Talent Show and Field Day

I am in love with my camera and the pictures I take with it.  The best part is, many of them are "by accident."  The joy of a digital camera is that you can take hundreds of pictures without worrying about wasting film.  The more you take, the better chance you have of getting that perfect photo.  When it comes to kids, you can set up a shot all you want, but the best pictures are always going to happen by luck.  You have to just keep pushing the button and hoping to catch that perfect moment.  If you wait til you see it, it will be gone by the time you get that button pushed.  There were so many moments and facial expressions that I tried to catch yesterday, some of them I got, and some of them I didn't.  But some of the best pictures I took were when I just started pushing the button over and over.  I didn't have any idea what the results were until after I got the pictures on my computer and had a chance to really look at them.  This is especially true of the pictures I took outside at Field Day.  The sun was so bright, I could barely see what I was doing.  Really, all I could do was point, attempt to focus (even though I was so blinded I couldn't really tell), and shoot.  I used auto-focus occasionally, but I really prefer not to.

During the Talent Show and Band Concert yesterday, we were treated to an amazing display of talent from quite a few students.  And the weather was typical Field Day weather : hot and sunny.  No matter how rainy and cold the forecast was, is, or will be, it is always blazing sunlight on Field Day.  It works out fine though, the kids play on the swing set, have a picnic lunch, do fun activities, eat ice cream, and then get hosed down by a fire truck.  What kid wouldn't love that?  The only thing that saved me from being soaked by students was the fact that I was carrying a camera all afternoon.

I took over 900 pictures yesterday, and would love to share so many of them, but here are some of my favorites.

TALENT SHOW

A kindergartner singing with one of our after-school staff. 

Mid-air, right before chopping those blocks in half!

This 8th grader has his 3rd degree black belt for Tae Kwon Do.

Kindergartner singing while accompanied by her dad.

Slam Dunk!

FIELD DAY

A farewell dousing for an 8th grader.

 So many things going on in this photo, I love it!  

They were supposed to be transferring water cup by cup from one bucket to another.

What a gorgeous day!

Speaking of photography, I just got my yearbook, and it is full of wonderful moments that I captured this year.  I am so grateful to have this camera and to be able to capture so many precious moments.  Not to mention how awesome it is to experience all those moments at this school.  Hard to believe I am finishing up my 5th year here!  There have been so many ups and downs, but these kids are amazing and I love them all!