We headed home from Philadelphia via Kennett Square, PA and Longwood Gardens. This was my first visit and I was more than overwhelmed. I was feeling a bit tired but still managed to do a little exploring and get a taste for this amazing location. My wife Terry and I returned the next day and spent most of the day walking the grounds and falling in love with this amazing farm.

Cheers.

Last weekend was a flat out marathon of driving and shooting. Some friends from MWCC and I headed back to Philadelphia for more fun shooting HDR of the graffiti and at Eastern Penitentiary. After an amazing day of great light and unique perspectives we decided to finish the day off with a quick detour to Longwood Gardens. Wow, what an amazing place that was.

I have always admired graffiti and the more I look at these works of art the more I really appreciate the creativity and talent that goes into creating one of these paintings. I could see filling a whole gallery with nothing but canvas after canvas of these unique creations. I would really like to be able to photograph one of these works of art being created. Kind of a behind the scenes of the creation of art for the sake of art...

A special thanks to George for keeping me on target with posting!

Cheers.

I was never a fan of Volvo's. To me they always represented an icon of the yuppie, square, conservative mom who wanted to show everybody up with her nice expensive car. Maybe it was because I could not afford one. Not sure where the whole jealousy thing came in. There are so many situations such as these in our lives that for what ever reason we assign a label to something and it sticks. (When I say we I really mean me or I.)

Lately I have been thinking of all the times that I had judged things (people, actions, what ever) and let my "label" stick and continue with no formal reason or justification. Were my thoughts really warranted and if so who validates them? My self? Do I really want to continue living my life through a bunch of labels that I created years ago when I was young and based them on no real experience? Or perhaps now, that I have been around for a while, I can throw out all of my old beliefs and start from scratch. Wouldn't my life be so much better without these thoughts? I think yes.

The funny thing is that the older I get, the more I like the look and the styling of these old cars. What changed my mind? Was it the fact that I am finally able to rid my thoughts of petty jealousy that for so long guided the way I acted and thought of others? To be honest I think it all comes down to fear. Fear that I had of perhaps being ridiculed by others for who I was (or was not). I think of all the cool people in school, the athletes, the scholars and the artists. I was never really able to cross over the barrier that I created for my self without fear of being rejected.

Fortunately time and experiences have a strong impact on how we live our lives. I have learned to put judgment aside (a long time ago) and to accept everything in life with an open heart and mind. There are so many amazing people in the world that have figured out that it is really not about "me". Life is all about community and love and being able to reach out to others with a helping hand when they need it. Its about putting aside differences in our beliefs and focusing on what we can do to make this world a better place for each other. Life is not about possessions or stature its about love and once we learn that then we will all be Going in Style.

Cheers.

Finally made it out to the sun flower fields. What an amazing glow of color these flowers have to offer. Pretty cool place. I have not figured out how to shoot these flowers yet. My wife Terry was along for the trip and when I looked at her photos I really liked the different perspective that she was getting. First trip is always a scouting effort for me. I can't wait to go back and see if i can get some nice close up shots and better compositions.

Cheers.