IMG_8562b by D©Bloom

Independence Day has come and gone, but I couldn’t resist highlighting this patriotic moment captured by D©Bloom.  While our Flickr pool was inundated with oodles of “Ooooo!” and “Ahhhhh!” photos of the fireworks on display at the National Mall, we see a more personal and patriotic celebration here of Uncle Sam launching some bottle rockets in his back yard.  I stared at this photo for a long time and wondered why I loved it so much until finally realized that it reminded me of how I feel every 4th of July.  Being born on Independence Day, I can’t help but to claim it as my own, as my day.  When I see the rockets’ red glare, my surroundings fade to black, the crowd disappears, and it’s just me and a shower of colors bursting in the night sky.

This photo was taken with a Canon G9 which, next to the newer G10, has earned a reputation of being one of the best point and shoot cameras on the market.  Unlike most point and shoots it offers full manual control of the camera and takes 12.1 megapixel RAW images, resulting in large, uncompressed photos that you can print big if you have a winner.  It’s a great all around camera and fairly compact, making it easy to sneak a photo of Uncle Sam when he isn’t looking.