A Color Story: Red, White, and Blue
We have all been there; standing in awe under a large white tent on a scorching summer day amongst an endless array of pyrotechnic gold. Fireworks both big and small, loud and utterly silent, long winded and the ones that do not seem to last long enough. In years past I have always levitated to those that fit the mold just shy of the local holiday display; extremely big, extremely loud, and extremely colorful.
This year I decided to take an alternate approach and focus on the interactions to be had between loved ones and myself. I avoided stepping foot in any and all firework stands west of the Mississippi and trust me, its not as easy as it sounds. However; throughout all of the pain and heartache of my pyrotechnic gold withdrawals, dreams of hoosker doos, hoosker dont's, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, and the like; my sister and niece, in all of their glory, arrived with snakes, sparklers, and this gem above. A four inch tall display of all things celebrated on the fourth of July, Independence day. The signature smell, the crackling pops, the sound of summer silence and laughter; and in this case the unmistakable patriotic colors that dress our nations flag and the celebration of this great holiday.
When I shot this image I hoped to embody exactly that. The signature smell (white smoke), the crackling pops (exterior flashes), sound of summer silence (black background) and laughter (brightly lit foreground), and the unmistakable patriotic colors (red, white, and blue smoke and flashes). The slightly longer shutter speed allowed for the golden arched streaks and larger aperture left the foreground nicely out of focus. I had previously downloaded A Color Story with very little intention of using the app for anything other than images taken with my iPhone; however, with the app's rave reviews on color enhancement capabilities I decided to give it a shot. Enhance it did, and to my surprise, exactly how I had intended it to. Just the colors, and not so intensely that it took away from the original 'feeling' of the image. From first use, I highly recommend introducing this app into your arsenal, and using it, and using it again.
With that being said, focus on the key elements important to you, and those minor adjustments will only enhance your overall experience.