And there is a lot of sunshine this morning pouring through our living room window as I sit here and try to figure out what needs to go in this post. One of my dearest blogging pals is having trouble leaving comments here. WP Spamfree is leaving her messages that don’t make any sense. If anybody else has had a problem with that please let me know! Use the contact page under the header near the right edge.

I forgot the cord that connects the camera to the computer so I will have to wait until I get back to Richmond to share some photos of the beach. It has been an interesting weekend. Apparently there is a fire burning out of control in the Dismal Swamp down near or below the North Carolina border. If the wind shifts just right you can look out over the water and see. . . practically nothing.

But thankfully a front recently came in and blew all the smoke away so this morning the sun IS shining brightly. The sound of the waves crashing on the beach is very relaxing. And the temperature is very comfortable. Not too hot and not to cold as Goldilocks used to say before she ran away with the bear.

That’s what happened right? Or was that Little Red Riding Hood? What a name for a girl! Gad. No wonder she ran away.

The weekend entertainment theme down here is Elvis. So there are many Elvi running around. None of them are particularly talented from what we can see. Well, maybe the ones that jumped out of the airplane and floated down to the shore line were talented.

But the ones that tried to sing were dismal sounding and blowing smoke when it came to carrying a tune. Most did not even try to sing. They just flipped a switch and lip synched.

There is really so much pretending that goes on at a beach town like this one. Pretend entertainment. Pretend construction. People who are pretending to be one thing or another.

The only thing that is real is the ocean and nature. The birds that skim the water and the fish that nibble at your toes when you venture out there. And the weather of course can be overwhelmingly real when it wants to be.

But the beach is mostly sand that has been sucked through a tube from the bottom of Rudee’s Inlet and then spread around by a bulldozer. I was out there about six this morning taking photos. And every time I do this a strange guy comes up to me and starts asking me if I know this person or that person. I am supposed to know apparently because I’m taking photos. This morning he asked me if you are allowed to walk out on the rocks. He knows perfectly well that you are not supposed to do it. There’s a sign ten feet away that makes the point. So I told him “No you are not supposed to walk out there” and he walked out there anyway with his bag of goodies.

I worked with people like this guy for many years so it’s not big deal playing games with him. But I mention it just because it illustrates what I am trying to suggest about this place. And when we got here yesterday and it was filled up with smoke it just seemed so appropriate.

Smoke and a very large mirror are all around us. The only safe place to be is in the water. Plunge into the surf and suddenly feel like you have merged with nature. Dive deep and stay down as long as you dare.

Late last night I told Beth I wanted to go swimming. And she was not happy about it but she stood on the edge of the water while I waded out into the darkness. The water was warm and mysterious. The waves were fairly large and I was totally unprepared for them when they hit. Still it was a joy to be out there in the darkness feeling the embrace of the ocean. I imagined for a moment being one of those unfortunate souls who are shipwrecked for one reason or another and float away into an endless darkness.

As I looked down the beach at the towering buildings and lights I felt comforted. I would not want to be out in the middle of the ocean with little hope of survival. I want reality but not too much of it. So I swam back to the beach and kissed my wife. I thanked her for putting up with me once again and we went upstairs to sit on the balcony and watch fireworks.

Photos at ten.

Well here we are and it’s the weekend again. The weeks are going by quickly now that the warm weather is here. Why is that? Maybe the heat warms up all the molecules in the air and that makes time go by more quickly.

Doubtful Einstein. And we can’t say time has been going by quickly because we have been having so much fun. Well, maybe you have been having a great time.

But it was not a fun week for your aged blogging buddy. It rained a lot for starters.  And then I found Lorelle’s reply to a comment I made about a month ago when I was experiencing blogger’s remorse and spent time wondering if anyone cared.

Lorelle suggested I not blog for awhile. Find something else to do. Don’t they have group recreation projects in the Happy Hotel where you and the other psycho’s live?

She didn’t say that but I can read between the lines. And she really is a nice person but somebody shoot me before I ever respond to one of her post’s again.

And then there was the surfing forum where I started posting some of my surfing guy photos. I have been trying to do the forum thing because you are supposed to do it.

So I posted some photos and this is what happened. My first mistake was misspelling Rudee’s inlet.

HIM: you would think if you have a house there you would actually know the name of the inlet…

ME: I do know the name of it. I just didn’t spell it right. Did you ever misspell a word?

Probably not in your state of near perfection. Could you please let the sun shine for a few days.

We are tired of the rain.

HIM: I think I have misspelled a word or two in the past.

Sure. I will make it foggy again tomorrow morning but tomorrow afternoon I will allow you to have have some sun. I will keep it rather sunny for Friday and Saturday too. Happy?

Things were going pretty good at this point. I had arranged for some nice weather and my new friend seemed fairly content since I appeared to understand his grandness in the scheme of things. But things started to go south shortly thereafter as I posted some of the surfing photos you see around here.

HIM: I guess I am not the only one worried about our newest poster who can not spell the name of the place he lives and has a true fondness for VB, young boys and fat chicks. Great pictures of some ****ty waves though.

HIM’S FRIEND: got any killer photos of you david—barrels–airs–floaters–video?????????

ME: Sure. Just send me a SASE and I will send you an autographed copy. And thanks for asking. I knew you would come around.

ONE OF THEM: your photos are awful

ME: Appreciate your honesty there Gas

And things went on for awhile in this vein until one of the guys suggested that the FBI might be interested in some of my photos. Apparently he feels people should be dressed up at the beach like they were back in 1910 or thereabouts.

But enough of that. And then there was the guy over at LinkReferral who came out of the blue and gave my photoblog four 2’s when it had been getting 5’s and had an average of about 4.9 (no more). He also left a comment. It read:

Nothing great in this. Put up something new and useful.

Thanks guy! What did I ever do to you? Do you know some guys who post at a surfing forum?

Oh well. The nice things people say from time to time MORE THAN make up for these folks who walk around spreading negativity. And I guess this is the price you pay for trying to stir up some traffic.

But, thankfully, it is the weekend. And it’s not raining outside! It looks like it wants to but clearly someone is keeping their crooked finger in the dam.

Thanks guy! You are a Prince! But you really should start to wear a hat when you are out in this wonderful sun.

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And Jordin if you run into anybody who is spreading negativity around just let it slide off your beautiful self. They are out there but you need not be afraid.

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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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