Fireworks Pictures and Reflections of a Happy Childhood

Wow it has been a while since I've posted.   We've been busy.  We've attended two weddings (believe it or not I did NOT take my camera, though I was fascinated watching the photographer at both), a full moon that had me driving to a parking lot to get some pics and on July 4th I took around 150 pictures of fireworks.  I finally sorted through the 150 and Ginger and I narrowed them down to 16 that either one of us liked.  So without further ado:

This was Paul's favorite, I love the eerie green, smoke, and just alien feel of the shot.

As Ginger and I went through the shots, we learned that I like the one's with the smoke, or smoke trails in them and Ginger liked the more clean shots.  When she saw the one that was my favorite she picked it out before I could say anything, that is you she said.  Ginger knows me well!

For the full moon shots, I picked out two of my favorite:

Again, your getting them straight from the camera.  I could probably remove antenna tower in the last shot, but hey, I just got done going through over 160 photos!

Last week I was able to get a new monitor to hook up to my laptop.  It has allowed me to a) extend my screen so I have two screens I can work from (I have my brother to thank for that, looking at his setup!) and b) It's bigger so I can sort and edit shots much easier now.  I absolutely love it.  I've got so many ideas going through my head, creative shots, and just so much time!  But that is the great thing about a hobby, you look forward to doing it!

Ginger had quite a scare a couple of weeks ago, and frankly, so did I.  A couple of Monday's ago Ginger got up from bed and collapsed.  She fights with dizziness because of one of her medications but this was an extreme.  I got up from bed, followed her to the kitchen and she collapsed in my arms.  She blacked out for a second so I asked her the usual, what is your name, what is my name.  She started feeling better and decided to go to work.  They took her BP, which was 91/58.  And then she started getting woozy again.  I left work, came back to Tyler, picked her up and we went to the doctor.  By the time I got there her BP was back to normal and she was feeling better.  The culprit, we have come to find out, was dehydration.  On the weekends, Ginger wasn't drinking enough fluid, and so it finally caught up with her that Monday.  Since then, she has been hydrated and we have had no episodes since that Monday.  Quite a scare for her and for me.  But she is back and healthy as ever.

I got to thinking Thursday morning about my childhood.  I don't remember alot, or didn't think I did.  I had a wonderful childhood, filled with love and imagination.  I remember, for the life of me I don't know why!, that some of the first books I remember reading were Doc Savage.  I believe this is where my love for pulp fiction began.  If I remember correctly, we'd go to a used bookstore (may have to have the parents help me out on that one!) and I'd get the books.  I loved them.  And then, I will never forget Robert E. Howard's series on Conan.  Dad would go to Waldenbooks when I saved up enough money (or they'd just get me a book in the series!) and I'd devour the books.  To this day my favorite genre is pulp fiction, especially written in the 20's and 30's.  I'm big into the someone finds a forbidden text, reads it and bad things happen, only to have the hero's come and save the day.  It is why I'm drawn to some of HP Lovecraft's work, he delved into that type of writing.  Even Robert E. Howard did, Conan feared magic and his greatest advesary, Thoth Amon, was a magician who, you guessed it, delved into forbidden texts!  Maybe I need to go get those books again!   Another favorite author Edgar Rice Burroughs, wrote the Martian Chronicles, with John Carter.  Loved those books.  I mention the books because they allowed my imagination to soar.

I drew when I was little as well.  I remember my Dad had these razor point pens he used and I loved drawing with those.  I have a specific memory of sitting in the living room with my brother drawing.  I remember I loved realism early on and would draw world war 2 aircraft with colored pencils with striking realism.  I remember trying my hand at painting and not thinking I was very good at it.  I remember a bird house that I did that, well, wasn't too good and I wasn't very patient with models.  Funny how now, I have the patience of Job to draw portraits and I'm pretty handy with wood now and my main job is, well, painting!  And I'm pretty good!

I remember playing with lego's, tinker toys, and erector sets.  Now there is where your imagination has no bounds!  How many hours did we play with those things!  Oh yes, and Linkin Logs!  My parents encouraged our imagination, Dad was our hero (he amazed us with the things he could build!) and Mom was our encourager.  My brother and I would play "House" for hours, probably not something he'd want me to admit now! 

As I delve deeper into photography I realize that my whole life, especially my childhood, prepared me for digital photography.  With an eye for detail, a creative flair, and my love for realism and minute detail, I realize how God, my parents, and my brother helped mold me into what I am today.  I still love my pulp fiction, still love my graphite pencil (and Razor Point Pens!), and still love being creative.  And my wife encourages my creativity.  I'll be honest, at one time I thought I'd lost it all, but once what was lost is now found.  I'm grateful for God, for my family, for my wife, and for my friends.  Once again, as I reflect, like in my last post, I realize how blessed I am.  I may not be financially filthy rich, but in other ways I am rich beyond measure.

Baa

P.S.  I'll do my best to put some of these on Flickr but date night is about to start and, well, when the choice is between my beautiful wife or a computer screen, picking my beautiful wife every time....