Shooting star.

The Red Aspens by Jennifer Thomas

Deep breaths. Steady heartbeats. Soothing melody.

All I need for this perfect night to end is just a little more surprise

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Talk about surprise, it really takes you in a night flight across heaven's park

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Taiko Masala, the Japanese Drum Festival. It was really out of pure reluctance, deep contemplation before I finally made the decision, which turned out to be incredible.

My first time seeing the Seaweed Suckers perform and I was blown away by their professionalism.

What do you look for in a band performance? Who do you usually pay attention to?

Many people's reply would be the vocalist, the guitarist, the bassist. However, how many actually pays attention to the drum player?

I try to be a non-conformist whenever possible. In this case, I paid most attention to the drum player, who was partially or wholly blocked by the lead singer most of the time. I have seen many drum players and some of them really did not take their role seriously, thinking that they are sitting at the back of the stage behind the scenes, not noticeable.

This guy, he was different. You could tell that he loved his role in this band. You could tell that he knew that he was the backbone of the band. You could tell that he knew what he was doing.

He was marvelous in performance, entertaining and especially cool whenever he does finger tricks with the drum sticks.

The rest of the band members were extremely professional in what they do, delivering a very strong, powerful and energetic performance. They were very interactive throughout their performance and I was really impressed.

When it comes to the main performance from Taiko Masala, I loved the power and passion in their every move. Their interaction with the audiences was remarkable. Watching their performance had driven an invisible force in me that drives my urge to pick up taiko drums as well. 

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Was setting up the tripod and the camera while waiting for the fireworks to come on, I experienced one of the happiest moments in my life.

A pleasant surprise that was.

Unexpected, overwhelming, breathtaking, magnificent.

It was sheer magic.

Out of the blue, that comet appeared as a dazzling streak of bright light cuts through the sky and fades away at the corner of the horizon.

I was baffled, speechless and was on the verge of tearing to the sight of such a glorious moment.

People say that if you make a wish under a shooting star, your wish would come true.

The truth for me is, when I caught sight of that shooting star, that was my wish coming true. I couldn't ask for more. I am grateful. Exhilarated.

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Shooting the fireworks this time was a completely different feeling for several reasons:

1. I have companions this time.

2. I have a tripod this time.

3. I was trying out new camera setting this time.

4. I came prepared this time.

Sure it is a whole trial and error thing, but the learning experience was awesome.

I believe have self-esteem issue with the photographs that I have taken, yet I am satisfied with the general outcome of today's photography outing.

Here's my personal favorite: Fireworks and two comets.

I love you.

LeePeiNing