Caverns of the Deep

Happy July 4th!

I just got back home from our little trip. For the most part, the only pictures that I have, are of the caverns that we toured. :) And I think I've caught the wide-angle/panoramic bug.

I just think everything looks better with multiple pictures spliced together.

Anyway, shooting in a cave was, understandably, difficult. A lot of the pictures, I really upped the ISO to like 800 just so I could either zoom ((which, for reasons currently unknown to me limits my aperture, I can't make it as small as I want it to be)) or make my shutter speed faster. We walked a lot, so it was hard to just snap and shoot, seeing how the majority of my photos were taken at 1/4 of a sec. You're not supposed to hand hold these shots because of the risk of them turning out blurry, but hey it's not like I had a tripod in my back pocket :P I've fine tuned the art of holding really still...for the most part anyway.

Here, I sat the camera down on the bench ((we sat down like twice)) and upped the shutter speed to the speed it actually needed to be at-- something like a second and half, or something. It's an awkward angle, but perhaps more properly lit. :P

The cave really was amazing. Spectacular heights, beautiful formations-- the works.

It was also nice and cool, 21 stories underground. Whicchhh was a nice break from the crazy heat and humidity above.

Look familiar? ;)

Hmmm...July 4th. Last July 4th I was watching fireworks with a friend who I'm not really close friends with anymore. It's not like we had a falling out...we just drifted apart. It's sad. However, I know that it's just the first of many. When I go off to college, my high school friends who are still my friends will start to fade. Some will stay my friends. Others will just...drift away.

And then, when I go to graduate school ((MIT!! with any hope)) some of my college friends will just drift away. C'est la vie, I guess.

Have you ever wanted to skip ahead to a certain part of your life? You know, just kind of hit the fast forward button. Just until the awkwardness of beginning a new school is over, and new friends have already been made.

Of course, as soon as I write that the old fable pops into my head. Of the man who was granted just that-- the ability to speed ahead through certain parts of his life. Of course, what started out as a dream turned into a nightmare. For how can you truly enjoy the good parts of your life if you have no bad? Your life is compressed down to only a few fleeting glances. He grows old too quick and wishes that he would have never been granted that ability.

So, I guess that I should just enjoy my life. Pretty soon I'll be looking back on college like I'm looking back on high school and shaking my head on how much time has flown by.