July 4th Celebration, Take Two

Ok, so last night was my 4th at my cousin's house, and we had a BLAST....literally. It was so much fun! It was the first time in a while that I actually felt like I had a lot of energy and was active. I ended up most the night playing with David, and I couldn't help taking shots of him and his little brother.....





I had bought some colored smoke, and decided to start playing with them, which turned into some cool color effects.....thanks to the darling BF for taking pictures for me while I played. Gonna have to teach him about light and smoke, though. He was standing in the wrong spot, so the sun was coming through the smoke, washing out a lot of the color. But I still think I got some good ones. I LOVE that blue!



I have also decided after seeing pictures of myself, I am not ever going to eat anything again. I didn't realize just how much weight I'd gained lately! I mean, I have, but you know, until you REALLY see it, your brain doesn't comprehend it. Numbers are one thing, actually seeing it is another.


When darkness fell, I got to play with my camera. This was the first year to use this camera with fireworks, and while I didn't use the function on the 3rd, I tried the Fireworks mode last night as I was shooting some of the big ones. I realized, after quite a few failed pictures, that it is a slow-capture mode. How did I learn this? I shot a firework, then lowered my camera....I got a shot of both the fireworks in the air, and my foot! It almost looks like a double exposure, its so funny! From there, I had a little better time with the pictures, although I was too slow when it came to pushing the button. I got a few good shots of some artillery shells and a few fountains.


The coolest pictures in my opinion, though, were the sparklers. You can really see the slow-motion shutter in them, because obviously there's no way that sparkler tip can be in all those places at once. LOL! I just LOVE them, though! They look really cool.


My cousin Linda took some pictures, too, and I'd love to see what hers look like, because she had never used the Fireworks mode, either. But hey, I got some pretty good video too.



But alas, the $400 worth of fireworks (over the course of two nights) goes too fast, and we must wait till next year to blow them all up again. Granted, you can shoot them whenever you want in the country, but they aren't as easy to find when its not the 4th, except for on New Years, and its just too dang cold for them in Dec/Jan! But, I still love them.

Don't think that I forgot about the real reason for the 4th....my grandpa was in WWII, after all. And when I think of all the troops losing their lives here lately overseas, it really breaks my heart. For them, and for those to come who will have to fight future wars on our behalf, I salute you. Thank you for all you have done and yet to have done. God bless you!

Yes, I said GOD BLESS YOU! I'm not afraid to show my faith. <3

Are you?