Ron Dubin transported me back to the Fifties with this nostalgic photo.

http://blog.rtd13.com/2008/10/05/fuzzy-dice-go-better-with-coke/

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Bernie has posted a really cool photo of a bridge.  I don’t think I have  ever seen one done with so many cool elements.

http://sindianavisions.wordpress.com/2008/10/08/sun-rises-over-madison-indiana/

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I wrote about this very special photographer once before.  But it is necessary to come back to him again.

http://www.thomasboyd.net/

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Jeff Folger is posting some great fall foliage photos (say that ten times).   This one takes my breath away.

http://vistaphotography.blogspot.com/2008/10/beaver-pond-nh_06.html

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VIRGINIA BREEZE:  “David’s blog has some of the most beautiful and cherished poetry I’ve read in a long time. It has moved me to tears on more than one occasion. If you enjoy heartfelt honest sentiments that speak of the core issues of our lives then grab a cup of tea, slow down and read some of David’s poems. They are written by someone who feels deeply and has an open heart. You will go away feeling like you know him. They are easy to understand and are mated with beautiful photos. My post this month was inspired by David’s poetry. His writing sets me free and encourages me to be authentic. He also writes about a variety of topics I find interesting, warm, real (and sometimes funny).”

“A Nice Camera Can Change Your Life”

–David

Or, at least, a very nice camera can change your life. It changed mine. I won’t say it was a religious conversion or anything as dramatic as that. But taking photos has made my daily life much more interesting. I am never bored now and I used to find time to be bored. When you watch television a couple of hours every day it could be a sign that you are bored!

And I wasn’t that interested in going out either. Being in an interesting place like Virginia Beach or DC or even Disney World was not that fantastic an experience. I would become involved in watching people and seeing all the stuff that’s not so attractive about them. And then my feet and back would start to hurt too.

I was ready to go back to our home or the hotel and have a drink in short order. But taking photos changed that. Because I started looking for things that are beautiful instead of things that are ugly. I became enthusiastic about the search for the interesting and the artistic in nature or in the things man has created. I became very happy when I found it and ignored my physical discomfort. And I am sure my wife appreciated the new more happy, outgoing and energetic me!

I share this with you because I believe there are a lot of folks out there who could benefit from taking up photography. When we went up to DC recently I was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial and watching everyone taking photos of Abe. Ninety nine percent of them were using those little digital cameras that take about five seconds to capture a photo. Five seconds is an eternity to try and take a photo. People were moving in front of the photo taker. And I am sure the results were uniformly generic. Do you see what I mean? Did you ever want to take a photo that is unusual or original? Did you ever want to express the artistic side of your personality this way?

Try taking this photo with a small digital camera.

And then try taking it with a Nikon D70. You are standing on the beach just after sunrise. You have your camera in hand and your finger is on the button. As you watch the waves coming in a bird takes off behind you as you whirl, focus and shoot in less than a second. Because that is all the time you have and the camera is up to the job.

Here are a few photos I took when we were up in DC. Having a nice camera and a telephoto lens really makes things much nicer. Sure it can be expensive but not any more expensive than a new computer or a flat screen HDTV.

And it’s not just the taking of the photo. In these days its the editing with one of the many fine software programs that are available. You almost become a painter when you start working with the raw material of a new photo. But you need to start out with a great camera and probably a powerful lens or two in order to get that photo . Then you can capture what most are too busy to see with their own eyes and edit it until it is very clear. Finally you can share it with the world. And believe me people will thank you for it. Everyone wants to know that the world they live in still has beauty left in it.

Photography is an art form and you can become an artist. You don’t have to be an intellectual to be an artist. That was something that always put me off. Because I am not that smart. But I can practice taking photos by the hundreds and the thousands. And you know what? Some of them are going to turn out very well.

People have lots of nice things to say about them. And you can see them in my blogs and on Flickr and Picasa Web. But more importantly you can begin to see how someone with no experience or training like yourself perhaps can become a photographer and an artist.

You can create something that is beautiful and meaningful to thousands of people. You can share it in a blog just like this one. And you can become an artist and change your life.

My Photos here in Virginia Breeze

My Photoblog

My Photos on Flickr

My Photos on Picasa Web

I started taking photos in earnest about nine months ago. They have made my blogs much more entertaining according to my readers. And because I was learning to be creative I also started writing poetry. So one thing can lead to another and soon you will feel like you have done something that will be remembered twenty years down the road. You will be able to look back and see something about your life that was pretty nice. It will be much better than an old, musty diary. (There’s a reason people grab just average photos when their house is burning down).

But NOW in the present you will find out things about yourself and your world.

You will grow.

And you will discover the creative and energetic soul that is in there somewhere and hoping to come out and play!

Virginia Breeze is here to help you along this path. I’m not here to give you much technical knowledge about photography. But I can help you to see that you can do this too. You can take the photos and you can present them in a blog so that many readers will enjoy what you have done.

You can share your life in a way that is interesting and useful to your readers while it is fulfilling to you.

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Bahamas Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/08/29/bimini/

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Beach Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/10/22/sunrise-photo-virginia-beach/

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Bird Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/08/10/picture-of-big-old-owl/

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Blogger Photos

http://davidlind.blogspot.com/

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Butterfly Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/08/16/picture-of-butterfly/

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City of Richmond Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/10/18/something-new-richmond-building/

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Fall Foliage Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/11/24/finding-a-way-home/

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Family Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/12/11/i-bet-charlie-would-like-a-candy-cane/

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Flower Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/08/07/botanical-flower-photo-ginter-botanical-gardens-richmond/

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James River Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/12/01/river-breeze/

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Martha’s Vineyard Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/08/23/signs-of-marthas-vineyard/

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Mountains of Virginia

http://davidnotes.com/2007/11/13/this-is-why-they-are-the-blue-ridge-mountains/

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Park Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2008/01/06/waiting-for-someone-in-the-park/

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Sailboat Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/08/10/more-sailboats-at-marthas-vineyard-2/

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Snow Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2008/01/09/my-imaginary-winter/

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Surfing Photos

http://davidnotes.com/2007/09/30/well-balanced-surfer/

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University of Richmond

http://davidnotes.com/2007/09/08/the-university-of-richmond/

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Wildlife in Virginia

http://davidnotes.com/2007/09/23/my-favorite-commercial/

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Permalink Views

1. 5285 Virginia Animal Wildlife Photo/ Bear Poses With A Stick
2. 2450 Writing In Journal/ Pictures Of Christmas
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1. 270 Dating And Thanksgiving / What’s It All About?
2. 200 Very Cool (Or Hot) Photos Of Mars
3. 181 Revisiting Martha Stewart and MySpoogle
4. 160 Poems About A Boss / A Goodbye Boss Poem
5. 157 Tag/ You’re It/ Time To Split
6. 155 Best Fall Foliage/Autumn In Repose
7. 144 I AM Glad I Am Not A Turkey/ My Search Engine Keywords
8. 134 Bad Neighborhood Is Working
9. 130 Virginia Animal Wildlife Photo/ Bear Poses With A Stick
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Number 10 never will follow along when I copy/paste this file into the post. It’s just another one of those mysteries. But being active in Blog Land is for me something that is full of mysteries. There are so many things going on that I do not understand. It truly is a miracle that this blog functions as well as it does.

There are basic things that go wrong all the time. I have been learning about Google Analytics and feeling pretty good about it. But now the calendars have disappeared. I was using them to track different lengths of time. Maybe they didn’t like that because they sure did go away.

We have a little person with us for a few days so The Wizard Of Oz is again going in the next room. It was on last night. And it will be on tonight, tomorrow and the next day. She is not interested in Jordin Sparks. Most five year olds don’t even know who she is and don’t care. But I care and I’m going to be supportive. Jordin sang at the Kennedy Center Awards Show the other night. She came out and sang for Diana Ross who was being honored. When she finished she looked up at Diana and said, “I love you” . Then she started walking out and crying at the same time. This girl cries a lot. She used to cry every week on American Idol when someone was kicked off. I used to wonder if she would cry when she was kicked off. But it never happened because she won.

And she cried plenty when that happened. I’m hoping that she wasn’t crying the other evening because she felt like she hadn’t done well. Because she was good. Her lower range doesn’t project like her upper range. But once she gets going up there in the loft it is amazing stuff. Scorsese was being honored and he just shook his head when she went through one amazing run near the end. Diana was sitting right next to him and probably filled him in on the fact that she is only 18 years old and she has all the talent in the world. Diana loves Jordin. She lit up the room with her smile when Jordin said she loved her. They have known each other for at least nine months now since Diana was on American Idol last year. I’m thinking Diana asked for her to be on the show.

Performing before the President and the rest of that crowd has got to be a bit intimidating for an eighteen year old who one year ago was standing in lines and being told she wasn’t good enough.

One of my goals before I am shipped off to Amateur Writer’s Paradise is to have dinner with Jordin Sparks. It can be a group affair but I need to have an opportunity to talk to her. Or listen to her. Either way is fine. Mostly it will just be a diversion so I can look at her. “This is Jordin Sparks! And she is exactly the way she seems on video. Except she is much closer!”

Would I rather have dinner with anyone else except my wife? No. Sorry. Actually it may be that this entire effort with the blog is just a platform for me to say “Jordin when you next are in Virginia let’s all go out and have a wonderful dinner! It’s on me and you can bring Mom, Dad, Bro and anybody else you like.”

If she ever reads this. Having dinner with Beth and Jordin together would just about make my life complete. I’m sure there is a lot of curiosity about Beth the former rock star who is so afraid of appearing on the internet. What does she look like? Jordin! You can see her in person and find out!! Believe me she is very beautiful too.

Well, I must get back to increasing my page rank with Google. Why? I bet you know the answer. I’m sorry. But when I get started with Jordin I need to write about it. She is such an amazing human being.