Traditional 4th of July

I spent part of the 4th holiday weekend at an outdoor concert and fireworks. Here is some of the crowd, they were lovely and festive. If you look closely you can see the flags around.

Before going I researched how to take fireworks photos. Some of the websites were quite helpful. Some were a little elitist, "do it this way or not at all." Really? I decided not to take a tripod and remote shutter release, because I didn't want to sacrifice the fun factor for a photo (say that 5 times fast).

And because I am new at this, I just shot off a bunch of photos in a variety of settings just to see what would happen. This one, not quite right on the shutter speed.



This one, I moved. Actually, if I had known the outcome, I might have moved just a bit more, to get an intentional wave effect. Of course, I had no time to think it through, by the time I could see it, it was already fading.



I think this one is getting better.

BTW, there are no people or other things in these shots because we were just so dang close to where they were fired off, it was almost directly overhead. Maybe next year I'll look for a venue where I can shoot over water of something to make them a more interesting composition.




Yeah, pretty!


Not bad either, although a little residual smoke reflection. We did not have much wind, so the later photos show some of the smoke.


I was happy with getting a few good photos of the fireworks. For a beginner and a relatively brief display, I didn't think they were too bad.

Hope you had a fabulous Independence Day!

M.E.

Grandpa's Sweet Shop

Another portion of Grandpa's Village is this incredible sweet shop. Being a candy fan, I have been to many a sweet shop. This one wins, hands down.



It has this cute little country motif. Rows and rows and rows of all kinds of candy.



Clearly I could not leave without getting a few samples...you know, to support the local economy and all that.


And fabulous assorted flavors of fudge.


Oh, I forgot to mention this one last time. In the barn, they had a whole section of fruit pie fillings. YUM! I made this one. I would show you pictures of it, but I messed up the crust and while delicious, it wasn't photo worthy. I'll be sure to do much better the next time!



This weekend I am off to try and capture more photographs. I have been just getting snapshots of late, because I didn't want to miss the moments (and sometimes not intrude on people in the area). Hopefully the holiday will provide me with some opportunities for great photos.

Happy 4th of July!

Grandpa's Village

I have family that live a few hours north of my place. Over the years I have traveled the same stretch of highways hundreds of times, without stopping off to visit the sites. I tend to zone out and just drive, singing along to my favorite tunes and trying to plan whatever I need to do the next week.

But this last time, I didn't really have a timetable, so I decided to stop about midway and check out Grandpa's Cheese Village. It used to just be Grandpa's cheese barn, but it is so much more than that now.


For those of you wondering why I had to take a picture of the sign on an angle, there was a monster SUV parked right in front of it, killing the tourist moment for me. Later, a couple kids squeezed between the sign and the truck so their grandma could get a shot too.

Shouldn't there be a law about blocking the obvious photo op? Hmm, ok back to the village.

One building is still the barn, 2 stories full of goodness. A cafe, ice cream shop, gift shop, and the whole second floor is food!

Some cheese.


Some snacks.



Jams and Jellies!


Outside the barn, there is a small structure displaying some handmade beautiful Amish baskets (good prices too).


Here's how he got to work today.

Well, I imagine there was a horse involved too.


And here is the modern version. For the true cheese lover who wants to drive around the country in the cheese truck!



Next time, the sweet side of the village.