July 5th - another Sunday on Solomons

A photography course my wife and I watched suggested trying some different angles, times of day and topics to spark some creativity.  The bottom line to the first 'episode' of the class on DVD , by a National Geographic photographer I might add, is to have fun and to take multiple views and see what works.  He actually said multiple time; "Have fun."  I liked that approach, it's in complete alignment with me.  So, today, I tried looking for a little different approach.  I arrived a little earlier in the day, and tried to find a different type of lighting on the island.  While the outcomes were decidedly 'mixed' in that many of the trials produced less than thrilling results, I definitely had fun.

The sole remaining farm on Solomons has fascinated me for some time.  It seems both out of place and right at home on the banks of the Patuxent all at the same time.  The Thomas Johnson Bridge is very close to the farm, and this morning I tried to find a new angle on the scene.

The gray cloudy sky didn't provide the best of backdrops, but I "went for it" anyway.  Just walking along the fence which is elevated a few feet above the road next to it gave a new perspective of the place.  Perhaps the best part was that I witnessed a group of youth coming the streets for trash left from the 4th of July festivities the evening prior.  They saw me too, and soon there was a chorus of: "Take my picture!!"

Now, there's always one in the crowd that is not so willing a participant... and I'm guessing you can tell who that might be!  It turns out the Youth Group from Lusby, and I'm sorry I don't recall the specific organization, does this every year!!  They were a wonderful bunch, and full of energy.  Well, at least while the camera was out.  Their leader needed to remind them to carry and not drag the garbage bags, and one of the crew said that she should be paid.  The playful response was that she was being paid... in food!  Like I said though, they were a delight and beautifying the island.  

Then next several shots are from church today.  Notably, this young lady was twirling around on the grass, just enjoying life.  And like the group above, she noticed the camera and nearly immediately and without me asking, went into 'pose' mode.

The two photos below are of the table settings in the fellowship hall.  Again, this was all in the name of trying something just a little different.

Solomons Island United Methodist Church got a big 'plug' from Bare Naked Ladies (BNL) the other night during their concert.  It turns out that BNL saw a sign on our church advertising BARF Kids, and they created a short song about it, with lyrics such as "purging for Jesus" or something similar to that.  For the record, BARF stand for Being Around Really Fun.  So, BARF Kids.

The sign was modified just a little today:

A little trash that was left behing

There's always something going on, or something to look at while walking on Solomomns.  Today on the walk to get lunch there were some typical sights of motorcycles, bicycles and flowers. 

you don't normally see too many mopeds

I like the contrast in this photo.  The cyclist at the table had some very nice high tech bicycles on the far side of the iron fence - you can make them out if you look closely, but this near side had some beach cruisers. All are welcome on Solomons - high tech and low tech.

Lunch is always good at Lotus, and today was no exception. It was even better shared with friends and their mom and the new star of the family.  By that I mean the extremely adorable 7 week old.

The final shots of the day were of some flowers and nature, and for full disclosure the last couple are actually from in front of our house.

I was looking for 'textures' and liked this succulent flower.

Another outstanding Sunday on the island.. and home.

I hope you all had a great one as well.

Blessings,

Brian

Conversation

There was only a little breeze this evening

I just have to say it again.  Solomons Island brings out the best in people. The atmosphere of this river side town is a little more peaceful and the pace a tad slower than the surrounding area. You can end up in a conversation about many things.  Tonight I met Mike Cooper and his wife Rusty.  Mike came up and asked:  "Do you have any good shots in there?" while pointing at my camera.  "I hope so" or something similar was my reply.

Mike and Rusty

We had a nice conversation about photography.  It turns out that Mike is getting started in the brave new world of digital SLR.  This seems to be a new passion for him, and he too is often on Solomons taking pictures.  I also found that he is a businessman and does both house painting and pest control. Rusty was incredibly patient and let us talk quite a while.  It was nice to watch them walk away hand-in-hand southward on the boardwalk.



























The only wheeled vehicle I caught this evening was this motorcycle.






























I continued down the Riverwalk myself and noticed a local buoy that was out of place.  If you end up this close to the rocks you certainly are going to be in trouble!



























Shooting from in front of the Gazebo the surroundings presented lots to take in.  Two girls were talking and one was doing gymnastics in the Gazebo.  Kayaks were in the river as were larger boats.


The shot to the left at a slow shutter speed:  you can see she's rotating around her hips.











The shots below at a faster shutter.

The young ladies were in conversation were having a conversation with another guy after this shot, and then were gone.  Unfortunately I didn't get to ask their names. If you happen to know them, let them know they're on SolomonsSeen.

Little ones raced their elders in a foot race.

































Mike saw me taking more photos, and came back with his Nikon.

And we were blessed with a really nice sunset tonight.

Well, that's it for now.  I hope you had a great evening, and thanks for tagging along vicariously through the photos.

Blessings,
Brian

Right Place, Right Time

Sunday mornings have a routine for me.  Awake around 8:20, get ready for the day, possibly water the lawn – though not needed today due to the nice rain over night – and then head to Roy Rogers for breakfast before church.  Often I’ll try to get there early enough to just take in the Patuxent River, and the goings on at Solomons Riverwalk.

Today I didn’t end up with as much time, and needed to get in to church, hoping for just a few minutes to see if the Mallards and their chicks were still inhabiting the water front along the back of the church.  They weren’t there and time was up.  Practice with the band was getting started.  I did have time to notice some flowers on the way in, and put that in the back of my mind.

Rehearsal was done pretty quickly actually, so I did have time to wander around with my camera before the service started.  There are some really pretty flowers I noticed for the first time in front of the church.  I had thought of them simply as bushes until today.  It turns out they are some variety (or maybe varieties –plural) of lacecap hydrangeas.

The structure of this flower is extraordinary.  The center section has numerous small buds with 8 flowers surrounding them.  What I had not noticed until looking at the photos was that each of the small central buds were starting to bloom as well though much smaller than the surrounding planets.  That’s what it seemed like to me, that the larger flowers were in slow orbit around the center, or maybe they were sentries guarding the young in the center.

The sound of a small plane became noticeable and I turned toward the river.  Sure it was a plane but, not just any plane.  It was a very small float plane that was buzzing just above the water.  It flew UNDER the Thomas Johnson Bridge, and you can see that it was lower than the tops of the sailboats it passed by!! 

Yes, I can read the tail number if I enlarge the shot

That seemed crazy, but after he flew off, I walked over to the parking lot and snapped a shot of these Snapdragons. Bees were busy landing and quickly taking off from flower to flower on what I believe are Blue Salvia.

Again, I just love the structure of these blooms.

some Sanpdragons

Then while chatting with a friend in front of the church, I noticed an Osprey flying towards us, coming in over the water.  It was quickly evident he had a big fish in his claws.  Firing away on high speed shutter, I managed to get a few, and here is what I think was the best shot.

Thinking about this later in the day, I realized just how fortunate I was to be in the right place at the right time to take in all of this.  If you slow down, listen, and look around, you can find a lot of beauty and witness the craziness of life as well.  Blooms, bees, birds, boats and bat crazy airplanes – all brought joy this morning.

 

I hope you too, had time to slow down, and see, hear, touch and maybe even taste the beauty around you.

Blessings,

Brian

Mark Your Calendars

 
I know this is an early announcement, but you should mark your Calendars for Solomons Plein Air Festival.  The overall event takes place from September 16^th to the 20^th.  Over the coming weeks I’ll be highlighting some of the amazing artists that are schedule to participate in the wonderful event, but let’s back up for a minute.

A Plein Air event is when artists paint ‘in the open air’, in other words outdoors.  There’s no photograph taken back to a perfectly lit studio.  This is outdoors, with changing light conditions, and plenty of distractions, and lots of dynamics in play. 

There are several facets to the overall event.  The main event is for 26 invited professional artists from all over the country to compete for honors.  They start on Wednesday and have to Saturday to present finished works.  The artists will scout for the perfect subject in the Solomons area for their master pieces.  Saturday evening the submissions will be judged and then offered for sale.

Two other notable aspects are the Sunset Quick Draw and the Paint the Town for a Cause.  The Quick Draw will be on Thursday evening with strict start and finish times of 6 pm to 8 pm.  The artists only have that time to paint!  The canvases tend to be smaller than those of the main event, but they are still spectacular.  Since the time is so short most of the artists are on or near Solomons Riverwalk.  This gives the public a great opportunity to watch them paint.  Some artists will interact with the crowd, but please be respectful that they have work to do!

 

The Paint the Town for a Cause is another great part of this Plein Air Festival.  Again, there is a time limit, but registration is FREE.  This opens up the participation to a wider group of artist.  Last year brought out students from grade school to colleges, home school groups and other local artists looking for something new to try.  This takes place on Saturday from 10 to 1 with judging and sales to follow.  It was a blast last year and I’m sure it will be great this year too.  The cool part of this event is that a good portion of the proceeds are donated to local charities.



 Hopefully the photos here of last year's festival will give a small idea of what it was like.

And if you'd like to be a sponsor of this fabulous festival, please let me know!

Stay tuned, much more to come, but mark your calendars.  You won't want to miss this!