Hello and a very happy week after the 4th of July! It was such odd timing for the 4th to come on a Tuesday this year making the extended weekend celebration a little harder to manage. I can only hope that you found a way to survive the extended festivities and had to time to enjoy it with family and friends

I had a wonderful time on the 4th, going to Guntersville Lake and enjoying a full day of sailing with my good friend Phil Sowder. It was the perfect day to sail, dodging rainstorms that skirted to the north or south of us. The great news was we were able to take advantage of the prevailing winds that accompanied them and for July it turned into an incredible day to be on a sailboat.

I did have to end the day a little sooner then I would have liked to so I could head home and get into the madness of the thousands of cars and people coming out to view the fireworks display at the Space and Rocket Center. It is definitely one of the most visual spectacular displays in the south and add to it the space artifacts and it makes for a photographers dream shoot. I know there are larger and more publicized events around the country but there is something magical about seeing the fireworks explode around the Saturn Rockets. As I traveled through the maze of cars and people lining the roads I realized that there were many that felt the same was as I did. As I began to settle in I ran into fellow photographer Bob Gathany and one thing you know is if you run into Bob you are at the right place. As the explosions began I knew I had made the right choice to fill my need for loud explosions and fireworks!!!

If that were not enough for one week of visual excitement, as the week progressed I realized that we were going to be entertaining a full moon at the end of the week. As I was leaving the Museum of Art Saturday evening, having attended the opening of the Red Clay Survey (highly recommended), I noticed the full moon playing hide and seek with the clouds. It was in itself an amazing show as I drove “distracted” down the highway. I could not help myself having just been inspired by all the art so I had to pull over and get my camera out. Of all the shots I loved this one where the moon was just sliding out from behind a cloud. As I packed my gear, I thought to myself what a wonderful evening, “It was a like the icing on the cake”.

What a wonderful week – Enjoy!!