Summer.

"I see your shadow everywhere
 I feel your smile though you’re not there
A kiss for every star in the sky way above
You’ll always be my one and only summer love."

Writing about summer is a topic I enjoy. Living here in the upper Midwest, we enjoy summer; yes it's been a hot one, and unlike today we have had very little rain, but I know what's coming and I am not happy for its arrival. Winter in Chicago is comparable to the flu---you know when it is more than likely going to arrive and once it does you can't wait for it to leave.

This summer has been at best interesting in our household. We have seen days, and even weeks, where it is pretty desolate, and then other weeks where I am not sure if we can squeeze another body inside. Okay, we can, but when we have as many as 9 people living in our home at one time, the privacy level is not what we would call----umm....private.

Of course, summer is not all about crowding people into a home---for me it's about building the memories that help me through the cold days winter brings. It also is a great springboard for some incredible photographic opportunities. For example, this weekend we are planning to go to Chicago's lake front and watch the Air and Water Show. If you have seen it, you know it's pretty much indescribable. If you have not...let me provide you with a visual. Planes doing stunts that if you were a participant, you would swear that your life was over. I have seen planes soar hundreds and hundreds of feet above the water and dive down to a level just inches from it. I never hear any screaming on behalf of the pilots, perhaps their voices are still floating around at the top from where the plane began its rapid decline.

Also this weekend, and I am not sure how I will get this done, is the Arlington Million horse race. I do enjoy photographing horse races, but I also know that to me a horse is a horse and I really don't know anything more about them such as their name, rider, and the odds of them winning.  But what I do know is...this is not an everyday experience, and if I miss it I have a full year to wait for the next running. What a dilemma.

The photo above is what summer is all about. Freedom, fun, and finally shorts and no coats. Recently at 6 Flags Great America, I was without my trusty Nikon, but had my iphone 4s. (The one with Sari who does not really interact like she does with the stars in the commercials.) I really had no idea how good the camera on the iphone was until I downloaded the photos. They actually are not too bad. Sure the iphone does not take photos as fast, but in the end, I could place it in a plastic bag when we went on the water rides and could capture a summertime memory.

Thanks for stopping by.