{"id":12573,"date":"2017-05-31T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T12:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hoohaa.com\/?p=12573"},"modified":"2017-05-30T22:25:29","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T02:25:29","slug":"photo-blogging-challenge-may-2017-look-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hoohaa.com\/?p=12573","title":{"rendered":"Photo Blogging Challenge (May 2017): Look up"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot to be seen when you look up.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a lot of ways to interpret this month\u2019s theme, so I\u2019m interested to see what many of you came up.<\/p>\n

As for me?<\/p>\n

My photos, to an extent, are more literal to the theme title. But the words I\u2019ve put with them, hopefully shows how I was thinking outside the box as I gave myself a theme within a theme of sorts for the month to go with the photos.<\/p>\n

The warmer months seem to be coming, too, so I\u2019m interested to see where you all took your photos this month.<\/p>\n

My five are below. Please try and visit and comment on each person\u2019s posts. I know sometimes we get to them late — and that\u2019s fine. But it\u2019s disheartening to visit people\u2019s blogs (I\u2019m usually quite late!) and see only a few of the participants visiting others. Remember, we are a community. Support one another.<\/p>\n

All that being said, it’s time to see what this month has brought us. Here is my five for the month:<\/p>\n

1. Look up — The past<\/strong><\/p>\n

We should never forget our past — be it good or bad. Everything that came before us has shaped who we are, in one form or another. In the United States, this past Monday was Memorial Day, a national holiday for remembering the people who died while serving in the armed forces. The moving Vietnam Wall also happened to be in my area during the weekend, and I had the chance to take some night photos of this powerful wall. Sometimes, one just has to look up all these names and realize the sacrifice people made to give us what we have today.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Always remember.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

2. Look up — The present<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look around you and get a view of what you have. The reality is, many of are doing OK in life. Sure we have our own issues, but in the big picture, we\u2019re not doing bad. And, we\u2019d all likely want to be doing better. But \u2026 look around you and see how blessed and lucky you really are. There has to be something that will make you smile. There\u2019s a lot of people in this world likely worse off than you, so grasp how you are and try and make it better. This is my niece\u2019s college graduation in late May. At the end, the graduates watched the balloons above fall as they left the area. This is a community college, so some might be more active in the present than others; and others might be looking toward the future.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Celebration!<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

3. Look up — The future<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who knows what the future will bring? But being able to watch my nephew Cameron grow has been incredibly fulfilling. Though I wonder what the future will bring for him? Will he achieve all his eventual dreams? There\u2019s so much time for that, though. For now, when he wants to play baseball, he plays it. When he wants to look at books, he does. But everything he does now, will hopefully make him a wonderful person in the future!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Happy boy!<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

4. Look up — Make the play<\/strong><\/p>\n

In life, we all have to make plays. It could be a gamut of different plays, but we all have to make them. Maybe it\u2019s work. Maybe it\u2019s your personal world. Maybe something combining the two. Either way, they have to be done. All we can do, however, is give our best effort and do everything within our power to make that play. This photo is from the Baseball Hall of Fame Classic as Aaron Rowand tries to track down a ball.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Find the ball!<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

5. Look up — And smile<\/strong><\/p>\n

Find things in life that make you smile. We are only here but for a short time and it\u2019s really not worth going through it dragging your feet and being miserable. I\u2019ve recently trimmed my social media accounts with the hope of staying away from negativity. It\u2019s not worth the stress to deal with people who don\u2019t to be happy. To be sure — none of us can be happy all the time, but it\u2019s worth putting in the effort each day to try and be happy. This is a shot of some fireworks (for which you have to look up!) after a recent Binghamton Rumble Ponies baseball game).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fireworks!<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

There are my five and I look forward to seeing what others had this month!<\/p>\n

If you took part in this month\u2019s challenge, make sure to link up below. And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people\u2019s blogs and comment (here, too!). Let\u2019s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too!<\/p>\n

Also, don\u2019t forget to get back here Thursday, June 1 <\/b>for the June theme!<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/b> I set up a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I\u2019ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n