so, ahem, on to bigger and better (well, i hope at least) things

the fair being over, it's now on to the musical portion of our little summer story in Monroe County....

there is the annual bluegrass festival in Milan

these guys rocked!

like to try for something backstage, too - didn't make quite the "feel" of a photo that i'd hoped, but this is close...

i was a little restricted on how to shoot by the fact that they were pretty much standing right in front of a port-a-potty, and there's all sorts of campers and cars and other distractions around, but i did my best (and thank god they put some pretty heavy duty air freshener in those port-a-potties, cos i was basically crammed right up against it to get this shot!)

next day, went to look for a feature and stopped in at a working art space where i knew a couple women at least would be in there doing something - this woman is doing a reverse glass painting for an upcoming art show at the Labor History Museum - not sure how i feel about this, ethically, since i had to do some photoshop work to bring her out in that reflection without having blown out the painting to get her in there in the original exposure...i like it, but i know her exposure looks weird

on a different feature hunt, i came upon these kids sitting in the window of a building they were helping to gut and rehab - had been driving for a while - Monroe seems like a ghost town for features the last couple weeks for some reason - i'd turned a corner and just happened to see them in my rear view mirror and pulled straight over

then, on to jazz fest - wish i could have spent more time there, but i had an afternoon portrait and then an evening football game, so i could only really stay for one full set

this guy was an NFL player who started and ended his career with the Detroit Lions...now he's a funk and jazz bassist...played a lot of oldies/80's funk - he was cajoled into doing "the bird" for the crowd

who were very into them - lotsa dancin and hootin and hollerin

then football - more timberwolves

(no pix to post as of now)

back into work for the start of a calmer week - not much going on - but this is pageant week, beginnning with the Tiny, Little and Junior Miss Monroe County contests - so that was my night last night....

love to just stick backstage for these things, which i can get away with more in this than i will with the big Miss Monroe County pageant this Saturday

this was my favorite - almost looks like a dyptich, but it's all one frame - the break in the center is the curtain the 2 girls on the left were standing next to

this one, not sure if it works, but i like it - makes me think of a theme, like enter girl, exit woman - may try to make this one into a still life