Week 27 - Celebrate

This week's theme is Celebrate for our FOCUS 52 Group.  Week 27 is a week of celebrations for two of the larges counties in North America, Canada and the United States.  I believe most of our Southern neighbors celebrate their birthday's, Independence Days, around the middle of September.

Fireworks are nice.  I can say that because very few people dislike them.  I am not on of those fireworks enthusiast who attend any and every event that has fireworks.  I am not one of those who even say, "Oh there are firework at this.  That would be nice to see."  I can take them or leave them.  This past Fourth of July was the first one since both of my parents are not here and I felt like going somewhere and looking at them in the distance, far from the crowds.  My mom loved fireworks and my dad always made sure she and us little ones got to see them.  I at a barbecue that day and as it cooled off we went inside, began other social activities and completely forgot about fireworks.  Before we knew it, night time was on us and some of the fireworks shows had already begun.

I decided that I would try and catch some of the programs on my way home.  To my surprise as I turned the corner to my house, fireworks began to explode in an vacant lot of an old shopping center.  I whipped about the corner, along with other motorist and just pulled up to the curb and got out.  A new community was forming around the fireworks shoe.  People were pulling up, double parking and joining us.

I pulled out my iPhone and began to take pictures.  Those you can see on instagram.  Then I remembered my camera was in the car, so I got that one out.  This is an example of what I was able to capture.  For whatever reason, fireworks are mesmerizing.  We all stood there oohing and ahhing.  And applauded when it was finished.  Nothing else mattered for that thirty minutes.  We all left happier and some of us proud to be American.  I hope our neighbors to the North had the same sort of experience on the 1st of July.   Happy birthday to us all.

Week 27 of 52

This week's theme from the MCP 52 Project is Nature's Finest. Well as a bona fide City Girl, nature is not something I am that familiar with. I'm not a bird watcher, a beachcomber, a rock climber, a white water rafter, a horseback rider, or any number of things at occur in nature. Camping to me is a night at the Motel 6. It's not that I don't like these adventures into nature, it's just that I don't have the skill nor the practice. So, when I thought about one of natures finest things, I think about the view of the San Gabriel Mountains. I just love that view. Oddly enough, my favorite view is while driving east on the 134 Freeway taking the north bound on ramp of the 210 Freeway gives you an unobstructed view of them. They just seem to go on for days. I feel this is the meaning of the lyric from America the Beautiful's, "purple mountain's majesties". I just love that view. It seems to take my breath away every time. I don't know how to capture that view since you would have to be driving to do it. Also, I'm not sure that can be captured in a picture by me, in this point of my development in photography.

So, I asked my cityfied self, "What else is so awe inspiring from nature to be considered it's finest?" I thought of a West Coast beach sunset. Those are also remarkable. I have captured many of those. This is the West Coast after all. Sunsets are kinda our thing. But I have been noticing the sunrises lately. Yes, I'm up to see them. From my bedroom window, along side the small second story of the house behind me is a lone, grand, old palm tree. This tree is not thin, tall and wimpy that move with every gentle breeze. This is a grandfather palm tree that has seen time and stands strong in it ready to see more. That palm tree transforms from an indistinguishable mass in the darkness of night to a foreground silhouette of a background that spans the of color wheel that becomes dawn. I love that too. So, my task now was to photograph sunrise. But this is the West Coast. The sun rises in the East. How can I do that?

Those of you who know me, you know, I went online and googled the best+sunrise+ southern+california. I got Mount Hollywood. So, I'm thinking, the Hollywood Hills, okay that's doable. Well, on my list of things I'd like to photograph, is the Griffith Observatory. This was a must for me to do. I got up, not quite at the crack of dawn, but early, I am on vacation, and headed to the Griffith Observatory.

To my surprise, that is a busy place shortly after they open at 5:00 a.m., I was there around 6:00 a.m. Hikers, walkers, bird watchers, golfers, you're out in nature for these things, were all there. This was a whole new world for me. I thought it was grand. A new day, new light, new air, was refreshing. As I get up to the top and parked, I had not noticed the sunrise because I was driving and looking at all these people out in nature. Well, what I had not accounted for was the early morning haze we get when there is so much moisture in the air. So, I got nada, zip, bupkis for the sunrise. But early morning light is the best for shooting. It is soft and new and it brings a glow to the items you shoot. So, it little flower is my offering for Nature's Finest. My theme, Structure is the sunrise and the sunset that is new and different each day. I will get my sunrise and when I do I will share it with you too. I'm grateful that I live in Southern California and can enjoy them both in my own way. You may check out the rest of my pic on my flikr site. And thanks for following.