Star Spangled Spectacular

Our national anthem is certainly a wonderful piece of music. I find it interesting that the music for the poem that Francis Scott Key wrote was set to the music of a British tune that was popular at the time.

“The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith for the Anacreontic Society, a men's social club in London. "The Anacreontic Song" (or "To Anacreon in Heaven"), with various lyrics, was already popular in the United States. Set to Key's poem and renamed "The Star-Spangled Banner", it would soon become a well-known American patriotic song. With a range of one octave and one fifth (a semitone more than an octave and a half), it is known for being difficult to sing. Although the poem has four stanzas, only the first is commonly sung today.” --- Wiki

Interestingly enough, I heard this semi-popular anthem just this evening. It is a tribute not to a single battle, but an entire war.

Impressive, Walter. Truly an anthem for the Vietnam war.

I love the panorama image the best, Murray.

Nice pictures, they really give back that busy, happy, friendly and interesting atmosphere what I have experienced spending 4 days there :)

Can't wait to see the Navy's Blue Angels images you shot!

Murray, the sky and clouds are too dull. I would pop 'em like you did here:
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/big-sky-valley-murray-bloom.html


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Thanks, Dan. I've been thinking of tinkering with the sky. Better?

Did they play the Jimi Hendricks version?

Edi: A couple of weeks ago was the 40th anniversary of his version at Woodstock.

Heh, Murray, great stuff. Didn't know you were from Baltimore.

I was there in the about the same time as you. My wife, her sister and I walked down after a local brunch. They hung out around the docks on the west shore and I fought the crowd to get a few photos. That's a great panorama you did, especially with the better sky. I did one from Federal Hill nearly a dozen years ago (with a 1.6 MP Olympus) that still "gets around." Our city is quite photogenic.

Here's one I shot from the fireworks the night before. Of course I had to include the iconic Domino sign in the first one I uploaded to FAA.



~ Bill
~ US Pictures .com

“Did they play the Jimi Hendricks version?”

I thought about sharing that one, Jim, but I think this thread is not meant to be so much about the song but the photography.

And in that case?



By the way, excellent work, Murray.

Yes, Murray, much better.


Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online