The Strip, Las Vegas with Fireworks
You can point your camera at the sky in auto exposure and autofocus modes and fire away whenever you see a burst of fireworks and you should get some nice images that way. But for the best quality photos, it helps to know a few tricks of the trade. It’s easy when you know what to do.
Several of my ancestors fought in the American Revolution, including three sets of fathers and sons, but I know the most about Elijah Wadleigh, my 4th great-grandfather (1757-1800). I have a copy of his diary in which he describes the day to day events of his involvement in the war.
Thomas Jefferson by Rembrandt Peale, 1800
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
From the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776. Written by Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826). 3rd US President (1801-09).
To see an engraving of the original and George Washington’s personal printed copy, go here.
The entire text of the Declaration of Independence is after the page break.
4th of July parade collage in chronological order. Individual photos follow.
Every year I photograph the annual 4th of July parade in Lamoni Iowa. In addition to the 14 “selects” I share below, I discuss the equipment I use, the number of photos, and at the end of this article I describe what I look for when I photograph a parade. “Selects” is a newspaper/magazine word for the best photos (the photos selected) out of all the photos created. An editor working on an event article might say to a photographer, “Send me a dozen of your selects”, so the photographer would send 12 images out of all the photos that were created at the event.
Connor
Connor is a fine violinist who lives back east. I was informed months ago that he wanted me to do portraits of him playing the violin when he was visiting in Iowa. I wanted just the right kind of light to shoot outside. We had day after day of harsh, bright sunlight. Finally, on his last full day in Iowa we had the light I wanted.
Lamoni High school baseball game vs the Seymour Iowa Warriors. Drew hits a single.
On an increasingly drizzly Friday, June 26, the Lamoni High School Demons played the Seymour Warriors. Lamoni won, 13-0. The JV game was called at the end of the first inning due to the rain. The JV score was 3-3.
Click any image to see a larger version.
Last Light on El Capitan. My first trip to Yosemite Valley, December 30, 1990.
What a great idea! It started with Abe Lincoln, 162 years ago today. He was the first President to create “public lands” and it started with Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove.
Kodak 126 Instamatic Camera and Kodachrome 64 film cartridge.
This Kodak 126 Instamatic cartridge camera was my first camera (photo 1). It was a gift from my parents when I was in high school. I used print film cartridges for about 3 years. It was not until I was in college that I made the switch to slide film cartridges. With a few rare exceptions I continued to use slide film until 2003. I did not take a lot of pictures. My first two rolls of slide film lasted from August 1968 to the summer of 1969 and the photos include two week long church camps, some college life photos and my first photo of Melissa, the woman I would fall in love with and marry. I used this Instamatic camera for about 8 years.
Last Light on Mt. Rainier
Summer is the most popular time to visit the national parks. With so many to choose from, where should you go? Which national parks will provide the best photographic opportunities in the summer?
Pika, Rock Cut, Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Which national parks are at their photographic best in the summer? Here are my favorite choices, grouped by state from west to east, plus one Canadian province.
Blaze hits a double for an RBI.
I went to a middle school baseball game to get a few images for the Lamoni Iowa newspaper. Lamoni won, 10-3.
June 15 is “National Nature Photography Day”, so here is a collage of nature photos. Most of them were captured in our national parks. The day was founded in 2006 by the North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA).
June 14, 1777, the Second Continental Congress declared that the flag of the new United States, “be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.” More stars have been added as more states joined the union. Flag Day began in 1861 to support the Union during the Civil War. President Woodrow Wilson made it an official holiday in 1916.
The internet is flooded with a thinly disguised advertorial in the form of a questionable review by a fake reviewer. No responsible review of film scanners (I checked 10, links below) recommends the Memory Box Vault. They don’t even mention it. It ships from overseas so you have no legal protections if you can’t get your money back. And despite the $149 special price, you can buy it unbranded at Amazon for about $55. The reviews at Amazon are mixed and some of the Amazon reviewers say this scanner is terrible.
President Reagan’s 13 minute speech at the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc is considered to be one of the great speeches in American History. In addition to President Reagan, these world leaders were present: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, King Olav V of Norway, King Baudouin I of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada.
Links
President Reagan’s 13 minute speech at the U.S. Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc is considered to be one of the great speeches in American History. In addition to President Reagan, these world leaders were present: Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands, King Olav V of Norway, King Baudouin I of Belgium, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, and Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau of Canada. The text of Reagan’s speech follows.
John Morris, Capa’s London photo editor, tells the story behind Robert Capa’s D-Day photos, including the terrible darkroom mistake that ruined most of the photos. The high resolution video is best viewed full screen. You can see a contact sheet of the nine surviving negatives (ripped sprocket holes and all), Capa’s photo notes, and hear the story of the rush to get the prints back to the U.S. for publication in Life more. Fascinating imagery.
Link
Robert Capa: Normandy. June 6th, 1944.
June 6, 1944 was the allied invasion of Normandy, the largest seaborne invasion in history. 24,000 allied troops parachuted into France shorty after midnight. The next morning beginning at 6:30 am over 150,000 American, British, and Canadian troops landed. There were 10,000 casualties and 4,414 confirmed dead.
Recent Favorites (April and May) viewed with Adobe Bridge. (Click to see a larger versions.)
I just noticed something. This is a folder of my recent (April-May) favorites, opened with Adobe Bridge and in chronological order. (You can see these photos in the prior two posts.) The first 6 numbers in the file name are the date (YYMMDD), followed by the photo name, the camera, and the original 4 digit file number.
Lamoni High School track meet at Graceland University. Lamoni wins the women’s 4x200m relay.
Sunset, Lake LaShane
Big Boy No, 4014 visits Tama Iowa, June 1, 2026.
Big Boy No. 4014 is the biggest operating steam locomotive in the world. It is on a cross country tour from Wyoming to the east coast and then back across the country to Colorado and back to Wyoming. It is massive at 133 feet long and weighs 1.2 million pounds. That is 44 1/3 yards, nearly half a football field in length.
Google Earth Pro. The yellow line measures the distance from me in my car to the tree with the eagle’s nest.
Why would a photographer take a picture of a barely visible eagle that is 284 yards away? Because it is there!
Cemetery, The Presidio, San Francisco, California. Photo © Jim Doty, Jr.
Memorial Day began unofficially in a variety of places as people felt the need to recognize those who gave their lives in the Civil War. Memorial Day was officially declared on May 5, 1868, when General John Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic ordered a day of observance when all Union and Confederate Graves at Arlington National Cemetery would be decorated with flowers on May 30, 1868. One state after another adopted May 30 as a Memorial Day observance until all of the Northern states had adopted May 30 by 1890. Many Southern states had picked different days to honor the Confederate dead.
U.S. Flags at Sunset, Rose Hill Cemetery, Lamoni, Iowa
From Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1865.
Richard Duane Klug (the name just above the rose) was born January 26, 1946. He died in Darlac Province, Vietnam, November 14, 1967 at the age of 21. He is one of over 58,000 American soldiers that died in Vietnam, and one of over 1.1 million American soldiers that have died in all American wars (almost half of them in the Civil War).
