Louisville Night Pictures Part Deux

Good evening to all.  I hope that everyone is staying cool during these warm summer days.  Tonight, I am sharing some night pictures that I took in Louisville recently.  I enjoyed taking these pictures as I was able to utilize my different lenses in taking pictures.  The first picture of the moon was the first time I have successfully captured a full moon that was not along the horizons.  I may have used the wrong settings as I still learning my camera, but the Low Key setting using my 55-300mm lens.

The second picture was taken using a 18-55mm kit lens.  I cut the picture to add more effect of a wide angle picture.  I wanted o capture the two bridges going into Indiana and the reflection of the lights on the water.

I have no clue about what this statue is or what it represents, but I took this as we were walking from the river toward downtown.  I used the 35mm lens to take this picture.  I had the aperture set at 1.8f on a Bulb setting using a remote.  The shutter time was around 4-5 seconds.  When I snapped it, I immediately felt that I captured a picture that I was not planning for.  The blue lights in the background were from an outdoor concert on along the river where Big Boi (from Outkast) was the headliner.

The next picture was taken looking onto Fifth Street in downtown Louisville.  I used a 35mm lens to take this picture and a slower shutter speed to capture more of an effect of the fountain in the foreground.  What I like about the picture is the effect of the lights in the picture. 

For this picture, I used a 18-55mm lens with a shutter time of about 30 seconds. 

The last picture may raise some eyebrows as to why I thought it was post worthy, but I just liked the clouds in the sky.  :)



Road Less Traveled

By now, everyone has heard of the horrible traffic that was of this past weekend on Interstate 71 near the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, KY.  Tonight, I won't belabor you with my thoughts about the long wait in traffic and my opinions on how to make changes for next year because many articles and new stories have covered it already.  No, what I am going to talk about tonight is being a "shunpiker".  Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a shunpiker as someone who uses "a side road used to avoid the toll on or the speed and traffic of a superhighway."  It is convenient these days to use interstates and parkways for travel because it allows you to go faster to your desired location by using mostly straighter roads.  However, I love going on the old roads.  Growing up one of my dreams was to drive up and down 31W and 31E from Louisville to Nashville along much of what was the old Dixie Highway.

On last week, rather than sit in traffic for an estimated 3 and half hours in order to get from this point below to Cincinnati, OH, we exited at the Prestonville and English exit on Highway 389 to Highway 42.  Highway 42 used to be one of the primary routes from Louisville to Cincinnati before the completion of I-75.  It proved to be a saving grace as most people were trying to either reach the speedway or hang in there hoping that traffic would move along so that they could get to their desire location.  Although we did not stop along at any of these towns along the way, I would love to come back through one day to venture through these towns.  Below are some of the pictures that I took along the way as we drove to Cincinnati.  Oh and by the way, this was traffic backed for 14 miles from the exit to the Kentucky Speedway at Sparta.  So....YAY to shunpiking.  I would suggest that if you ever have the time, take the opportunity to travel some of these roads that at one point in time was the primary means of travel.  You may happen along some wonderful places, such as a Wigwam Village (Cave City), Covered Bridge (Fleming County), Loretta Lynn Homeplace (Van Lear), and Cumberland Falls (Whitley County)...just to name a few. 



Happy Fawfff!!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful and safe Holiday weekend filled with laughter, love, and of course....Fireworks.  Below are some of the pictures that I took of the fireworks.  They are not the best shots in the world, but it was the first time I used my new camera to take pictures of fireworks.  Let me know your thoughts...

Why???

Tonight's blog is going to elaborate on some pictures that I have previously posted on Facebook.  I suspect that people think that I post too many pictures on facebook (and I do), but I am afraid that the "Why?" of the picture gets lost by seeing that I may have posted 18 pictures in a new album.  At the beginning of this year, my New Year's Resolution was to start a blog site to where I could discuss the meaning behind some of my pictures (through recounting certain adventures, providing background information into the picture, and researching history of the places that I am discussing at the time).  So, "Why???"

I took the first picture in Chicago.  We had passed this statue of Robert Morris, George Washington, and Haym Solomon a few times while in Chicago.  While on heading back to the hotel, I saw this homeless woman standing in front of the statue looking at the statue.  So, "Why???"  Here you have a person, who for whatever circumstance in their life, is homeless.  She is looking at a statue of the "Founding Fathers", that symbolizes the principles that this nation was founded upon: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  What happened to her American dream? Is she wondering the same thing as she looked at this statue? 

This second picture saddened me after I took it.  While walking the streets of Chicago, it was a common thing to have homeless people coming up to you asking for spare change for something to eat.  However, this woman captured my attention and my heart.  Her sign reads, "Salam Alakim, I have 4 children.  I lost my job.  Please Help.  God bless you."  So, what makes this different than other signs that homeless people had?  It is her position...as though she is broken down by the events of her life.  As we walked by, she maintained this position.  Other people probably walked by her and continued on with their life forgetting her within the matter of seconds.  For me, this image will remain for me a while.  So..."Why???"  What specifically happened in her life?  If she did not receive money that day, then what happened with her 4 children?  Were they able to eat that night?  Just questions that I have...

This picture was taken at a river park along the Ohio River in Louisville, KY.  What you don't see in the picture is someone taking their picture using a camera phone.  It appears that the man recently proposed to the woman and is excited about their future together.  He is very excited to show the world that he has found his soul mate and that she is magnificently beautiful.  So..."Why???"  What happens with their life following this picture?  Will they live happily ever after? 

The fourth picture was taken at a little park adjacent to White Hall in Madison County, KY.   So..."Why???"  Why this picture?  With this picture, I have a calm feeling as I am seeing a reflection of clouds on the lake.  Earlier in the day, it was cloudy, but at the time of capturing the picture the sun started coming out.  People were enjoying the beautiful evening at the lake walking on the trail alongside the lake and fishing, including this man who was fishing. 
  

The next picture was taken at the Chinatown Annual Festival.  The man below was writing customer's name on paper in Chinese for $10.  So..."Why???"  Why this picture?  I wonder the amount of years of experience it took for him to learn the stroke of each unique character.  I even wonder whose name he is writing and if they will truly appreciate this artwork.

While walking through Grant Park heading toward Millennium Park, we passed a fountain that people were sitting alongside enjoying the beautiful day.  So..."Why???"  I snapped this picture of a little girl who was reaching into the water picking up the flower.  I had planned to take the picture of the flower as I saw it from a distance when walking by.  However, she had walked over to the flower at that time to pick it up.  I do not know whether she picked up the flower or if she left it in the water.   When I snapped the picture, we continued walking into Millennium Park.  So, I captured the moment. 
 

Sorry for the rambling tonight.  I just wanted to give some meaning as to why I posted these pictures on facebook.  So..."Why???"...Well, "Whynot???"