I Really Had a Blast with This One

Blast

No object is mysterious.  The mystery is your eye.  ~ Elizabeth Bowen

And so looking at this image, I must say I had no idea how many sparks come out of one of these things. They do seem to go on for longer than you would expect, but wow, look at all those sparks.  And those are the ones that my camera was able to capture.  Pretty cool.  Maybe next year I will try to take some photos with the shutter open during the entire time and see what that looks like.  Too fun.

I do believe this is the end of my fireworks series for the moment.  On to new fun things in a few days.  Have a great weekend everyone.  This is our last weekend before my son starts school again.  And how does that impact you?  Well, that means we will be back on a schedule and my posting's will be a little more regular again.  That will be so nice.

Whirly & Twirly

Whirly & Twirly

I love how the camera captured this moment.  I mean, we can see those flashes of light and I think on some level we know that they are twirling around.  But to see it like this?  Pretty darn cool (in my humble opinion.)

I fell in love with photography long before I really even knew what it was.  I fell in love with photographs.  I can remember looking at old photographs of ancestors and such and just loving everything about them.  Loving the look and the feel, the image, the moment frozen in time.  I fell in love with the idea of capturing life, and all the things in it, as they happened. 

And so my journey, with a camera in hand, began.  I loved capturing things just as I saw them.  Almost documenting things as they were at that exact time.  Never once thinking about the possibility of capturing things in a new way, not exactly as I see them.  It's fun to see what "manipulating" can be done with your camera to create a new effect.  It certainly does not mean that this firework did not happen this way, it most certainly did.  It's just that my eyes could not see it that way.  Of course, there are many of you out there that would probably argue with me and tell me that I tend to show you images in a way that you had never seen it before - or had never looked at in that light or angle before.  Perspective - it's such a wonderful thing.

The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.  ~  Henry Miller

Double Fun

Double Fun

A fun evening light show.  My two boys had a great time playing around - and I had a great time behind the camera documenting it.

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.  ~ Victor Borge

Magic

Magic

Another from a night of celebrations.  I definitely had fun shooting these ones.  And, is it just me, or does this one look somewhat wand like?

Follow your dream.  Transform your life.  ~  Unknown

A Bit Delayed, Hopefully You Won't Mind

Sparks Flying

Well, can you tell when this might have been shot?  That's right 4th of July.  My not so busy summer has turned out to be rather busy.  I did have these photos processed pretty quick though.  I was super excited to see how they turned out this year.  I have shot, and shot, and shot fireworks but never with a tripod.  Usually I am out at an activity - one that is not conducive to lugging a tripod around - when I shoot the fireworks.  And let me tell you, shooting at night without a tripod is rather tricky.  I have gotten lucky over the years and had some pretty interesting shots.

This time, I was able to get everything setup and ready to go.  It was really fun shooting them too, well shooting them with my camera that is.  I'm not so big on the lighting and shooting of the actual fireworks myself.  But, I did enjoy watching my husband and my son light them so that I could "shoot" them in my own special way.

Dare to be remarkable.  ~ Unknown

Let's Celebrate

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This is in celebration of the upcoming weekend.  I am looking forward to it and hope that it deserves this show of celebration. 

Imagination is more important than knowledge.  ~ Einstein

Be Loved

Celebration

Sure hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day today.  Sharing it with those you love - whether in person, on the phone or through email.  Here's a good love quote:

If you want to be loved, be lovable.  ~Ovid

Long Weekend For Me

Liberty Market

Why is it . . . that when you take some time off you seem to be more tired at the end of that time than you would normally be?  Took a few days off from work to enjoy the weekend and boy, now that it's Sunday night, I am super tired.  But it was all worth it.  Had some fun this long weekend, got some things done around the house that have been needed to be done and spent an entire day visiting three of my favorite restaurants.  This one of those restaurants.  Although, when we were there over the weekend, it was super early in the morning.

I hope each of you had a terrific weekend.  Now it is time to get back to normal life . . .

Two for the Price of One

Rainbow Lights

Row of Lights

Well, well, well it must be two for Tuesday.  I remember a radio station when I was a teenager always played Two for Tuesdays.  That meant back to back songs by the same band all day long.  It was always fun to see what they would play.

And tonight, I included a little bonus material.  The first shot, as well as the one last night, has a little special effects going on.  A few weeks ago, I attended a Christmas lights display and upon entrance, they gave every attendee these glasses to wear.  They looked like 3D glasses, but they were not.  Instead, they let you see all the light displays as a prism.  Pretty cool (just don't try to walk around in the dark with them on - it's a little tricky!)  And well, you know me, I couldn't just enjoy the show the traditional way.  I placed the lens from the glasses in front of my camera lens and had an amazing time photographing those lights.  I just may have to add those glasses to my camera bag for future night shooting.

I wanted you to be able to see the image with and without the glasses.  And so, tonight I have included a shot of the same image with and without.  Hope you have enjoyed seeing the different images.

How 'Bout Some Crazy Lights?

Carousel of Many Colors

And, now for something a little bit different.  This is a carousel as it spins.  I figured it might be a little mean of me to post this one and ask you to guess at what you thought it was.  It was quite an experience seeing lights in this manner.  And I do have to admit, I really got a kick out of photographing them this way and seeing exactly how the camera would capture the image.

Go as far as you can see; when you get there you'll be able to see farther.  ~ Thomas Carlyle

Hustle & Bustle

Wrap Around Shine

Can you  believe it is already December 1st?  Wow, where on earth did this year go?  It was a busy one for us, as I'm sure it was for you too.  Get ready for the hustle and bustle of all the things the holiday season brings . . . 'cause it's here!

The Begnning of the End and the Beginning Again

Twinkle

Friendship, love, health, energy, enthusiasm and joy are things that make life worth living and exploring. ~ Denise Austin

It's that time of year.  The time when we are supposed to get all caught up in the magic of the season and to have good will towards mankind and all that jazz.  Well, there's one thing I have never fully understood about this time of year - and that is why do we have to be all those things this time of year.  Shouldn't we be doing all those good things every single day of the rest of the year too? 

I have always had mixed feelings about Christmas.  It's fun to see all the decorations go up and enjoy the twinkling of the lights on the trees.  It's fun to put away everyday items and put up Christmas decorations.  And then when it's time to put away those Christmas decorations I always put the old, everyday decorations up in a new way.  And that is fun.  To me, it's a sort of fresh beginning, but with all the old familiar things. 

And yet, for that month that they are put away, there are these items that move in for a bit.  They get brought out the same time every year.  They remind us of all the "good" things we should be doing . . . and then they get put away until next year.  And while they are gone, in those other 11 months of the year, do you continue the "good" things or do you pack them away until next year?

I hope I am not sounding to cynical or full of skepticism or such.  Actually I think I am quite the opposite.  I am ever hopeful.  The person that is always looking for the good and the rainbows and the unicorns (and glitter like Flo from the Progressive commercials says). 

And here is my hope on this the beginning of the last month of the year 2010 - that we, each of us, will carry forward from this day forward good tidings to all.  That we will look for the good, and especially in those times when finding the good is very hard to do.  That we will spread love and peace and joy.  And that as we are putting up our holiday decorations and listening to that very inspired music that we will commit to being who were are in this very moment for the upcoming year.

And please forgive me if my thoughts seem to be a little jumbled - I seem to have caught a wonderful winter cold - so is it me talking or the cold medicine?  I guess we'll never know.

Swinging Good Time

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Flying Airplanes

Flying Airplanes

Let's hope that this ride didn't really go that fast.  Although, that would be a sight to see.

Bridges

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There are a couple things going on in this picture that I really like.  I love the look of neon lights.  And to me, every time I see one of these photos taken where the lights from traffic all come together to create one continuous motion, it makes me think of neon lights.  I'm not sure why like neon lights so much but I do.  I think maybe they remind me of coke which I also really like. 

And, I have just come to a realization tonight.  I was having a hard time picking out a photo to share tonight.  Nothing was jumping out at me.  And trust me, it's not from lack of material.  I usually sift through my files and files and files and something jumps out at me as the photo that I want to share.  And tonight, I just could not decide on anything.  And as I was looking at the dozens of photos that I took of this bridge, I realized that I may like bridges almost as much as I like staircases.  I do love the look of certain bridges.  My all time favorite bridge is Memorial Bridge in Washington DC.  It is beautiful.  Sometimes when I was in town with my friends we would drive out of our way just to drive over it.  Okay, probably a lot more times than not, we would drive out of our way to drive over it.  Love that bridge.

Do you want to know a bridge I do not like?  The one going over the bay on the way to Ocean City, Maryland or Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.  I cannot remember the name of the bridge - it might even be called the Bay Bridge.  But that bridge always scared me.  It is much too long and much, much too high.  I know that my family will know exactly which bridge I am referring to and the name of it.  Maybe somebody can help me out with that?