We Interrupt This Frisbee Game

I was in a bad mood for this early July Frisbee game.  Chalk it up to hormones, heat, or whatever; I just didn't feel like being around people.  It was nice to hide behind the camera for a bit in order to get some alone time.  It also helped that there were two games going on at the same time, and I was able to walk across the field to shoot the game in which my guys were playing.

Before the game started, I enjoyed the view, which was glorious with the sunlight radiating out from the clouds.

During the game, I kept hearing the deep croak of bullfrogs.  There was a pond behind me, so I turned and saw these wildflowers.

After the first game, the teams switched around and I found myself back among people.  I sat for a while, then snapped a few shots of this adorable little guy interacting with one of the moms at the field.

Aidan, the adorable little guy above, has a new baby brother.  Here he is with their mom.

And, here's baby brother with his grandma.

Aidan was getting a little ansty, or bored, like all little boys are wont to do.  I asked him if he wanted to take a picture, and he seemed willing enough.  I don't know what it is about kids and cameras, but they catch on pretty quickly, and Aidan--only about two years old--had my big 'ol camera down in just a few minutes.  I helped him point, and he pushed the shutter, saying, "Push the button!"  He did a great job, and these are the images he captured.

Grandma!

 Mommy and brother

Grandpa!

 Some Frisbee action--he even got the Frisbee mid-air!

Mommy, brother, Grandma!

Little boys are sure to put you in a good mood, and Aidan did his job well.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Happy Birthday, America!

We have awesome friends who go out at something like 5:30am the day before the fireworks show to lay out tarps for 40-50 of us to sit together and watch the fireworks, right in the front row.  With my camera and tripod, it's an awesome opportunity to hone my nighttime action photography.

I experimented with a couple of long exposures, just to mess around and get my camera ready for shooting fireworks.

I should have moved down closer to the corner and set up there for the actual fireworks.  The reason?  That truck in the above shot, which was parked there to provide after-show lighting.  You'll see that truck further on in this post.

School buses, shuttles for the Naperville Ribfest, constantly drove by until just before the fireworks show began.  I took the opportunity to "capture" one of them driving through my frame.

Then, it was time, and the fireworks began.  Naperville does a great job with its fireworks, and this year was no exception.  Most of my shutter speeds were four seconds, with low ISO (probably had it at 100), so sit back, scroll through, and enjoy.

The below one was crazy cool, with blue lines flying all over the place.  The captured image looks vastly different than what my eye saw.  And yes--I was actually watching the show!  I have a shutter release and pretty much never looked through the viewfinder.

There was a breeze which caused the drifting effect in the below image.

This green one was a really cool capture.

And this one was one of my particular favorites.

These ones below were low to the ground, and all sparkly and glow-y with lots of light flashes and booms.  I think I captured these well.  :)

The finale shots are below, and you'll get to see that lighting truck I mentioned at the beginning.  It wrecked these shots.  Grr.  I can always edit it out, though I saved only three images.

Yes, the last shot is really overdone and overexposed.  Four seconds was too long a shutter speed!  But I kept it because it was pretty much that bright, not to mention loud as all get-out.   We had a fantastic time together tonight!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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My Front Yard Garden

Since I have almost no flowers in my back yard, I like to wander around the front yard every now and then throughout the summer with my macro lens to see what I can capture.  I recently found out that my neighbors watch me do this, since I've just met a few new ones up and down my street and they've asked me what I was doing out there with my camera.  ("Kooky lady with a camera...!")

I haven't been able to get a decent "farther away" shot of my heliopsis, so the below will have to do.

It's so nice and convenient when insects fly into the frame and land on my subject.  :)

I have two varieties of Asiatic lily, one more orange and one more red.

Oh--here's a day lily I'm throwing in from the back yard.

I hadn't taken any images of my woodland hydrangea yet this year, so I thought this'd be a good time to do that.  This variety of hydrangea doesn't pop a full head of blooms like most hydrangeas I've seen--you know, those big balloon-shaped heads of flowers.  I talked to the owner of a nursery at a farmers market last year, and she told me that my hydrangea is the so-and-so type--and for the life of me I can't remember what she said!  Nor can I find it by googling it.  Anyway, here's my hydrangea.

Another flower I enjoy in my front yard is threadleaf coreopsis.  I bought two little plants several years ago, and they're now two huge bushes!  They're filled with little yellow blossoms, and their leaves are shaped like needles; hence, their name.

A farmers market purchase yielded me this coneflower variety, called Powwow Wild Berry.  I love its deep, purply-pink color.  The flowers are absolutely gorgeous, and I think this is my favorite front yard garden flower.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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