MOVEMENT

One captive makes a move toward freedom.

No crawdads were harmed in the splashing, rock turning, mudbug catching chase in the creek and all were returned to their home in short order.

FOUND

Found: A bucket full of crawdads while wading the creek with 3 little boys.

Found: The forgotten wonder of little boys in exploration mode.

DISCOVERY

I guess a guy is willing to take a risk when he discovers a box full of birdseed and corn just waiting to be enjoyed.

And imagine our surprise when we discovered him stuck in one deck box and his five siblings stranded in another.

4-H/FAIR RESULTS

My 4-H girls did well in their county fair--both received a blue in their class, both were considered for higher honors and one of the girls ended up winning Grand Champion in her class. There were over 100 entries in their project. They are already talking about next year's project. Thanks to those ofyou who reviewed their shots and helped with selection. You can see their photo boards by looking through my archive for "4-H Photography" The lighter blue board is the one that received Grand Champion.

In my local county fair I was pleased to get a Reserve Champion with an Ohio landscape shot, an Honorable Mention in Manipulated Photos and blue ribbons in 5 other categories. This little county fair gets close to 1000 photo entries each year.

BLUR

Playing with a wide angle lens with a macro ring. Nothing high tech or high end, picked it up on eBay for fifteen bucks.

RED

Sunlit petunia.

FRAGILE

I think dragonflies are actually a little creepy which contrasts with the fragile appearance of their wings.

GLITTERING

Fireworks glittering like jewels in the night.

Another from the King's Island amusement park's July 4th show.

This is an example of my camera knowing better than me. After reviewing several shots done according to various articles I read, I popped the camera on "Auto" for a few shots and got this one.

NIGHT

Fireworks light up the night at King's Island amusement park in Ohio.

Life always gets in the way of my best intentions. I read a few articles about shooting fireworks and practiced camera settings, got the tripod ready, dug out the cable release. In the end, though, I made a quick relocation to an open spot with a better view and shot handheld.

So much for good intentions.

PATRIOTIC

Two young men from Denmark spent the July 4th weekend with us in Ohio. They wanted to visit "an American funpark" for the holiday. As we arrived at King's Island there were sky divers coming in to open the holiday celebration.

I had seconds to grab a camera. Ended up with no sky in the background.

4-H Photography

Our little girls, ages 9 and 11, completed their boards for 4-H Photography. In their early divisions there is not a lot of room for creativity. All color or all black & white shots, 10 to a board with a pre-determined title.

The girls did a good job, though, and here are their completed boards. Judging will be July 15 so keep your fingers crossed for a good outcome.

Hannah, age 11, has the top board on the darker blue background. Andrea, age 9, has the bottom, lighter blue, board.