Wake up!

I love hot summers. Hot summers mean shorts, staying out late into the evening, thunderstorms, popsicles, and swimming. As far as I can tell, the Bay area does not excel in the hot summer department. The Outer Banks, however, is an expert at producing the summer heat and temperate waters that I love so much. It’s been about four years since my last trip to OBX and over a year since my last trip to the east coast altogether, so this vacation was patiently awaited and long overdue.

There is something truly special about returning to a place that you have known throughout your life. Even though the Outer Banks doesn’t change much, the experience is different every time. This time was a rediscovery of the beauty that I took for granted all the time I lived on the east coast. It takes being away to gain a new sense of awareness about a familiar place.

Jockey’s Ridge, which we have visited on every vacation that I can remember, was a very different place with storm clouds drifting overhead and a tilt-shift lens in hand.

I was just playing around when I captured this sad looking image. Poor Rigo all alone and the family together in the background. Maybe they shunned him for not striking a pose in the previous picture.

This trip was highlighted with some exceptionally good food.

But the basis of the vacation was the same as always: good company.

I have always loved a good afternoon thunderstorm.

We don’t always go island hopping, but this time we traveled to Wanchese (I used to think it was “Juan Cheese”) on the island of Manteo to have dinner and see the fishing boats.

Mini boats?! Nope, just an awesome lens. Sorry to shatter your dreams.

It’s so hard to leave on the last day. At least we got a colorful family photo out of it. Until next time, my sandy, fair-weathered friend…

I missed the 4th of July last year because we were visiting family in Chile, so this was the first 4th we spent in the Bay Area. I was happy to have received an invitation from a work buddy to spend the 3rd of July celebrating with his friends and family. It was really nice to spend the day with someone’s family, considering ours are both so far away. When you get to spend some time with other families, you start to realize how similar they all are when they get together- lots of talking, lots of kids, lots of laughter, and always too much food!

The kiddies were anxious to light up the “sprinklers”.

They got a mini show before the sun went down. Look at that second fellow in from the left. This was clearly the start of a life-long flirtation with explosives.

I love bubbles. Rigo doesn’t really, but he loves me, which is why he will blow bubbles at the camera if I ask him to.

Beanie Babie anyone? Still not sure why my Beanie Babie was born on January 23 when all the others were born on July 4.

As with most fun things in life, the real excitement began after sundown.

Happy 4th of July. Hope you all had a good one!

First, I must apologize for holding these photos captive for a couple of weeks now. Thank you to the gracious participants for your patience in what is already a lengthy process. But as they say, it was worth the wait. This time around I was struck by the classic, timeless quality of these photographs. Lots of black and white, lots of sentiment, an air of eeriness, and beautiful, as always.

This group of photos has the strongest sense of emotion yet, and I think that is what links them all so closely together. Previously, I’ve noted photographic elements like depth of field, texture, and repetition, but I think this group is set apart by that extra quality that can’t be defined as an element of composition or design – it’s about mood, and these photos have it.

Here’s what our photographers have to say:

Renee (Cincinnati, OH) – “It was nice to be the first person this time and not have any restrictions on what to photograph. I was actually at the Cincinnati Home and Garden Show when I noticed these garden sticks made out of utensils. It wasn’t until I converted it into a black and white that it made me really love the photograph.”

Tiffany (Cupertino, CA) – “For my photo, I used the shadow of several objects and reflected it off of a wall mirror. I tried several silhouettes and thought this image was interesting ”

Kristen (Goleta, CA) – “When I received Tiffany’s image I immediately thought, besides the fact that it is a solid abstract image, that it reminded me of a Hitchcock film, or Rorschach test: you take your pick. I love the texture, the shadows that look like grotesque profiles, and of course, black and white. I tried to respond with something as abstract, but quickly scratched that. My interpretative response is that my image incorporates texture and shadows, and hopefully is a little unsettling or haunting. Wind makes me nervous, so it was a great day to shoot.”

Lindsey (Wilmington, DE) – “I liked how Bethany’s photo included different elements of nature and how well they blended with the bench. I found different patterns of lines in her picture and tried to find something in nature (or man made) that reflected that. I found this bench in our local park and it was perfect. The soft curve of the bench arm looks like a vine and somewhat softens the photo, the detail of designer/manufacturer stamp simply added a bit of nostalgia.”

I was happy to be at the end of the line this time and to have the opportunity to respond with purpose. When I got Lindsey’s photograph, I first noticed the repetition and wanted that to be the base of my photo. The second element that stood out to me was the old-fashioned look of the photo. So instead of going old-fashioned, I just went with old. This is the old fence next to my apartment with repeating lines, rich texture, and age.

Well done, ladies!