Wednesday, June 28, 2006

For the Fourth: Fireworks Photos and Your July 4th Blogs

Well, it's safe to say that most of us US-ians are gearing up for the
Fourth of July. In a twist that kind of deflates my stock joke ("They tell me the
Fourth of July is on July 4th this year"), lots of folks also get the
day off on Monday, July 3rd.

I will actually be one of those
folks, so just so you know, it's going to be a short publishing week next
week.

Fireworks Photos: If you're going to be trying to take pictures of fireworks (crazy, I
know), check out these tips on How
to Photograph Fireworks
-- it's advice geared to those with
digital cameras, and it includes:
  • Use a
    tripod
  • Scout out locations
    beforehand
  • Choose proper settings for ISO, aperture
    and shutter speed

Yes, for best results, you'll need to switch from Automatic to Manual
shooting, but it's not that big of a deal (hope you saved your camera's
instruction book, though.)


Incidentally, this particular link was featured on the Netscape
Beta
, which has been reworked into a social
link-sharing site.



Show Me July 4th-Themed Blogs: Speaking of link-sharing and
July 4th, since my earlier calls for July 4th-themed Guest Editors went unheeded, I'm looking to feature at least six blogs
(or blog entries) that have a July 4th theme this week, which we'll be
doing instead of Guest Editor's picks.


If you have a blog or specific blog entry that would fit into a July Fourth theme, or want to recommend someone else's blog thtat does, tell me about them in the
comments or e-mail me directly at JournalsEditor@aol.com.


For our purposes, a "July Fourth theme" is pretty open-ended -- whatever you can come up with and reasonably justify. Examples off the top of my head include:
  • Military Service
  • Summer Vacation
  • Lifeguards
  • Patriotism
  • Barbecue
  • People Who Have to Work on the Fourth
  • Public Service and Public Servants
  • And more!

Priority will be given to people whose blogs we haven't seen before, but we'll look at everyone.

FYI, I'm in the process with coming up with a plan to rework the Guest
Editor's Picks and also come up with new ways to highlight
great blogs -- nothing solid yet, but we'll keep you in the loop and
ask for your suggestions and feedback.


Thanks -- Joe

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

THIS IS AN EXPLANATION, NOT A GRIPE.
I won't be celebrating the 4th of July even though I am an indigenous person of this land now called the United States. You see, in 1776, indigenous peoples were still being cheated, killed and brutalized for land and land resources. In the years that followed, immigrants were welcomed to this land with open arms and an opportunity for a better life. Yet, for the American Indian no citizenship rights were given until 1924....How much sense would it make for me to celebrate something in which my people were not participants?? IRONIC?--life is full of Ironies. I don't have a blog anymore but I do have a web page; ~Piica www.writerzbookworks.com



Anonymous said...

I respect that viewpoint; in fact, if anyone has a blog about why they don't celebrate July 4th, that's fair game, too. (Though it has to be a blog, or at least blog-like: I can't bend on that aspect.) Thanks -- Joe

Anonymous said...

I am not sure if this is where I should note my journal. I am very much into patritism and my journal has a nice country pride Americana feel. This entry features a tag I made along with the next entry showing my love of Americana.
There will be a lot more features as my town has an annual big Forth of July celebration.

:o)
Angela
http://journals.aol.com/alilc0untrycharm/LilCountryCharm/entries/1002

Anonymous said...

I had to go deep in the archives for this:

http://journals.aol.com/monponsett/HighAboveCourtside/entries/363

It also has a link you can go to to get fireworks on your computer screen!

Anonymous said...

I have a holiday journal with some great crafts and recipes for the fourth...also check out my archives for past post. http://journals.aol.com/bethb251/holidayfunandmemories/