Fire – Da Nah Na Da Nah Na

If you would have told me last week or last year that I would be in a park at 9:30pm at night with two of my sons watching people play with, even swallow, fire I would have told you that you’ve been a little too close to the cement glue or something; just say no brothers and sisters. Well maybe I’ve been a little too close to the stuff because I was out there watching the owners and performers from Wicked Wicks do their thang and they did it baby!

Now trying to photograph them while being in total amazement of it all was a challenge. This was my first attempt at intentional night photography and after some tips from Chris I was good to go. These people are truly amazing/talented and I'm glad we were able to hook up so the Boyz and I could watch the art of Fire Spinning and Poi Performers. We’re going to try to hook up again next month so I can get more shots of this art in motion. Here are a few shots from our little get-together last night. Also, here is a link to more information about Fire and Poi Performers and Kate Riegle website.

Beas

Downtown Boyz

I took the Boyz to the park to go swimming the other day and made a slight detour to downtown Bloomington on the way. I have wanted to shoot in front of this sign/brick wall for quite some time now and I finally got my chance with some more then willing subjects. The Boyz obliged and made it fun for the short time we were there getting our "shoot" on. They also appreciated the attention we got from cars and people walking by wondering if these guys were movie stars or something. Not sure when they will hit the BIG screen but as you can tell from these shots, they are pretty confident (full-of-it) with themselves. "Uptown Girls" don't have anything on my "Downtown Boyz"!






LL Cool Jay


Al- Money


Miah Baby!

Not really sure what this is but it looked cool

Birthday, Bubbles and Boom

This was a long and wonderful family weekend with everyone and it just happened to fall on the 4th of July. Our youngest son turned 9 years old, little grand-daughter played with bubbles and we went to the park to hear things go"BOOM" at days end. As I write this Blog entry the boys are in our bedroom watching "The Indian in the Cupboard" and the Ladies are in the family room watching "The Witches of Eastwick". I am at my computer jamming to the new Hidden Beach Album - Volume 5 while I Blog and edit photos. It doesn't get any better then this (family and fun).

P.S. "Yes" the picture in the background is crooked and "yes" she was not happy with my "silly pose".

Juneteenth - 2008

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to shoot the Juneteenth celebration in the local community. The event was sponsored by the local African Amercian Affinity group and had an awesome turnout. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond.

Juneteenth commemorates African American freedom and emphasizes education and achievement. It is a day, a week, and in some areas a month marked with celebrations, guest speakers, picnics and family gatherings. In order to truly appreciate the opportunities each of us have enjoyed in our lives, it's important to look back from whence we've come. I hope you enjoy this slideshow of our local celebration of Juneteenth.