Picture taking is looking up.

Since retiring, I've developed a rich love for London and southwestern Ontario. Appreciating your surroundings is cheap. Retired, I need cheap. If it's expensive, it may be out of my financial reach. It's lucky that I live where I do. It is one of the best places in the world. We would be wise to take better care of our little piece of Spaceship Earth.

Today the sky over London looked bright, rain-washed clear blue. There was not a hint of the all too common haze of air pollution. Today the sky had the dramatic look of clashing weather systems preparing for battle above the city.

I loved it. It was worth running here and there, finding different angles to best record the unfolding moment. Tip: always carry a small camera. You can't take pictures without a camera.

The U.S. had a neat series of stamps featuring different cloud formations. Check them out.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Home concerts, better than playin' bars!

I apologize about the quality of this photo. I wanted to capture some of the excitement of The Laws home concert and I find little, on-camera flashes kill the moment. Of course straight on strobe only kills the moment temporarily — for a thousandth of a second — just long enough to kill the photo. The room was quite dark, lit only by a warm, ceiling light off to the side. I apologize. (Oh, one other thing, the room was so small that I had to put two pictures together — one taken immediately after the other — to get this image. There, confessions complete.)
The Laws are a husband-and-wife singer/songwriter team from Wheatley, Ontario. Friday night they, along with Nashville guitarist Brent Moyer, played a home concert in London, Ontario. Hot damn! They were good! I'm going to blog about home concerts — a really cool venue for a concert. Check out Rockinon: the Blog for more about home concerts and The Laws.

Ghosts Come to Life

As you may have gathered, I love old cars. Many are aging works of art and are looking better in their 50s than they looked in the '50s. This DeSoto Firedome, I believe it may be a '57, proudly bears the fins that are today emblematic of a long-gone era in car history.

Car enthusiasts are amazing. They often take a rusting hunk of forgotten metal, a mere memory of a car, and with great skill and incredible ingenuity breathe life into the ghost of an automobile. Go to a cruise night near you and ask to see a car's restoration journal documenting in pictures its journey back from the grave. Many of those into car restoration have such a journal. You will be amazed. You will look at restored cars, and their owners, in a whole new light.
To see and learn more, visit Fins and Chrome. To find cruise nights in your area go to Google and search "cruise nights (your city)." It's that easy. Now, grab your camera and play.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Firefighters Have Wow Factor

London, Ontario, firefighters stopped by a London school recently to show the kids attending the summer camp sessions a fire truck. The little ones were awed. So big, so many doors and so much stuff hidden inside. The children were uncharacteristically quiet. Firefighters obviously have the Wow factor.

How to grab it with a rabbit.

Photo Tip: With digital cameras you do not have to show yourself to get a picture. This little rabbit is oblivious to me. Why? I am on my kitchen floor, totally out of sight, with only the camera looking out the window. The lens is pressed right to the glass to minimize glare and I, watching the monitor on the back of my little Canon SD10, can view the rabbit nibbling his way closer to my home. Now, if there had been a bird or two at the bird bath. . .

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Daisies Begging to be Photographed, Honest!

O.K. I know what you are thinking. "Another flower picture?" In a word, yes.

I apologize but I just could not help myself. Man these things were made to be shot by my little fixed lens camera. They were begging to have their picture taken. I had to buckle.

It is a nice picture, right? You just have to agree.

Cheers,
Rockinon