Son Chris & his bride Jennie were riding with us.
We saw many fireworks displays at communities and neighborhoods along the hour-long drive home. We talked about trekking ourselves, as Chris was growing up, to the downtown Springfield displays.
Since we’ve been meeting yearly, it seems, at my brother’s in Decatur on the 4th, we usually miss a close view of the fireworks displays.
I was thinking of a self portrait tonight, and the idea of using a match as a fireworks substitute popped into my head.
To really get it right, I would have to have a holder for the match and be able to stand perfectly still. It’s a bit out of focus for my movement, but the mood comes through for me.
A small fireworks display, just for me, and now, for you.
Now that he’s retired, he devotes a bunch of time to his landscape.
This is a panorama of the back of his house. I’m standing near the shoreline of the lake, and took four vertical shots to make this panorama.
I’ll be putting up a bunch of photos from our time there for the Fourth of July, Independence Day celebration.
Our time was more a family celebration of life. Larry & Bev now have 8 grandchildren, all 8 years old or younger. Seven of the eight were there, and had bunches of energy to burn off. We let them, and that was a good thing.
That’s Larry & Beverly in the middle on chairs. I’m at the far left, holding my wireless shutter at my side. My brothers John and Dennis and sister Trish are there, and three of Larry & Bev’s four girls with all but one of their grandchildren.
Miraculously, all of us have our eyes open, smiles on our faces, and are facing the camera.
A fun time was had by all.
Thank you to Larry & Bev for hosting us all once again. We really do appreciate family gatherings.
I looked down, and at the urging of my neice Michele, used my foot.
I was looking for a framing opportunity and spied my brother Denny’s foot in the background. I opened my “Powerful Pincing Toes” and here you are.
Me, faux grabbing my brother’s foot with my toes.
I can pick up objects with my toes, and in my youth, was known to pinch my sister with these bad boys.
Howard brought up the Cozy Dog Drive In as a potential subject. Not letting any grass grow under my feet, I went and got the shot tonight.
Thanks Howard!
The hot dog, dipped in pancake batter and deep fried - we call it a Cozy Dog around here.
Invented by a couple of guys with ideas during the mid-1940’s. Ed Waldmire was one of those guys. He brought the “Crusty Cur” back to Springfield, Illinois and, at the urging of his wife, renamed the concoction the Cozy Dog.
Cozy Dogs have been sold in Springfield, since 1946, still by members of the Waldmire family.
I can’t say I have a fondness for them, but they are historic, and part of a landmark along Route 66 in my home town.
Try ‘em sometime, you might like ‘em!
Cozy_Dog_Drive_In Website
Cozy_Dog_Drive_In - Wikipedia
I walked into my basement from my attached garage, and saw the light pouring through the sliding glass doors.
The small blinds were blocking most of it, but that’s what made it interesting.
This is a fairly accurate view of what my eyes were seeing - meaning it was dark.
I put my Pentax K20D on my trusty gorillapod, and mounted it to a seldom used piece of exercise equipment. The tilt just adds interest.
I did my first test shot at ISO 1600, but thought, hey, let’s show what this fine camera is capable of doing.
I bumped it up to ISO 3200. ISO is a measure of light sensitivity. The higher the number, the more sensitive to light the camera sensor is. One side-effect of increasing the ISO is it increases digital noise - the graininess seen in the shadows especially here.
The K20D does a superb job of handling the noise without reducing the detail, unlike so many other cameras do. When the detail is reduced, the photo takes on a smeared, almost painted-with-a-brush look. A look not usually wanted.
I struck a silly pose, and was pleased at the result. I was even more pleased when I brought it into Lightroom (2 Beta).
