Mad Hot Ballroom!

Since the hit movie, Mad Hot Ballroom, the Danceworks company of Milwaukee has been going into schools and teaching school kids how to do all kinds of dance. Tap, ballroom, swing, Latin, etc. Today was the day to show their stuff in front of Milwaukee! The Bradley Center, home to our pro, indoor, athletic teams, was the venue. No small little church stage for these kids - it was "big time!" Throw in live filming, seeing your image up on the jumbotron and an MC with a British accent, and you couldn't get much more fun, excitement and pumped up nerves all in one place! What a great lead up to Mother's Day - especially if you were a mom!

First the elimination rounds and then the finals for the best dance teams. This was serious stuff folks! The looks on their faces, as well as their coaches, was all about giving their best. As I photographed them with my 300mm 2.8 lens, I could see their concentration as well as the look of accomplishment when the judge put a medal around their neck. I'll go back next year and stay longer but it certainly was a day when everyone was a winner. Even those of us sitting in the audience!

The Season of Color

Yesterday I started carrying my camera while walking the dogs. It's a new exercise program I'm embarking on - visual exercise, that is! An easy thing for a photographer to do, you think, but there's a point in the walk where juggling 2 dog leads and doggy 'deposits' can get to be a balancing act. Throw a camera into the mix and you can see where patience would have to enter the equation. This new exercise is intended to simply 'stretch' my perceptions and not worry about the results.

While walking, my eyes have noticed all the colors that are springing up now! Besides the greener grass, there are azaleas, phlox, tulips, daffodils and even the nemesis of lawns, dandelions, are throwing color into my visual field. I've noticed a different kind of shovel in people's hands and the noise of the snow blower has been replaced with the sound of the 2-stroke lawn mower engine. There's another sound I've noticed over the last month - the voices of my young neighbors playing outside. That alone is a sound that makes me smile and remember all the fun I enjoyed outdoors as a child.

Enjoy this image of a Stoln Infera (Phlox). I learned this botanical name from Holly, a fellow workshop attendee in the Smokies. This phlox was about 4" high so definitely was in the "belly shot" category. It also was one of my first experiences with focusing on different parts of the plant and then combining them in software to make for a completely, in-focus image. Enjoy the color!

Two Springs

Today I made time to get dirty! Before your mind wanders, think earth dirt. It was time to clean up the debris of last summer's bloom of flowers and old, dried stalks from the Purple Aster, Sedum and Big Blue Stem grasses. While I was shoving last years dendritis into bags that I hauled to the street, I looked at the minty, green buds on the trees against a clear, blue sky. "Just like last week in the Smokies!," I thought. Only 10 days later.

So it is the season of "two springs" for me. One in the Smokies and now the Wisconsin version. "Any difference?" you ask. You bet - can you say "Lake Breeze?" As in the form of a cold air blowing off of the freezer called Lake Michigan! Don't feel bad for us close to the Lake, however. The sun was warm enough for shorts!

In the spirit of Spring, I share with you an image of day's first light as it hits that fresh green of tree buds, erupting to make chlorophyl. In the background, imagine robins, meadowlarks and other birds singing the boundaries of their respective territories and generally greeting another fine day. This image is best viewed on a rainy day!