Fair Pictures

When the fair was in town (well, not my town, but the closest town) I decided to enter some pictures for judging. This post is about those pictures. Hope you like them as much as I do!

I also have to say that I did nothing to touch up these photos. They are just like they were taken. Well, almost. I admit that I did zoom in on a couple of them when I made them into an 8x10. But other than that, they are just like I took them.

I am not a big photographer, just someone who likes to take pictures. I have been really lucky with some of my shots. A lot of them are what I like to call Holy Cow Pictures. The type that you get them home and see them as a print or on your computer for the first time and say "holy cow...that is a cool picture!"

I entered this one in the Wedding category, but I think they wanted a picture with people instead. I love this picture even if it didn't win anything. This is my engagement ring and Crazy Man's wedding band.

This one didn't win anything in the Child Category. I had it matted against black so the color really popped out at you. We gave it to the boy's mom.

This one was entered under the Animal category. My parents have a hummingbird feeder on their porch and they have at least 8 hummingbirds that frequent it. I decided one day that I was going to get some pictures of them. I stood outside snapping pictures for at least 30 minutes and had decided that one more and I was done. This picture is the very last shot I took. Talk about holy cow! It didn't win anything either. However, my grandmother loves it and will probably be receiving it for a Christmas gift! But don't tell her because I want her to be surprised!

This one was entered under Nature. I know it kind of looks like I may have played with the colors, but I promise you, this is what the day looked like. Kind of that funky greenish color that comes when there is a nasty storm around. (And there was a bad storm that day. Matter of fact, it took me a day to dry out from being in the midst of it. All for a good cause though.) I took this while riding on the back of the motorcycle while we were doing a Patriot Guard ride. This is Jefferson Barracks. This shot didn't win anything either.

This picture was entered under the category of Action. Believe it or not, I was in the very last row of the stadium. Yes, the very tippy tippy top last row of the stadium!

I went with my husband and some friends to see the Moving Wall (the scaled down version of the Vietnam Memorial Wall) when it was close by. I saw this man that was knelt down in front of the wall. I don't know what it is that caught my eye, but I am glad it did. I saw him and it brought tears to my eyes. He was in his own world of memories and nothing that I saw was going to bring him out of it until he was ready. There were people walking and talking all around him and he never moved. For the hour that I was there, he was in this same position. I don't know how the man managed to get up and walk away. I snapped his picture because the scene moved me. When I got home and looked at the pictures, this is what I saw. It still brings tears to my eyes. The judge at the fair gave me a second place ribbon for this picture. The lady who was in charge there (but didn't judge) told me that I was cheated. I didn't/don't care if it wins anything. I just want others to see what I see when they look at it.

This is another one of those "holy cow" type shots. I entered this one in the Group category. It was taken while I was riding on the back of our motorcycle during a Patriot Guard ride. They guys were on top of an overpass saluting as we were escorting a soldier to his final resting place. It won a first place ribbon at the fair.

This picture was entered into the Black And White Other category. When we went to the Moving Wall Memorial, they also brought along big display cases with dog tags of all the soldiers that have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are not covered by glass, so anyone who wants to get a rubbing or touch them or take pictures of them are able to do so. I decided that I wanted to take a picture of the tags of those that I had ridden in a Patriot Guard escort for. This name also means a lot to many people I know. He was local to my area and one of my best friends served with him and was good friends with him. The day I took this picture, it was so bright and sunny outside, that I could not really tell what I was taking the picture of. You know how you look at your digital camera screen to make sure you got what you want? Well, I couldn't see what it was showing! So, I just had to snap away and take what I got. When I got home, this is the picture that I saw. I thought it was beautiful. It was matted with a black mat and frame and it won a first place ribbon. I have since given it to a restaurant that he was always at and where everyone loved the man.

I am planning on entering more photos next year. Hopefully I will get some more that I like as much as these.