast cars' to the list. I upgraded my rental car to an Audi A4. Generally speaking, its not all that special of a car, but it is pretty fast and sporty and I liked it. Upgrading the rental will now be standard procedure for all future conferences. Hey, I deserve it, and why have money if you can't enjoy spending it? ;-) Each conference in the gallery is separated by the group foto that is aways taken at every conference. Although they are never complete or there are extra people in the picture that are not OSTRs. I've also added captions to many of the pictures.

2000-2005 - The Conference (Miami and Key West)

Every year us over seas people get together for some work and play. ...

Updated: Apr 25, 2009 11:57pm PST

2005 - July - Colombia - San Andres : What I did for my 4th of July 2005 weekend.........................................................San Andres is located off the coast of Nicaragua in the Caribbean, although its Colombian territory. Its a good place to do some deep sea fishing, diving, or snorkeling on the cheap.

2005 - July - Colombia - San Andres

What I did for my 4th of July 2005 weekend............................ ...

Updated: Jul 13, 2005 10:09am PST

Feb.'04-Apr.'05 - Colombia : A bunch of pictures from since I arrived that don't really fit in any one gallery. Full images sizes are turned on so please be careful to browse using smaller image sizes. I will add captions to some of the pictures, particularly those that I had already made captions for as I have sent many of these pictures out to friends and family through email.

Feb.'04-Apr.'05 - Colombia

A bunch of pictures from since I arrived that don't really fit in any ...

Updated: Jul 23, 2009 1:55pm PST

2005 - March - Colombia - Medellin : My favorite Colombian city. The land of eternal Spring.

2005 - March - Colombia - Medellin

My favorite Colombian city. The land of eternal Spring.

Updated: May 07, 2009 8:51am PST

2004, July - Colombia - Cali : Infamous to the world, now infamous to me as well.

2004, July - Colombia - Cali

Infamous to the world, now infamous to me as well.

Updated: Sep 05, 2005 10:25pm PST

2000-2004 - The Peruvian Jungle : Just another day at the office..

2000-2004 - The Peruvian Jungle

Just another day at the office..

Updated: Dec 03, 2008 3:40pm PST

2003 - Peru - In and Around Lima : Pictures taken during Mom's 4 month visit in and around Lima.

2003 - Peru - In and Around Lima

Pictures taken during Mom's 4 month visit in and around Lima.

Updated: May 13, 2005 11:30am PST

2003 - Ecuador - Galapagos : One of the most unique places (and experiences) on the planet. Mom was here too.

2003 - Ecuador - Galapagos

One of the most unique places (and experiences) on the planet. Mom was ...

Updated: Mar 18, 2005 7:45am PST

2003 - Peru - Machu Picchu : Mom, Lenny, and JJ's first trip to Machu Pucchu. My second.

2003 - Peru - Machu Picchu

Mom, Lenny, and JJ's first trip to Machu Pucchu. My second.

Updated: Mar 01, 2005 6:48pm PST

2003 - Peru - Nasca and Paracas : The desert of Peru and those amazing Nasca lines with Mom & Claudia

2003 - Peru - Nasca and Paracas

The desert of Peru and those amazing Nasca lines with Mom & Claudia

Updated: Mar 14, 2005 9:31am PST

2003 - Peru - Peruvian Amazon : Mom and I experience the beauty of the Amazon Jungle(and NO A/C).

2003 - Peru - Peruvian Amazon

Mom and I experience the beauty of the Amazon Jungle(and NO A/C).

Updated: Jul 13, 2007 11:46pm PST

2003 - Ecuador : Visiting my man JJ, and having Mom tag along.

2003 - Ecuador

Visiting my man JJ, and having Mom tag along.

Updated: Mar 04, 2005 2:18pm PST

2002 - Peru - Puno and Lake Titicaca : As the saying goes, Peru got the titi, Bolivia got the caca.

2002 - Peru - Puno and Lake Titicaca

As the saying goes, Peru got the titi, Bolivia got the caca.

Updated: May 10, 2005 4:54pm PST

2000 - Peru - Cajamarca : My first trip to a Peruvian local since moving there.

2000 - Peru - Cajamarca

My first trip to a Peruvian local since moving there.

Updated: Mar 02, 2005 7:45pm PST

2000 - El Salvador and Guatemala : Fly to El Salvador then drive to Guatemala? Sounds like fun to me.

2000 - El Salvador and Guatemala

Fly to El Salvador then drive to Guatemala? Sounds like fun to me.

Updated: Mar 19, 2005 10:14am PST

1999 - Argentina - Buenos Aires : This is what Europe looks like in Español. :-)

1999 - Argentina - Buenos Aires

This is what Europe looks like in Español. :-)

Updated: Mar 19, 2005 9:06am PST

1999 - Ecuador : My first trip to Ecuador where I stayed for 3 weeks.

1999 - Ecuador

My first trip to Ecuador where I stayed for 3 weeks.

Updated: Apr 28, 2005 7:34am PST

1998 - Peru : The experiance that forever changed the course of my life.

1998 - Peru

The experiance that forever changed the course of my life.

Updated: Jun 09, 2009 12:23pm PST

1998 - The Bahamas - Nassau : Going to the Bahamas and getting paid for it. SOMEBODY has to do it. What happened was.. some computer equipment hadn't been working right for a while and caused other problemsas well, so someone needed to go down there and set things right. John had just come back from Ecuador, and Mexico before that. The other guy, who is part of the "traveling group", also went to Ecuador and just left for Honduras. I hadn't been anywhere since Guatemala back in late May.. So, it was kinda my turn to do some traveling. This is one of those rare times in my life where I, uhhh, got lucky, dare I say. I guess the last time I got lucky is when I got this job (!?). :-) Maybe my lucky streaks will come more and more often... Anyway.. I found out about this trip on a Friday and left the following Tuesday morning so I didn't have much time to tell everyone or think about what I was going to do when I got there. No matter where we go, the job has to come first, so I was worried as much as I was excited. Otherwise, you come back looking like an idiot if you don't do things right.. and, shit, THAT'S no good. I had to go fix some stuff and that meant I also needed to figure out what was wrong in the first place. We had been having problems in Nassau for months EVEN after one of my bosses had been down there to try and fix the problem and *I* was the guy elected to go this time. There was some pressure, that's for sure. But I was eager to prove myself, so I was glad to be the one to go.

1998 - The Bahamas - Nassau

Going to the Bahamas and getting paid for it. SOMEBODY has to do it. ...

Updated: Sep 13, 2010 1:36pm PST

1997 - California : Fourteen months after my adventure driving to California, I returned for a nine-day visit. I quit my job at Best Buy after being hired at IBM and gave myself a 3-week vacation. Armed with my income-tax return and my new digital camera, I caught a flight to LAX. I took my camera EVERYWHERE I went (I'm not kidding). By this time Alan had moved out of his parent's house and moved into an apartment with 4 other people in West Covina..........................Most of the captions and some of this introduction was written back in 1998 for my web site. All of these pictures were taken with the good ol' Casio QV100 with a top resolution of 640x480. The camera took the best pictures only in the most optimum lighting conditions and its apparent that digital photography was still in its infancy. Many of the pictures, especially the arial shots, came out with a lack of contrast so I later enhanced some of them - hince the appartent duplicates of some of them. Also, the pictures of our trip driving to California a year earlier, I took with a standard 35mm camera. Some day I'll scan them in and put them up.

1997 - California

Fourteen months after my adventure driving to California, I returned f ...

Updated: Jun 01, 2005 1:48pm PST

Nether Worlds - Falcon 4.0 Allied Force : Flying the unfriendly skys with my dad in an F16..................... This simulator is the most complex available for a personal computer. The instruction manual is just over *700* pages and there are over 400 keyboard commands. Needless to say (but I'm saying it anyway) there is a steep learning curve involved. BUT, learn it you can, and when you do, good times await you - especially if you got a good wingman at your side. Check out pictures #7 and #59 for the most detailed explainations of the game.

Nether Worlds - Falcon 4.0 Allied Force

Flying the unfriendly skys with my dad in an F16..................... ...

Updated: May 09, 2009 11:10pm PST

Nether Worlds - IL2 Sturmovik : Flying the unfriendly skies with my dad in WWII airplanes............. A favorite pass time for my father and I is flying together. Our enthusiasm has varied over the years and at its peak, we were getting together at least every weekend. While we were 'there' we took a lot of pictures too. On most occasions, the one who got shot down first would be designated photographer until the other completed the mission or was also shotdown. That is why you will notice there is often a message on the top left of the screen about someone dying. On a couple of occasions we would take pictures in the middle of battle but that is really difficult. The first 30 or so pictures have captions included that we created when we would share our weekend adventures through email. Many of the pictures' file names at the bottom of the frame serve as the caption. In this day and age, you don't have to resort to typing to the other guy to communicate, we talk through head sets, so the experience is almost like we're in the same room. I don't know how all of this might look to you, but let me make it clear, it really is a "good time".

Nether Worlds - IL2 Sturmovik

Flying the unfriendly skies with my dad in WWII airplanes............. ...

Updated: Dec 21, 2005 4:05pm PST

Nostalgia : Looking back at some of the forks in my extraordinary road.

Nostalgia

Looking back at some of the forks in my extraordinary road.

Updated: Apr 27, 2005 7:46pm PST

Garden & Pets : ...and The Family Zoo :-)

Garden & Pets

...and The Family Zoo :-)

Updated: Jul 10, 2010 5:02pm PST

Renovations : Come take a look at what $37,000 can do for your house.

Renovations

Come take a look at what $37,000 can do for your house.

Updated: Aug 22, 2008 12:21pm PST

Bio Pic :

Bio Pic

Updated: May 11, 2009 8:34pm PST

F-16 Training : Ad-hoc, unscripted F-16 training videos.

F-16 Training

Ad-hoc, unscripted F-16 training videos.

Updated: Aug 22, 2009 3:18pm PST

Videos :

Videos

Updated: Oct 06, 2012 9:40pm PST

Barbados :

Barbados

Updated: Apr 28, 2010 11:23pm PST

Martinique :

Martinique

Updated: May 28, 2010 11:13am PST

Diving June 12, 2010 : Flock of bottom feeders, box fish, molested puffer fish,

Diving June 12, 2010

Flock of bottom feeders, box fish, molested puffer fish,

Updated: Jun 13, 2010 4:29am PST

Diving June 19, 2010 :

Diving June 19, 2010

Updated: Jun 20, 2010 6:34am PST

Diving June 26, 2010 :

Diving June 26, 2010

Updated: Jun 27, 2010 4:31am PST

Diving July 2, 2010 :

Diving July 2, 2010

Updated: Jul 17, 2010 8:09pm PST

Diving July 18, 2010 :

Diving July 18, 2010

Updated: Jul 20, 2010 7:21am PST

Diving July 25, 2010 :

Diving July 25, 2010

Updated: Jul 26, 2010 4:57am PST

Diving August 1, 2010 :

Diving August 1, 2010

Updated: Aug 02, 2010 2:47pm PST

Diving August 7, 1020 :

Diving August 7, 1020

Updated: Aug 14, 2010 12:20am PST

Diving August 15, 2010 :

Diving August 15, 2010

Updated: Oct 13, 2012 1:28pm PST

Diving August 29, 2010 : White Spotted Filefish, Porcupine fish

Diving August 29, 2010

White Spotted Filefish, Porcupine fish

Updated: Sep 20, 2010 11:11pm PST

Diving August 21, 2010 : Young Bicolor Damselfishes, Tubeworm flyovers, young French Angelfish, Baloonfish at 90 Feet, young Angelfish, Seaturtle, Southern Stingray, crab in a giant sponge, Peacock Flounder

Diving August 21, 2010

Young Bicolor Damselfishes, Tubeworm flyovers, young French Angelfish, ...

Updated: Aug 22, 2010 4:02pm PST

Diving September 18 2010 : Chasing a French Angelfish, CreepySubterraneanTentacles, anemone closeup, Slender Filefish

Diving September 18 2010

Chasing a French Angelfish, CreepySubterraneanTentacles, anemone close ...

Updated: Sep 21, 2010 8:11am PST

Diving October 17, 2010 : Resurface video, freaky starfish cluster, Porcupine fish video

Diving October 17, 2010

Resurface video, freaky starfish cluster, Porcupine fish video

Updated: Oct 20, 2010 7:14am PST

Diving October 23, 2010 : Shrimp&anemone, CreepySubterraneanTentacles, Tobaccofish?, big clam, sea worm

Diving October 23, 2010

Shrimp&anemone, CreepySubterraneanTentacles, Tobaccofish?, big clam, s ...

Updated: Oct 11, 2012 4:10pm PST

Diving November 6, 2010 : Honeycomb Cowfish, Trumpetfish

Diving November 6, 2010

Honeycomb Cowfish, Trumpetfish

Updated: Oct 11, 2012 4:07pm PST

Diving November 11, 2010 : Shy Hamlet, unknown wreck dive.

Diving November 11, 2010

Shy Hamlet, unknown wreck dive.

Updated: Nov 13, 2010 6:30am PST

Diving November 19, 2010 : Rainy day dive to the Stavronikita, Honeycomb Cowfish, Soft Coral closeup, Sunken boat, flat coral, tiny crab.

Diving November 19, 2010

Rainy day dive to the Stavronikita, Honeycomb Cowfish, Soft Coral clos ...

Updated: Nov 20, 2010 11:39am PST

Diving November 27, 2010 : Banded Butterflyfish laps around me, Sea Horse, Web Burrfish, Harlequin Bass

Diving November 27, 2010

Banded Butterflyfish laps around me, Sea Horse, Web Burrfish, Harlequi ...

Updated: Oct 11, 2012 2:18pm PST

Diving December 4, 2010 : Gray Triggerfish, Rays, sandcrab, mystery bottom dweller, Rosy Razorfish,

Diving December 4, 2010

Gray Triggerfish, Rays, sandcrab, mystery bottom dweller, Rosy Razor ...

Updated: Oct 11, 2012 9:16am PST

Diving December 11, 2010 : Best Box Fish video, crab, flounder, spotted rays, drum fish.

Diving December 11, 2010

Best Box Fish video, crab, flounder, spotted rays, drum fish.

Updated: Dec 12, 2010 1:25am PST

Diving December 18, 2010 : Sunny Stav Dive, lots of water debris, lots of boats.

Diving December 18, 2010

Sunny Stav Dive, lots of water debris, lots of boats.

Updated: Dec 22, 2010 12:53am PST

Diving January 22, 2011 : Tamponfish, White Spotted Filefish, Spotted Eagle Ray, Sharptail Eel,White Spotted Filefish, Yellowhead Wrass.

Diving January 22, 2011

Tamponfish, White Spotted Filefish, Spotted Eagle Ray, Sharptail Eel,W ...

Updated: Mar 27, 2011 9:45pm PST

Diving February 5, 2011 : Baby drumbs, turtle, tube anemone, eyed flounder, puffers, spotted ray feeding, tiny crab, spotted moray closup.

Diving February 5, 2011

Baby drumbs, turtle, tube anemone, eyed flounder, puffers, spotted ray ...

Updated: Feb 06, 2011 7:29am PST