Swimming with the sharks

Well, not really.  But, it sure was scary go out in the water with my camera.  We hit the beach tonight after dinner and I decided to get crazy and see what kind of shots I could get while being in the water myself and shooting at water level. Got some nice shots and I'll do it again, but, maybe tonight was the wrong night.  I forgot Tuesday's are concert night at the beach so alot of people show up there.  Some watch the concert, but alot just went swimming, especially with this heat.  So, I had to really be careful.  Anyway, here was a nice one.

Willow Trees are cool

I've got an opinion on this one.  Willow trees are cool.  Not in my yard, but, in other people's yards, by streams and lakes, etc.  Then they are cool.  Just not in my yard.  Glad I got that off my chest.

Another One Bites the Dust

So sad. Another vacation bites the dust.  They come and go so fast. Reality of life hits early tomorrow morning.  The whole thing started rough with the passing of a family member, but midweek it turned to the better.  Nice weather.  Nice family time together.  Plenty of beach and boating time.  And got some stuff down around the house.  Time to get back to work, but first some pics of a pleasurable day on the boat with my son getting in some serious "tube" time.

Catch the Sun

Saturday night.  Nothing to do.  No place to go.  One kid staying overnight at a birthday party.  The other at the movies with his mom.  Let's go chase the sun.  Last year, during the "Bummer Summer", my son and I would go out after dinner and try to catch the sun, when there was sun.  It was a rare occurrence.   This year, weather conditions much better, but the kids seem to have better things to do now.  So, I grab the dog and we went out to catch the sun.  There was a beautiful sunset to the West of me so that's the direction I drove.  Unfortunately, when you get caught up in looking for that perfect shot, and you turn down every gravel road you come to, you end up further away from home than you intended, and its much more difficult to find your way home in the dark.  There's also the chance you can get locked in a forest preserve since they close the gates at dusk, but that's a story for another post.  Tonight, though, I did catch the sun and it was even better to see in person.  I just wish I knew where I was when I shot it.

Making use of a few moments of spare time

I've had the most wonderful tool in my photographic arsenal for some time now.  But, I've haven't made much use of it since there is a somewhat steep learning curve of how to use it.  It is an off camera flash.  It's a big thing.  Intimidating.  With the bulk of my pics being landscape photos, I haven't really found the time to play and experiment with it since most of the photography I do uses the available light or uses the darkness to compliment the picture.  Last night we were at a family gathering and I was manning the charcoal grill at my inlaws.  Not much to do while waiting for your coals to get up to temp. So, I grabbed the camera and the "beast", my flash, and started scouting the beautiful flower beds my mother in law has.  I noticed the skies were getting ready to unleash rain, thunder, and lightning so, of course, I wanted to somehow include these aspects. Once a good vantage point was found I turned on the flash and started snapping away.  Here's one that I feel turned out "interesting".  Just those few moments of spare time and I think I learned more about the workings of this flash than I have in the year that I've owned it.

Fawning over you

What's up with the word "fawn", anyway?  The dictionary has it as being "exaggerated attention".  Yet, I hear it most commonly used as a reference to young or newborn deer.  Either way, it would be easy to "fawn" over the young one.

Summer Rocks!

Just a quick one from the vault tonight.  Started vacation this weekend and I think I'm busier now and this week coming up than I would be if I was working.  So, didn't get to do any shooting this weekend.  Tonight's shot is a sunset pic from a camping trip up North a couple of years ago.  If I remember it right, there was an intense orange sunset over the lake that I couldn't pass up.