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Grand Fireflies

by: KNUCKLEHEAD

Fri May 28, 2010 at 22:33:21 PM EDT

(7pm~
- promoted by RiaD)

Another week, another few million gallons of oil.
I`m posting these images tonight to get me away from
watching more videos of spewing black death.

OK
I set up three identical cameras in exactly the same way.
I gave one to each of my granddaughters, kept one for myself & we went on walkabout.
I explained aperture & shutter speed to them.
Here are some of the shots.
I haven`t downloaded all of them, so there are more of Chloe`s (8 years old) than Jackie`s. (10 years old)
It was a great way to have fun with the girls.
I`ll start with Chloe`s shots, then one of Jackie`s.
Then it`s off to Indian Territory, & then, the races.

KNUCKLEHEAD :: Grand Fireflies

Jackie

Indian Territory
Towards My House

From My House

Purple Passion

Bwaaahaww
Mocking Babies

First Birthday
(Pirate Theme)

Endtable Lamp

California Poppies

Long Lost Lady

Tags: Firefly Flying, photography, (All Tags)

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Grand Fireflies | 31 comments

The Girls (15.00 / 8)

I hope you are as surprised as I am with my girls` shots.
Have a memorial weekend.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 02:35:26 AM UTC

Chloe`s and Jackie`s shots are just wonderful! (15.00 / 6)

thanks for this knucklehead, such a welcomed break from the madness of the "black death". your shots are amazing as always, and I especially loved the mocking babies, the endtable lamp and Long Lost Lady. thanks

It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~ Thoreau ... and, do no harm

by: newpioneer @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 03:15:21 AM UTC

Newpioneer (5.67 / 3)

Thank you,
And they shall see these comments.
Anything to propel their virgin enthusiasm.
As for myself, I always try to enlarge my vision of who I know is me.
I should probably file all my poetry for their possible future gain.
The back story of "Long Lost Lady" is probably meant for a future essay, but it involves the death of their grandmother (my wife) when their mother (my daughter) had not reached the age of three.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 04:06:49 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I always like your pics, Knuck (11.86 / 7)

Turns out it's the camera, not the photographer. ;->

(Just kidding. More like "the nut doesn't fall far from the tree. Geez. I should post this. What if he doesn't get it?)

Click

Oops.

by: Timbuk3 @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 03:30:04 AM UTC

Erm..."shouldn't" n/t (15.00 / 6)

by: Timbuk3 @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 03:31:44 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Timbuk3 (15.00 / 4)

Don`t ever worry about my feelings nor consider me, in any posts.
That was actually a nice compliment, seeing as I am compulsively on an ever ongoing mission to show people that it`s the exact opposite of what you say.
All my shots are taken with the simplest of "Point & shoot" cameras.
Everybody can get the same enjoyment out of shooting their visual compositions without being subject to derision by those who are "Photographers" by dint of their equipment.
So by turning your humor on it`s head, you graciously
prove my point.
Please don`t worry about my "getting it".
I take it as a very nice compliment.
On the other hand, you may have to suffer the wrath of my granddaughters` snark.
I`ve taught them (by example) the riches of sarcasm, wit, cynicism, humor & how to make a perfect blend of them, to pour a perfect drink.
When someone asked my daughter where she got her good looks from, she answered, "Not from my dad".
Puzzled by that comment, they asked, why that response.
She said, "because he still has them". (She was 3 years old.)
Thank you for coming by.
And one further thing.
I was intrigued by your user name, since my brother, who I sent off in the late sixties to Mali, wrote me often from Timbuk2
He went on to various stations around the globe & eventually was consul in the Canadian mission to the UN, & stationed in the United Nations building in New York. He retired last year. Prior to this last post, he was head of the North African States World Bank, comprising Algeria, Morocco, Libya, Egypt & Tunisia, where he was headquartered in Tunis.
So your name always conjures my brother.
Thanks for that & all else.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 04:37:42 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

My wife tells me (15.00 / 4)

...that if I stop giving someone shit she knows that I'm mad at them.

Regarding "timbuk3": In 1998 I was in grad school. I was honestly looking forward to the future, so when the cynical Timbuk3" song "the future's so bright..." came out it was a natural choice for a nick, for me.

Yeah, I knew the song was about having to wear sunglasses to shade the nuke-ya-ler annihilation, but I saw it as sort of a double-entendre. I was gonna be a scientist, and fix shit. ;->

Ah, the naivete of youth.

Interesting side-story. ~~All of the~~ Nearly all of the greatest scientific advancements were made by people in their 20s. Thinking about it, it makes sense. As we age, we get set in our ways. We can make "little" contributions, but true genius requires thinking "outside the box" and, more often than not, combining two "specialties" in a way that no one's ever thought of, before. Such combination being one of the two definitions of "genius".

The other is "a high score on the Stanford-Binet test".

It's a really interesting thing to know, I think. Combining photography with ??? would be another example. Let's see what your grand kids do with it.

You never know.

by: Timbuk3 @ Mon May 31, 2010 at 04:08:26 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

the video....... (15.00 / 1)

(no embed)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 00:03:11 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thank you, Knuck! (14.67 / 6)

You would not believe, or, perhaps, you would, that just today, I took some pics of a lovely sage (spice) plant I have in bloom, almost identical to some that your precious "grand-kids" took. They actually did a very super job -- but, they have a super mentor!

The Gulf has/is "engulfing" my thoughts these days, as I'm sure it is yours. I feel kinda' sick, really!

Hope you have a super weekend with "all."

Hugs, Tahoe!

by: Tahoe @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 03:59:22 AM UTC

Tahoe, (15.00 / 3)

Thank you.
You well know how the catastrophe in the gulf has been affecting me, as well as all who care about or precious "heartbeat".
See my post further down about the first day of this Long weekend.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 04:40:40 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

ahhhhhh! (14.50 / 4)

peaceful oasis!

i love chloe's yellow daisy flower.... it's cool she got the spent bloom as well as the one in full bloom.
i also love the rose shot.... gorgeous!
& i like her sense of humour taking the pig in the weeds....
(^.^)

jackie's bee is breathtaking!
what a fantastic shot....
is that on the plant in the first shot that chloe took ?

i love your babies
both the mockers & master finn!
there's is just something about a baby with cake on his face that is sooooo appealing

(the princess will have her 1st birthday next weekend)

so it looks like you have THREE fabulous photographers in the family!

thank you for these
they really are Grand!

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 12:10:03 PM UTC

Knuck (14.50 / 4)

I am sure you have been teaching them for a long time before you put a camera in their hands.

I am sure you have been training their eyes and hearts to see the beauty that is all around you.

I am sure they have watched you as you observe the world and they see it as you do, yet in their own way. What a gift you have given them now with a camera to express what they have been learning and seeing all their lives.

YOU are a master of connecting the dots..... bravo dear friend bravo.

I am not one bit surprised by their excellence, please tell them I can't wait to see more of their work!

by: Kathleen @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 14:14:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Kathleen (14.40 / 5)

That is such a beautiful post.
I assure you they will read thee comments.
Hey, they`ll laugh at your complimentary words, as I `ve taught them to, ( about me).
I want them to be who they are, not who I think they should be, (but secretly, they love who I see them as)
I tell people that the two most important words in the English language are, "Grampa, grampa", as they rush me with hugs.
And here is me & their mom (my daughter) from a book called "Iron Stallion".
Title: "Double Trouble"

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 06:05:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Awesome pic (13.00 / 3)

double trouble indeed.

by: Kathleen @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 14:28:16 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

RiaD (13.75 / 4)

Thank you for encouraging my little grandflys.
They shall see these comments.
One thing though.
I read the other day something from you that I passed on to a new friend.
I shall do an essay on her work with fairies. She is an incredible artist who creates Fairy worlds.
She stopped by today & I had the occasion to partake of your knowledge.
I told her that I`d been told that, "a fairy is born every time a human baby first laughs".
She almost passed a big brick.
Not to worry, I got a huge hug & kiss out of that. (No, not the brick, ...your quote, ..silly)
BTW, she lives at "MOONLIGHT TIPI"

Happy birthday to the "Princess".
I don`t want three photographers in the family, I just want us to be always the way we are.
If one turns out to be a photographer, I want it not to be because I try to be one, but because
we had such a memorable time together while taking pictures.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 04:53:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

O! please do! (15.00 / 1)

i'd love to see her fairey worlds...
& you see... there is truth in that saying...
those who know recognize it right away!
(& i'm glad you got a hugkiss!)

i'm sure your girls will grow into self assured young women
because they have a grampa that believes in them
& shows them how to see the world.... not just look at it
♥~

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 00:19:12 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

RiaD (10.00 / 1)

I saw her over the weekend a few times.
I shall shoot her artwork soon, & post it.

Yes "Looking" & "Seeing" are two distinctly different things.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Wed Jun 02, 2010 at 02:13:07 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Well (15.00 / 3)

the girls have already surpassed me. Great job. I hope we get to see more of the pics when you get them downloaded.

Fantastic as always, and I love the Long Lost Lady poem.

by: Alma @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 16:06:11 PM UTC

Alma (13.33 / 3)

No young child surpasses you because they took some pictures.
I do though hope they surpass you in years, as they are so young.
I shall post more of their endeavors soon, but I must state that the images were taken in a heightened awareness that "grampa" was there.
I couldn`t believe that they were so tuned in while on our photographic walkabout.
It was like we were all poised with a collective finger on the shutter.
One more thing: I`ve been approached by many of my neighbors about how my "girls" & I get along, & sense that they are, albeit behind the curtains, enjoying our, so close & personal relationship.

As far as my poetry (Long Lost Lady) I may do an essay on that particular one, though you may get the gist of it from another post on this thread.

I should be more careful to archive my writings also.
I very often discard them too easily.

Thank you

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 05:09:31 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

The herb pictures Knucklehead takes actually make me want (11.67 / 3)

to smoke the screen...

by: DawnoftheRedSun @ Sat May 29, 2010 at 23:56:32 PM UTC

you (10.33 / 3)

& me both brother!

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 01:45:37 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

DawnoftheRedSun (13.00 / 5)

I think that`s just a smoke screen.
This is just one of my clones.
As someone who always thought that rules are made for those who obey them, I`ve gained more knowledge,
possibly, than those who were subjected themselves to laws enacted by reefer madness.
My thought is; let`s everybody grow it, spread it, eat it, smoke it, & let "THEM" figure out where to incarcerate us all.
In the sixties, I read a theoretical treatise, that espoused that no one ask for bail, but demand a speedy trial with no waivers.
Within three or four days, the courts would be so overwhelmed that chaos would ensue, & many archaic laws including ones that restrict our liberties as free entities would have to immediately be rescinded, forthwith.

Speaking of "forthwith", I was in court for attempted murder(on a police officer), aggravated assault(with a deadly weapon, a knife), resisting arrest, bla bla bla etc etc...
Finally after being pinned down at gunpoint after ....
The judge ordered me to be released forthwith, though after a verbal battle with him that I should pay restitution for a bloodied police uniform.

When climbing over the railing, delineating prisoner from court observer, the judge asked me where I was going.
I explained to him what "forthwith" meant.
He asked me how far I thought I`d get in prison blues.
I told him, I `d take my chances as a free man.
Needless to say, I still had to go back to jail to be officially released.
The whole fiasco is that they had the wrong guy.
So screw the rules & smoke the screen.
OT, It didn`t help that I`d, a few years before, took some Canadian Mounted Police Hostage in an eventual international court case in the Maritime Court in the Hague.
I was as well as my captain & crew absolved of any criminal fault.
So screw the rules.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 05:50:14 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Love this rebel (13.00 / 4)

with a cause.

I really admire your courage knuck when Kent State happened I became so fearful I dropped out and stayed clear of "the authority" everywhere.

by: Kathleen @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 14:27:28 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

You sir...are made with awesome.... (13.00 / 3)

Please continue....

by: DawnoftheRedSun @ Mon May 31, 2010 at 00:25:39 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

DawnoftheRedSun (15.00 / 1)

"Please continue..."

I have no other viable choice.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Wed Jun 02, 2010 at 02:15:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Better Late Than Never (12.75 / 4)

As I mentioned, I was having a yard sale today & might be posting replies at strange times.
Well thank god "Day One" of the yard sale is over.
It started at 6:30 AM when some rude lady wanted to know how much an item was.
I`d discussed with Teri that nothing would be sold before the start time of 8:00 AM to be fair to those who were not rude so I had to send her on her way.
After giving away anything a child wanted & some bicycles for the poor in TJ, not to mention everything Teri sold at giveaway prices, we`re still $800.00 up.
So now, we`re going out to dinner, (something we almost never do) to celebrate. (We`re also beat up, & don`t feel like cooking).
I`ll be back later to reply to all your lovely comments.
Thank you.
And I`m including a shot I took from the yard of 5 planes telling the truth.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 02:27:00 AM UTC

(^.^) (13.67 / 3)

i'm so glad you had such a good day....

enjoy your supper!
(i'd like to hear where you go, what you have & what you think of the meal)
♥~

"Indeed, if a poor man will spend a year in prison for stealing out of hunger,
how high would the gallows need to be to hang the rich man?"
~The Patrician in 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

by: RiaD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 02:36:34 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

RiaD (15.00 / 4)

I`ll have to get the details tomorrow, since I just tell the servers what I want & let them take care of us.
The wine was great, service excellent since I`m known as a "Good Fellow" in these parts. (That`s "Cool Dude" )

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Sun May 30, 2010 at 06:13:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Knuck's girls are AWESOME! (15.00 / 3)

Your girls really do See things, don't they? I think they show remarkable talent.

I majored in visual arts as an undergrad for one fleeting year before returning to the sciences where I have made my living. But I have never stopped seeing things in the world around me that very few people stop to look at. THIS is the beauty and value of encouraging young people to Look With Careful and Open Eyes - the enrichment of life's experience in every moment... Whether or not they choose photography or another of the visual arts as a career, practice in seeing the world will enrich their lives forever. As I'm sure you know :)

It's almost a total aside, but it may be of some value to relate here that after deciding not to pursue photography as a career, I put away my cameras for a decade. I loved it and I couldn't really make peace with my decision not to pursue it as a career. I had become accustomed to photographing everything I saw that was beautiful or quirky or almost unnoticeable and then when I chose the other path I thought that I could not justify carrying cameras with me everywhere I went. Nor could I entrust my film to be developed and printed by someone else in some faraway lab who had no idea what I wanted. I tried to stop seeing but I couldn't, and I got mad at myself when I caught glimpses of beauty that I couldn't capture forever and share with others...

Epiphanies arrive in fits and starts of living and mine finally arrived in this matter... It came into my consciousness and my whole being all at once about fifteen years ago that I was a special observer and that the beauty I was able to see did not require 'capturing'. The mere seeing of it and noticing it and drinking it in, even in fleeting moments between mundane obligations was enough - that to live fully and completely with well-developed capacities of vision was an end in and of itself, that no sharing of the specific vision was required of me. Instead, these visions of beauty enrich me and thereby enrich all that I care for and all those who come in contact with me. And then I was able to pick up my cameras and begin again...and be happy when I See, whether I have a camera with me at all or whether my photographing results in a perfect photo or not.

I hope that this detour through my heart and mind is of some use to your young ones, Knucklehead. If I had one practical piece of advice for a young photographer it would be to always remember that the real and true secret to great photographs is to take a hundred and throw ninety nine away! There is no shame in taking too many that don't quite work out as long as you're trying your best each time and learning from your mistakes and your misses.

"In proportion to the vigor of the individual, these revolutions are frequent, until in some happier mind they are incessant..." R.W.Emerson - Compensation

by: incessantrevolutions @ Mon May 31, 2010 at 22:01:53 PM UTC

incessantrevolutions (14.50 / 2)

Thank you,
That surprised me also a few years ago. I don`t remember when I realized they could "See", but it was probably when I saw how they communicated with each other, to gang up on me in a practical joke.

I had been taking shots for 40 years or so, but nobody really knew it.
Four or five years ago I would show people, even friends of many years, my shots, & many wondered who`s collection of photographs I was showing them.
I was finally talked into showing them to other people which led me to sharing them online.
But to get to your point, I simply shot what I saw, without regard that anyone else had to see them.
It`s just something I did.

It wasn`t a detour as much as a sharing of thoughts on what maybe makes us both "See", when we "Look".
Thank you for the insights.
It would be less interesting, if every shot one took, was perfect.
Or if everyones` granddaughters were identical.

by: KNUCKLEHEAD @ Wed Jun 02, 2010 at 05:47:47 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

It's known (13.00 / 1)

It's known that I'm prone to over-analyze and brood over events and circumstances. I've gotten a lot better about it in my forty's. It has it's advantages and disadvantages, but I'll take it over stumbling through an unexamined life. Which is not to say that the ability to see, without the angst and frustrations I experienced, is not perhaps the better gift. Your photos speak more clearly to that than I could :)
I failed to mention in the above that I did mean ALL your girls, as in your granddaughters' mom as well. She's got a good look about her - eyes that See things, too, it seems to me... Thanks in general for your thoughts here and for your sharing them and your young'uns with us all.

"In proportion to the vigor of the individual, these revolutions are frequent, until in some happier mind they are incessant..." R.W.Emerson - Compensation

by: incessantrevolutions @ Thu Jun 03, 2010 at 14:28:52 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Grand Fireflies | 31 comments

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