accidental tourists

The other day my family and I were graciously invited to to visit a local attraction for a small event they were hosting. It had been some time since we had visited The Aquarium of the Pacific and we were eager to get back there, looking forward to spending one of our last days of summer taking in the sights and sounds a nearby coastal city.

Who knew that a lovely morning at the Aquarium would put us in such a touristy frame of mind? After spending time experiencing all of the wonders from down under the sea, we wandered around the surrounding area as if we had never been there before. Shops, restaurants, and lots of photo ops, we we acted just like vacationers.

Looking at all the images from the day, I realized, I captured us perfectly; the accidental tourists.

I can only imagine how many photos you took this summer; of all your adventures near and far. So today, for the sake of boardwalks and salt water taffy, roller coasters and postcards, sunburns and snapshots share your quintessential tourist pictures. Everyone's got some! We want to see yours today.

summer nights

Nothing compares to the feeling of a warm summer night spent outside amongst good company, live music and great food. It can be a challenge to capture the ambiance and mood of a setting like this. But placing the camera on a solid surface combined with a slow shutter speed provides the ultimate opportunity to showcase the scene. That way the glow of neon lights and unassuming signs are presented in all their glory.

Have you captured any casual summer ambiance lately? Share your images with us.

a ticket to ride

Summer brings with it fairs, amusement parks, playlands, and fairgrounds.  Growing up we had the traveling country fairs. Summer weekends were marked by different festivals pulling into the small rural towns and setting up for a few days of fun. Each had its own unique name, and some its very own queen. My favorite was the apple dumpling festival, of course with its newly crowned "little miss apple dumpling" and her grand counterpart the apple dumpling queen. Summer fun and pageantry, full of food, rides, games and even the occasional livestock. Now as an adult I live near a summer playland complete with whirring rides, bags of pink cotton candy and one very loud arcade. We know summer has officially begun here when the playland is open for business. Going always makes me nostalgic for the fairs of my youth, the rides are the same rides I rode as a kid, the junk food the same, even the photos I take now of my own kids on the rides look no different from the photos of me as a kid that line the old family photo albums. I remember being little and handed that coveted book of ride tickets. The excitement that paper book of tickets evoked. Adventure in my little hand; what to ride? how many rides would I get?! would I be tall enough for the bigger rides???!!!! Oh the anticipation.

Adventure does not have to be GRAND, it can be as simple as a hand full of paper tickets. Have you had any little adventures in your life lately?

In spirit of August's One Word , adventure, share yours with us today.

lazy hazy daze

camera settings: f/3.5, 1/10, ISO 200, 18mm focal length

Wall to wall carpeting invites lounging. I had forgotten this about him. Legos spread underfoot, he marks his territory in this new space. I am marking my territory too with photos tacked to walls and buddhas placed methodically. I can't blame him for spreading out, and so I learn to step gingerly while in barefeet.

We moved 1800 miles to be here. It's new and it's summer and life turns upside down fairly quickly. So we unpack and disassemble life as we knew it and walk boldly into something new and somewhat surprising. It is the blending of the old and new lives that are creasing together like a to-do list that's been shoved deep into a pocket.

These are the final days of summer. And this year, this is how we are spending our time. It might not have been how i pictured it, but in this picture I see the truth of our reality and it's perfect just how it is. For this photo I stood on a chair and shot straight down at him. The early morning sun cast a light on the bottom left frame and my iphone lit up his face while he studied a new strategy on a favorite game. What I wanted to remember was the mess, the smallness of him, the dark edges, the comfort of that old bear we use now as a floor pillow.

Life is not always what you pictured, but it's always exactly as it's supposed to be.

So tell me, how are you spending your last days of summer? Poolside? With a good book? Friends and laughter? Share with us a picture of your real everyday... because what is real, is really beautiful.

lingering light

"The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire." -Pamela Hansford Johnson

The few extra hours of sunlight of this season are such a gift don't you agree?  I love the magical time of sunset just before dusk comes. Everything bathed in gold. Objects become silhouetted in darkness. I click and click away as the sun sinks deeper into the horizon and the light dances on the water. Goodnight sun. Soon seasons will change and the light will shift and I will miss these long summer nights. Have you captured some late day magic of your own lately? Do you find yourself lingering longer than usual to soak up those few extra minutes of light? 

Share some of your own golden goodness with us here today.