We got out of the house the Saturday and went to brother in-laws for a cookout. Lots and lots of food was consumed. I way over ate and will be paying for it for years to come. We hung out for several hours so we could walk to the park and watch the fireworks. I love fireworks, I especially love photographing fireworks. This year I went under prepared. All I brought was my little point and shoot. While it may not be the greatest camera in the world, it served it’s purpose. Like they say, “the best camera is the one you have with you.”

Because it is a point and shoot, I didn’t have near the control I am used to. This led to some interesting effects, or as I call them, happy accidents. Such as this shot which sort of looks like a galaxy. I was shooting handheld which caused squiggles and the glowing white orb bottom right is a street light. When you get to the party late you get stuck with an obstructed view.

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Yet another one resembling a galaxy, the squiggles are more pronounced in this one.

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This one just looked cool!

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Last but not least the colors in this one were nice.

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I would have loved to show you a shot of the finale but it was several bursts ran together so the photo is just a burnt out mess.

See ya later!

Well thank God that week is finally over. The Roadeo Saturday went fairly well. I was a little uncomfortable with all the standing but was able to muddle through. Now I have to sift through over three hundred photos and get them on a disc and sent out. It was nice and warm so I was able to wear shorts for the first time this year. They will now become a significant part of my wardrobe till late fall.

I still haven’t heard anything about my disability. I am starting to worry that I have a long wait on my hands. It has already been a painfully long process and I am hoping it will be over soon.

My Crohn’s has been acting up lately. Lots of pain and a few of the other more delightful symptoms have been in full force. I am still on the fence about using the immunosuppressant, I just don’t think it’s a good idea to suppress my immune system, considering how often I get ill, it could be a big problem.

As usual, my depression isn’t getting any better either. I am afraid they will just keep throwing more medications at it till I am taking my body weight in pills each morning. I had several panic attacks last week, way more than usual, not sure why or what that might mean but at this point all I can say is oh well.

I think this blog has just become a place that I can go to and complain about my life. Maybe someday soon I will get back to posting photos. Anna and I have been trying to take bike rides as much as possible. I am severely out of shape so we are having to take it slow at first. It makes her happy and it gets me out of the house with my camera along for the ride. There are a few interesting things around the neighborhood to photograph. It takes me a few minutes to catch my breath before I can release the shutter though, otherwise the shot is just a blurry mess.

Alright, done, see ya!

I would say that this is a big FAIL.

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In case you can’t tell, the map is missing. I am really enjoying my new phone. Trying to work with it’s cameras limitations is challenging and entertaining.

It started sometime this morning but it was just melting. By noon it was sticking pretty well. It was still going a few minutes ago and blowing all over the place. Glad it’s the weekend and I have nowhere I have to be. Here’s a view from the window, not the best picture, point and shoots are not known for their night shooting abilities and I was too lazy to get out the DSLR.

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I didn’t need a $10,000 lens, or a camera that shoots 5 frames per second. I didn’t shoot 20 frames leading up to this moment. One shot, I followed the action and anticipated the catch. I got one of my favorite sports shots so far.

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The Colts Austin Collie catches the one and only touchdown of the night against the Baltimore Ravens.

Not that I think I’m great, just the opposite actually, I think I am pretty mediocre most of the time. I’m just saying to all those who want to shoot great shots, it doesn’t take tons of money. It just takes patience and knowledge of what you are shooting.

Last Sunday our church had a balloon liftoff. Of course I caught it on camera and decided to share one of the photos here. I liked this one, not sure why but it just stuck out to me.

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I have actually had the camera out several times this week so far! YAY

Been doing a lot of experimenting and photoshopping and came up with these:

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These are really fun to shoot, while they are pretty overdone on the net I still wanted to put my two cents in!

Desiree’s came out alright except that I bumped the tripod. You really have to look, but you can find some spots that didn’t mix well because of that.

Anna’s was easier to shoot except I forgot about the chandelier so my bounce flash caught it and made a slight shadow on the cabinets.

I plan on redoing them both in the future, but for now I have actually clients who want photos done so I need to get to those!

So it was a bit stormy last night. The storms had not quite reached us yet but the lightning show was tremendous. I decided I wanted some shots of it before it started to rain, camera is not waterproof. I drive to a spot where there is nothing to obstruct my view of the northern sky, this while noticing the warning sirens were sounding. I tend to ignore those as the people running them are trigger happy and set them off when they get spooked.

So I pull into the driveway of a local church and start shooting the sky. Not getting much as I am using my point and shoot instead of the good camera, that shutter lag can kill you when you are trying to take fast shots of something. The sky was ominous, well at least during lightning strikes, it was nighttime after all. I turned on the radio in time to catch a warning about some rotation in the storm spotted by radar, again, nothing to worry about as far as I was concerned.

Then, all hell broke loose!

The back end of my truck lifted about an inch or so, not off the ground mind you, just flexing the springs a bit. Followed quickly by my truck getting pelted with debris from the field behind and beside the church. My reaction was instant and surprising, I yelled “Oh sh**” and floored it onto the main road. Putting myself into a better position to see what was going on. Only straight line winds, thank God!

I made a rookie mistake when I planted myself there. I put the incoming storm behind me, I couldn’t see what was going on back there so I panicked when the wind hit me. Had I been turned the other way I would have seen the winds coming through the field by the debris it was blowing around.

Through it all, I didn’t even get a good shot of the lightning, or anything for that matter. So instead, enjoy this portion of a rainbow that I shot several days earlier. Which was also shot on the crappy small camera. Not really a very good shot but at least it’s something new to look at here!

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Me and the family went out tonight to a Warren Barfield concert. Tickets were given to us so the price was right. Afterwards though, I would have gladly paid. The show was great,  not a big crowd so it was very intimate. If you haven’t heard of him then do a google search, he did the theme song for Fireproof if that helps.

Anyway, I did take my camera, not the good one, and got a few shots. Here is one of my favorites.

Warren Barfield

No, seriously, I don’t want surgery anymore, they have me too darned scared. Why oh who did she have to ask me if I have a living will or advanced directive? I know it’s part of the job but it still put a monkey wrench in my happy mood.

I took my camera with me today and guess what, I didn’t take a darn shot. I spent the entire trip back with a death grip on my steering wheel. I will need a new steering wheel now as I think I broke this one. It was snowing/sleeting on the way home and I have not put any weight in the back of my truck yet. Needless to say I had a hard time at every stop light in Indy. I was so glad to get home.

Oh, anyone else notice that our country is slowly slipping into some sort of “hell in a hand basket” death spiral? Selling senate seats? Or someone wanting a seat that has zero experience? The economy? Keep praying everyone, God has it all in hand.

K, going to bed now and hopefully when I get up tomorrow I will work on my portfolio to get something worthy in it.