Dreams

I have a respect for firemen that goes way beyond the obligatory, thanks for your service mindset. I think some people just say stuff like that because that is what they are supposed to say. I wrote about what got me fascinated at what our fire departments do on a past blog.  You can still read them over at my old blog. I wrote it in 3 parts.

Part I
Part II
Part III 

This particular series of blogs still is my most read work to date. When I snapped this photo of an Avon Lake Firefighter at a live fire exercise, it took me back to Thanksgiving 1994. I had a dream about this fire the other night. There are still unanswered questions I have about the fire; some of the firefighters on scene that night have retired or moved on and the official report destroyed. I have a feeling the pursuit of finding the answers might haunt be for the rest of my life.

The Capitol

Despite what you think about the people working inside the Capitol; this is a breathtaking building. One of my favorite things about Washington D.C. is the rich history. This photo was from our family vacation to Washington D.C. last year.

Photos are memories, and on this vacation we made many.

Maui

A year ago, almost to the day I was in Maui, HI. I had never been any further west than Hastings, NE and here I was leap frogging the entire country and heading out to this exotic location with my beautiful wife. Before our trip the wife and I were discussing a camera purchase. I did extensive camera research, and the intention was to buy a camera for everyone to use in the house, but make sure we could take quality photos. Two days before our flight, I purchased our Nikon D3100, a good mix of manual setting and guided settings for my daughter. It came with the standard 18-55mm lens and I also got a sweet deal on the 55mm-200mm lens.

I had taken 3 photos before our flight, so when we got to Hawai'i I was really just unpacking it and learning how to use it. User manual? No, I didn't have that. I learn by doing.

On our second day while the wife was in the spa getting her massage, I took the camera and sunscreen to the beach to learn how to use our new camera. What better way to learn, than in the most picturesque place in the country?

I sat in the surf with the long lens on and I snapped this photo.  I had fallen in love with taking pictures all over again.  Growing up I remember my mom and dad both having fairly nice cameras and I often would grab the camera at functions and take pictures. I remember I loved do it then and somehow over the years I had forgotten how much fun it was.

This was the picture that brought it all back, and I haven't stopped since. This was the picture that turned "our" camera into my camera.

Stage Shows

By far the most challenging shooting conditions are when you are in low light. The camera is keeping the aperture open to get in all the precious light it can. You have to be perfectly still, like a sniper. Regulate your breathing, tuck in your elbows for stability, and be very light on the shutter button. All of this compounded when the subject is moving. You have now entered the realm of the stage show. 99% of the photos taken at a stage show are probably blurry.  Some artistically blurry, some just downright terrible. Every once in a while if you are patient you can capture a clear photo, like this one. The actors caught in a real reaction on stage. They are immersed in their character. There is nothing better. I live for these honest shots.

My wife has been doing community theater for 15 years. It started when she was in high school and she was considered a kid then. Now she has her kids in it. It is really cool to see what a bunch of amateurs can do when they get together for a good cause. This photo is from Mighty Goliath Productions' 2012 production of Oliver! in Avon Lake.

My Grandmother was a part of "MGP" during the early years some 50 years ago. It started as a PTA fundraiser and now helps fund the arts at Avon Lake High School. For more information on this theater group or to see how you can get involved, check out their website.

Children

Small kids are so much fun to shoot. Their reactions are always the most genuine. They are always seeing something new or something strange. In this case, she saw deer outside in the backyard and for the first time they were close enough to touch. 

After living in a condo, she now is seeing nature more out in the yard. It has gotten closer and she is just in awe of all the cool things that come out now. She nearly jumped a mile when she was met face to face with a curious squirrel. 

Warm

Sometimes I like to get close because it scares me. The 1100 degree fire is just begging to melt the plastic parts of my camera right off. I could come away with burns if I fall into the building. All of these just push the adrenaline into my veins.  I can't imagine the rush you get from strapping on a tank, securing your helmet and kicking in the door.  Feeling the power of a charged line.  I am just the guy on the sidelines taking pictures.  That's my rush.

Sobering

The quiet reality set in. Life will never be the same for an entire community. Every backfiring car, motorcycle, or fire cracker will bring back memories of a day when a human being walked into the school and shot other human beings. It isn’t a matter of student on student crime or adult on student crime. It is a matter that human beings choose to do these things.  

Standing in a crowd of 1,000 or so souls, I was next to a Catholic, Muslim, Jew, and agnostic. It didn’t matter on this day what you believed in, we are all a community standing shoulder to shoulder to show a family that we were behind them. We support you. We honor the sacrifice that you have made. 

As the hearse rolled by in its quiet refrain to finality, the sobering reality set in. A mother and father are burying their kid today. It was one act of violence that has started several rings of waves in the community pond of Chardon.

I didn’t know Daniel Parmertor, Russel King Jr, or Demitrius Hewlin, but then again I don’t need to. They could have been neighbors, husbands, or parents with my kids one day. Instead they are a footnote in history as the three kids who were shot at Chardon High School.