Penning Photography Daily

One of the last I took that night.

In a park, Piedmont Park, I believe.

Just after sunset.

Under a street lamp.

I like the subtle smile.

Not posed, just talking and capturing light.

I did it my way. – Tom Ford

His final solo with the Springfield Municipal Band at the Douglas Park Bandshell.

Sunset, a hot night, an eager audience, and a milestone in the career of a man of music.

Tom will have finished 45 years with the band, 37 of those as the music librarian for the band. That involves a lot of boxes of music, hauled every week from concert to home. Singing solos for many of those years, with his great Irish tenor.

Thanks for the memories, Tom!

I took a journey tonight with my beautiful niece, Emily.

I call her Em. =) I smile at that, don’t know why.

Em treated me to dinner (I picked up the tip to help out and lessen the pain).

We had a great time talking about everything, sharing our lives, enjoying a superb supper together.

I was taking photos the whole time – well, almost the whole time.

I’m working on getting that perfect portrait of Em. I have more photos to share after I’ve given them a bit of post-processing magic.

This one screamed POTD to me – Picture of the Day.

Em and her uncle Matt, chillin’ at a stoplight, waiting for the shutter to capture the joy of being together.

Thanks Em, for dinner, the time together, and some great visual memories.

This scene greeted me this morning when I opened my window shades.

I’m a sucker for a sun scene.

From the 10th floor of an Atlanta, GA hotel, seeing this brightened my day.

Now, it probably has some of the beauty earned from the haze and smog in the air, but, I still like looking at it. Maybe I can push out the ugly realities for a bit.

The temperature reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit, ~38 Celsius today. Looking at 102 tomorrow.

When it’s this hot, I usually say that I thank God for Mr. Carrier. Willis Carrier, the inventor (in some circles) of modern air-conditioning.

Mike

Mike – whose daughter just was married a few days/weeks ago. He’s still in shock and awe at the check-writing part of weddings.

He’s a fantastic resource of knowledge about the biz, and located in Chicago, IL, my State.

I caught him after hours, just having flown in and looking for some dining partners.

I pointed him in the direction of a nice pilsner ale for refreshment.

I like the smile and the way the light falls on his face.

Just a quick one-shot portrait, while co-workers gather. =)

Ben shoots the garter at the crowd of eligible bachelors.

A perfect capture of the impending capture. I believe the lad in the crouching position with blue pants on snatched it from all competitors.

Who knows where these traditions come from?

As I attend more weddings, in more locations, and read about still more weddings worldwide, I’m amazed at the traditions, passed on and on.

The end of the Summer concert series for the Springfield Municipal Band.

They went out with a bang – the Stars & Stripes Forever, with the Brass section out front.

It was a hot and humid night, but the crowd was pretty big and enthusiastic.

These folks are the musical cream of the area. Very talented and very dedicated to good music.

Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, from 7:30 to 9PM they put on a concert of a variety of show tunes, overtures, waltzes, marches, and do it well.

They usually have a community non-profit organization such as a church or a Boy-Scout troupe put on an ice-cream social in the nearby open air pavilion. This night, there were none scheduled. Too bad, with the heat, they would have sold out quickly.

It was my father-in-law Tom’s last concert in the park. The band has a handful of concerts left in their 2007 season, but no more at the park band shell.

He went out singing My Way, made popular by Frank Sinatra.

His way, and this band’s way are just fine with me.