Oh, how we long for those carefree days prior to Covid-19. Waiting for the bell to ring, sports played in noisy gyms while family and community cheer from the stands, tedious homework along with the usual trivial social drama.
This too shall pass…
hay·mow/ˈhāmō/noun
Hay mow (or, hay loft) basketball is a foreign concept to many young, up and coming basketball players these days. Back in the day when big red barns were more of a farm standard, the hay mow was the closest thing young people had to basketball skills camp. I’m sure the reffing was questionable and rules may have been bent, adapted or even eliminated. How did they ever survive?
This lucky young man along with his siblings and cousins have spent many hours playing basketball in this hay mow. Memories made and life lessons learned.
What are YOUR memories of games or shenanigans in the hay mow?
“The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important” – Bob Knight
Guess what I’ve been doing lately? Yep, designing grad cards. Graduation will be here before we know it!
Two images blended using Photoshop CC and topped off with Topaz Studio “Dreamy Day” action.
There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory.
Fences may separate us, but beauty remains.
May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right ~Peter Marshall
Gary, South Dakota is the kind of community Norman Rockwell may have used as inspiration for a painting with picturesque surroundings, historic buildings and friendly people. The small town swells with pride and people during its annual flag waving July 3rd and 4th Celebration.
Our local American Legion and Legion Auxiliary organizations are made up of proud, selfless individuals who support our community, especially the youth, through summer baseball/softball programs as well as a Junior Legion Auxiliary organization. You will find these people volunteering their time at community events, parades, Veteran funerals, playing taps, etc. Click on the link for a history of the Peden-Cole American Legion web page thanks to the American Legion Centennial Project.
Much controversy has revolved around a professional football player kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality against people of color. This is his right… Maybe it was an efficient way to bring attention to his cause and he’ll go down in history books as some sort of hero. Or, maybe it backfired and came across as being selfish, bringing negative attention to his team. So much publicity involved not respecting the flag and the United States that it may have taken away from the actual purpose of his protest. Our country is all about standing up for what you believe in, but needs to be done in a way that conveys the actual point you wish to make. And above all, be kind.
Available light photography is a perfect way to capture many portraits, but sunset is not a time to utilize this option. Without flash you either have a silhouette or muddy skin tones along with a blown out sky. Solution? Add a flash to bring out the details. On this portrait I used a Canon speed light 580ex2 flash off camera, a cybersyc flash trigger along with a Canon 580 ex2 with a Gary Fong diffuser on camera for a little fill.
ISO 100/ F8 aperture at 1/250th shutter to maintain detail and color in the sky.
Nostalgia was the theme of the day for me on August 15, 2017. For 26 years I drove this route from early August until the end of May as I prepared and taught a new group of students each year at Grant-Deuel School located in Revillo, South Dakota.
Cheer, cheer for GDHS!
Wake up the echoes cheering their best,
Send the loyal cheers on high,
Shake down the thunder from the sky,
What though the odds be great or small,
The blue and white will win over all,
While our loyal sons are marching forward to victory, Fight!
Blessed be the memory…
RJMeyerArts 