Dear One and All,
It is now August and everyone else, every place else, seems to be sweltering. Not here. Not in our house. I don't think our thermometer has shown over 69 or 70 degrees in months. Fog? Marine layer? Whatever the hell it is... it's GRAY!!!
No wonder I keep thinking about Scranton, PA.
That's the color I associate with my ol' hometown.
And that was just the people! (rim shot!)...but seriously folks, if you were expecting some form of sentimentality or nostalgia regarding my geographical roots...fuggedaboudit...I think my first complete sentence as a child was, "Can I get a ticket?"
I keep getting notifications about going back in the fall for a 50th high school reunion. You've got to be kidding. After all the effort it took to extricate myself from that scene? Don't get me wrong. Scranton is loaded with people who absolutely love (as they should) and adore the place. Me? Take it or leave it...and since it's a choice...hell, I can't even watch "The Office!" If I moved any further West to get away from there I'd be under-water...
Water...oh, yeah, that's what got me started...the LA River on the 4th of July. It was definitely an interesting point of view for the display since for the last three years we had quite a different vantage from Venice and Marina Del Rey on the other side of the river and marina by Burton Chase park.
Now, like all of you, I've seen and enjoyed a fair number of fire works productions in my time but this was truly incredible. Why? Because this time, at this particular location, the dazzling display exploded directly over our lawn chairs and immersed us in a kaleidoscope of cascading color. What a spectacular view!!!
I don't claim to be a pro photographer. I don't know enough about the tech aspects of the trade. But I do have a good eye for composition, color and detail and I've always enjoyed the effect obtained by keeping the camera's lens open for a few extended seconds. You can get some really cool results.
I used "Picasa" to put together a little slide show.
The back ground instrumental music is a melody called "Canal Canaries" from my CD (available at CD Baby) Venice Sci-Fi.
Stay tuned and if you enjoyed this, please feel free to pass it on. Ari
