Some things are just better left unexplained and i thought these are in that category...Coming Out of the Smoke Mystery

It rained the last two nights about the same time each day and it was so awesom. From the time the winds and clouds moved in to the pouring rain and hail. Unfortunatly I didn't get any shots until I was on my way home.
Night Hoop Fog
Bus Shelter
Rain Shelter

   So I just recently bought a Canon Rebel G SLR it came with all the bells and whistles, tiffen filters, telephoto lense,   a 28-80mm Aspherical lense, and a remote switch. I am so excited to have it, probably because I am really starting to fall into this passion of photographs.
   Well This is some of my better shots from roll 1. You have to keep in mind i've been taking photos with this SLR camera for not even a week yet too, yet please be critical on my photos and help me grow in the field of photography.
   These photos below are some I took of  downtown Tupelo, MS my small town were i  currently reside. Please feel free to mention anything that would help me improve those shots. They were the best I thought off this roll and perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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That of The Hardware store where Elvis Purchased his first Guitar

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This is of our old captial building.

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A time exposure with a telephoto lense. My first :)

This is roll one i have another roll of film of some nature shots i will be uploading very soon. Please again critique me let me know what I am doing wrong.

I look these last year not long after I got my camera.  I thought I had a pretty good spot, until this couple pulled in a pickup and parked on the top of a hill right in front of me.  Actually made for a decent shot.

These two reminded me of a jellyfish and a pair of flowers.

I plan on trying again this weekend.  Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

a few "after dark" photos from Shanghai, China, where I am currently on a business trip.

First, the Oriental Pearl Tower, in the Pudong Development district across the Huangpu River
SHA1

Next, a few shots of the Bund, the waterfront area lined with majestic old buildings from the 1910-1930's era (the first time Shanghai was a boomtown).
SHA2
SHA3
SHA4

This is my second trip to China.  Shanghai is a pretty amazing city.

Every Wednesday night at a local burger place, they host "cruise" night. Some nights the place is hopping. Other nights cruise night appears to be a dud. The only folks out were the muatang restorers (this baby can be yours for only 35k!).

I had a nice view with dinner and then went across the street and tried my hand at trailing_lights

This is my first post of After Dark shots...  Definitely a challenge for me. Nothing I tried was working.  Tonight I gave it a little extra time and effort, and came up less horrible results:
Shell Up
Shell Down
Trio
And one from vacation:  Moonlit Beach
Thumb, flashlight on paperweight:  Clear

Been incredibly busy for the past several days, but I did manage to squeeze out a couple of after dark shots. The Majestic Theatre in downtown Dallas is one of the few remaining 'old timey' operational theaters. The big difference is that they no longer show movies but are now fully dedicated to live theatrical performances. This Alley shot caught my attention. It was near the stage entrance to the Majestic. A little ominous, but I was drawn by the light and shadows.

Recently, my fiancé and I took a short road trip up the interstate 87 to wonderful Payson, Az. About six miles north of Payson through the national forest you will get to the natural bridge.
The natural bridge, so named for a gigantic naturally occurring rock formation in the shape of a bridge provides a quaint weekend getaway from the hustle and bustle of central phoenix.

When you get to the state park you need to hike down about 1/2 a mile to get to the bottom of the natural bridge. From the top, you can look down into the cavernous valley where you notice a magnificent waterfall streaming down to the very bottom. The waterfall (pictured) is cool, crisp, and refreshing. Once at the bottom you can climb past a few slippery rocks and be directly underneath the waterfall.

The waterfall is beautiful and feels soothing against your skin and it gently hits you at various intervals. Inside the waterfall the air is cool with a gentle breeze flowing through the cave. Smooth textured rocks and open caves decorate the inside of the million year old rock formation. If you like you can climb up into the open caves but be careful! The rocks can get slippery and steep.

 I wasn't going to post this shot because we don't show our faces, but we decided to go undercover and put it on.

 One night we set up the tripod on the American side of the falls and tried to get a picture of us. When the falls light up the tour buses come and you have to be patient to get your shot. As the night got darker the exposure times changed and I misjudged how long we had to freeze ourselves in front of the camera. I jumped out of the shot a couple of seconds early, then Birdie followed.  Birdie and Wildman

 This was taken in a quiet part of the Niagara river just above the falls. This was taken down river at river walk another view of the whitewater

I love camping and I love stargazing. Sometimes I've combined stargazing with photography but I had never tried to take pictures around the campfire before. This Saturday I went with some friends and I could not resist to bring the camera out and try my hand at some night pictures. I was fascinated with how the fire made everything look so  peaceful, and even the trees around us seemed to  glow with the firelight. The best thing though, was looking into the flames, it even seemed to be looking back at you. Finally it was time to put out the fire and go into the tents, by then the only light left was just the  starlight filtering through the trees.

On a hot, humid and sticky Summer afternoon, deep in the back dirt roads of the the south; a little boy was walking alond down a red clay dirt road on his way to his grandma's.  Name is Tommy, and he thought that some of grandma's cold lemonade was just what he needed after playing a rough game of basketball with a few of his friends.  
Along he went trying to pretend he was in Alaska, so that at least mentally he would be cooler than his body really was in the sweltering heat, when all of the sudden right dab in the middle of the road was a baby snake!  Terrified, Tommy didn't know if he should go to the left to avoid coming into contact with the snake or go to the right.
As Tommy veered off to his right and giving himself plenty of safe distance, Tommy moved along - keeping his eyes peeled right on that snake each step of the way just to be safe.  Almost completely by and in the safe, the snake says to Tommy "You have two legs, you can mmove down the road faster than me, since we are going the same way why don't you pick me up and put me in your shirt pocket and carry me along?".  Tommy didn't need a split second to decide, "you are a snake and I am afraid of snakes, so no".  The snake came back just a quickly and said 'Oh but I am a baby snake and have no teeth with which to bite you."

Thinking for a moment and seeing how crawling on your stomach down the dirt road in the high noon sun must be miserable, Tommy decided to do the good deed and reached down and picked the snake up and put him in his shirt pocket.  And along they went down the road.  After awhile Tommy questioned, "So, where should I put you down or how far are you going?" At that very moment the snake bit throught the shirt fabrick and right down to the skin on Tommy's chest!   And hard, too. "What the heck, you promised me not to bit, why did you go and do that?". The snake replied, "because I am a snake."

My after Dark post did not end up in the challenge so i am here to do it over, with some new images...thank's.
 Bear
  N.                         ---Open Zoom shot
  I. THREE BEAUTIFUL NAKED GODDESSES
  g.SCULPTURE DANCING
  H.Neon Headache
  T.Old beauty after Dark

This is my 1st post on my own!
  Window peeking
  Nature's mark
  Shadows come alive
  Magic

            Hope you enjoy these!

Made with a Speed Graphic. No tripod, just braced myself on the street lamp pole.1

The first night I attended the Chattanooga Riverbend festival we seen Kenny Rogers. He gave a very good concert. The place that we sat to view the concert was the blanket area right in front of the stage. Well the stage is a barge on the Tennessee River so he is way up high. I thought I might be able to get a good photo. But because of the angle "right into the lights" it was darn near impossible. So I stated taking pictures of him on the big screen. This is one I really liked because he looks double exposed. Well I guess he is but I didn't do it. The screen itself was moving from one image to another and I just happened to shoot at that exact time.Kenny on the double I would hope that Mr.Rogers could appreciate this photo since he is a very accomplished photographer himself. Check out his web site. He has some of his photographs to view there. He reminds me of Ansel Adams in his style. The rest of the photos are of the fireworks at the end of the festival on Saturday night.fireworks 1 Fireworks 2 Fireworks 3 I hope you like.

Last night they had their fireworks celebration down in Mtn. Home, AR.  I knew it would be a big crowd, a long walk, and I didn't take my tripod.  I took about 80 shots, and only liked 2 of them....

Then I started isolating, cropping, and enlarging, and something totally different started to happen... so tell me what you think?

Does she look like an Angel to you?
Color on Fire
Firegold
Like Christmas
Double Boom

fantasy trip
blow job
think pink

After Dark Entry

and something I came across during my workday.....WTF???

Being this is the beginning of summer and things are ready to harvest from a garden, there wasn't much of a choice today of what I would be doing.  Did a storyboard leading up to what I was doing at the appointed hour.
Harvest

Have just put on the third "run" of beans in the canner, makes 21 quarts today.
    Will be good eatin' this winter..

Last week I went to the Chattanooga Riverbend festival and enjoyed a lot of good music. I also took advantage of using my camera. This first picture was taken right at dusk of a person selling all sorts of goodies that lite up. illuminated person Because she was moving and so were the lights this is how it came out. The next three are from the fireworks on Saturday night to end the festival. They are also my first attempt ever at shooting fireworks. Fireworks 1 fireworks 2 Fireworks 3 Any feedback would be appreciated.