At our family fireworks display a few days ago, I wasn’t able to set up the tripod and get typical fireworks photos, because we were so close that I would’ve had to point the camera straight up into the sky. Even if I could’ve done this, the photos wouldn’t have been anything special with no foreground. So I opted to try something different with this shot. I used the “zoom effect” by holding my camera and zooming during a long shutter speed. What do you think?
Fourth of July is the holiday of the year for my in-laws. I won’t even tell you how much they spend on fireworks. We always have a great time hanging out with family, eating too much, watching the kids shoot off small fireworks, and finishing the day with our own personal fireworks display. Here you can see four of the guys (my husband included) stepping back to watch a huge fountain they set off.
This flower recently started blooming at our house – can anyone name it? It started out with very long, pretty leaves, so I didn’t even realize it was going to bloom until the buds formed.
My niece Beth enjoyed playing with the sparklers at our family 4th of July celebration last year. Photos of this year’s family celebration to come. I hope all of you who celebrated yesterday had a safe, fun-filled holiday!
To my American friends – happy 4th of July! I took this photo two years ago as the sun was setting before a 4th of July fireworks display.
I’m very much ready for a four-day weekend! This is the view outside my office window today. I’m sure these window washers are ready for the holiday, too.
These photos may not win any photography awards, but I wanted to show you the before and after pictures of our backyard. When we moved into our house in March, our backyard was a mud pit. The previous homeowners had a large dog, and everyone told us we wouldn’t get grass to grow under the shady spots. After a few hard-working days breaking up the ground, laying seed, watching it wash away in a storm, re-breaking up the ground and laying seed, laying straw, and watering, we’re pretty happy with the end result. Next we need to tackle a few bare spots and the random crab grass and weeds. Any suggestions?
I’m excited to say that I took this photo in my backyard yesterday. I live in a suburb of Kansas City, so seeing an owl in my yard isn’t exactly a common occurrence. I heard a ton of birds making all kinds of squawking noises yesterday evening, so I looked outside to see what was going on, and this large owl was starring right at me. I grabbed my camera and took a couple of quick distance shots, then walked closer only to get few blurry shots before she flew off. Coolest nature experience so far since we moved in March! Does it look like she’s is blinking in this photo?
My good friend Julie participates in the Corporate Challenge swim meet each year, and since I was on swim team many, many years ago, I enjoy going to watch her and others compete. Thursday evening I got to watch her compete in the 50 yd. freestyle and 200 free relay.
Yesterday brought several rounds of quick, but fierce, thunderstorms through the Kansas City area. Some of my friends posted photos on facebook of some crazy-looking frontal clouds, but unfortunately I was stuck inside work without a good view. Yesterday at sunset, however, there were some storms off in the distance, causing the sky to have a really unique, gorgeous hue.
Photographic Rhodes 