Fishing with Rocco

Ahhh……To me there is nothing more relaxing or satisfying than a day or even an afternoon that is filled with photo opportunities and water activities.   To live near the ocean and its tributaries is truly wonderful.   Yesterday my son Rocco came along with us.   What a treat to have him with me!   We were in the Lynnhaven river of Virginia Beach and there is always an abundance of wildlife along the waters edge or hanging out in the trees.  It was a bit cloudy but the perfect temperature for a great day of fishing.   We caught bait in the cast net to fish for puppy drum.  The fish were small but fun to catch and not to worry because we released them all.  As much as humans love to fish, birds love to fish as well which makes for a photographers dream.  Birds were dipping and diving towards their catch and some of them even decided that our bait would be tasty.  My photos on today’s blog are just a sampling of some of the birds and wildlife that we saw on our trip.

Job 12:7-10  “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;  or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,  or let the fish in the sea inform you.  Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?   In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Ghost Town in the Sky

When we see a photograph of our childhood we are immediately transported back to that very moment in time.  We can even remember the smells, the sights and the small minute details of our adventure.  For instance in this picture my sister and I had a mad crush on Israel Boone from the old TV program.  Having our picture made with him absolutely made our day, our week, I dare say even our year!  We were in Ghost Town North Carolina and had just taken our very first ride on a chair lift to get to that gun slingin town where the “good” guys and the “bad” guys shot each other down in a gunfight.  It seemed so real to us with a saloon where we drank sarsaparillas (root beer) and cowboys actually fell down from the top of buildings when they were shot.  Trust me we were in the big time!  We were just a struggling family that had scraped together enough money to travel from Raleigh to “Ghost Town in the Sky”.  Israel however was used to travel and used to things we could only dream about.  In fact his older sisters had to coax him into having his picture made with us by offering him a candy reward.  I remember thinking that he was spoiled yet I still wanted to have my picture made with him because somehow that made me feel special.  We got to go back to school and proclaim that we had met “the” Israel Boone and we have a picture to prove it.  That was close to 50 years ago and still I love to see this picture.

So we have a family, a setting and a camera to capture those special times in our lives that can only be relived through photographs.  What a powerful tool a camera is to bring the mind back to a certain event.  It is amazing to me that I can look at the numerous photographs that I have taken and tell you who I was with, where I was, what I was thinking and almost always I can remember the shot that I missed.  So whether you are in front of the camera or behind the camera that moment is ingrained in our memories forever.

Oh the things you can see when you get older.  As I told you, I thought I was special because I had my picture taken with someone special.  But actually we were the special ones, the ones who were so excited to have the adventure, the ones who were grateful to have the chance to be there, and the ones who to this day are special in each others eyes.  I was lucky for sure that day but the lucky part was having my parents, my brother and my sister by my side making the memories that day.

God made us all special and gave us special people to journey through this life with, be it our parents, our siblings, our children or our friends.  Next time you pick up your camera think about the person you are photographing and try to capture the “specialness” of the subject and the moment!

“The Mayor” of 34th Street

Well I was to post everyday on my new blog and shortly into it I lost my very sweet friend Earl Branche.  I just didn’t feel like writing.  As we go through life we meet people and some make a mark, or shall we an indention on your heart.  Earl’s memory is engraved in my heart.  So many days were spent talking or laughing together and they are cherished memories that I will have forever.  Earl had a great faith in God which does sweeten the loss and I like to envision him in Heaven hanging around the gardens or serving others as those were his two of his favorite activities.  Earl had been sick for a while and so I was helping him with his gardening activities (one of my favorite things).  One day we went out to buy plants.  We were driving down the road and heard this whirring noise.  “What’s that” questioned Earl and then he looked in the rear view mirror and the back of his SUV was open!   We both had a big laugh over this and many other hilarious things that came up during our friendship.   I am so sad to lose him but he will always be tucked away in my heart along with my Mother, Father and all the others that I have loved here on Earth that have made their ways to their heavenly home.  “The Mayor” of 34th Street will be sorely missed!

Boardwalking

Some of you may know my friend Martha.  She is my walking partner, buddy, mentor, soundboard and she gets me.  She even let’s me stop during our walks to take pictures.  Now that’s a friend!  We started walking on the boardwalk of Virginia Beach  a month or so ago.  When we were coordinating our walking plans I suggested 6:30 am.  We settled on 6:15 and since then have backed it up to 6:00.  That has been a learning curve for me but it has been so worth it.  If you have not had a chance to see a sunrise lately you must, must, must push yourself out of that bed. (Sunrise posts will follow)   True, we do have a wonderful view of the ocean and I know everyone does not have that luxury.  However, I have found out that some of my very best thoughts and ideas have bolted into my brain during our dark thirty strolls.  I credit Martha with helping me regurgitate and refine those little nuggets of knowledge.  She has a passion for writing and has the knack of taking the events and experiences of her life and expounding on the little details which pull you into her world.

In our hurry up and get everything done as fast as we possibly can world, I get to have that tiny carved out piece of time and I have the good fortune to be able to spend it with someone who does not judge me, listens to me, supports me and best of all not one day goes by that we don’t laugh out loud together.   We get a chance to spend time with the homeless, the vacationers, those tireless city workers who start their work day so early, those fearless runners and walkers like us and of course every morning a new sunrise with dolphins thrown into the mix as well.   I get to photograph it all and will post many of the pictures here.  I challenge you today to think of one person that makes your day special and thank them or send them a note to tell them how much they mean to you.  So this post is dedicated to my boardwalking friend Martha who makes my mornings rock!  God bless you and keep you safe.

Life through a lens

Time stands still in a photograph.   You are able to capture a moment in time. A moment that would have been gone  well….. in a flash shall I say.  In the world of photograpy I would consider myself a “newbie”.  Just starting out with a camera in my hand, a passion to capture the beauty of life and a new adventure just around every corner.  An opportunity may arise at any time to catch that perfect shot.  An osprey flying back to it’s nest with a fish swinging in it’s talons, a seagull dancing on a rooftop, A crab standing stock-still looking up at a giant with a strange contraption in her hand.  Life in all of it’s glory and it’s ugliness.  Whether it be a homeless person just waking up from a solitary night on a bench as the sun rises, introducing a new day of hopelessness or the beauty of a magestic bird in flight, life is worthy of immortality in photographs.  The thing about life though is that it is highly unpredictible.  How many avid photographers have planned an outing to “capture the perfect shot” only to get home and realize that for some reason whether it be equipment malfuntion or just your inabiltity to connect with the shot your best laid plans are foiled.  Fortunately in most circumstances you get at least a minimum of one or two great shots.  That makes the time and energy you spent worth it all.  Then there are those times when you are just plain lucky.  Those bright shiny moments when you are driving down the road and… bam… just to right of your car, at a great spot to pull over there is an Egret with a huge fish hanging from it’s mouth.  Paydirt.  He grapples with getting it down which gives you just enough time to get the shot.  something way down in your soul smiles and you get this little tingle sort of like Christmas morning when the only light shining is from the tree and then you see it, that thing that was placed there just for you!  Once this happens you will chase this feeling over and over like a drug.   In case you haven’t noticed yet I have an addictive personality.  Fortunately this is an addiction that will bring me at the very worst of times dissapointment.  Well, maybe a short stint in Photo Rehab or few photoholic meetings.  So…I’ll take it.  In all it’s worst of times and best of times photography for me is just an extention of how I view the world around me.  For me it’s enough.