Often, someone will come up at a sporting event or other activity and say something along the lines of “I wish I had a camera like yours so I could take photos like you.”

I try to explain that the quality of photography is not determined by the equipment that a photographer uses but by the eye that looks through the viewfinder and composes the photograph.

Yes, I use professional-level digital single-lens-reflex Canon cameras and lenses for most of my photographic work but — when riding on my motorcycle or just tooling around for everyday life — I usually depend on an aging Canon G9 “point and shoot.”

But I left the G9 at home Saturday when I ventured out on the Harley and came across this vista as the clouds from a rainy and cloudy day finally broke.

So I reached into my pocket and pulled out a Droid X wireless “smartphone” and snapped away.

The results are so pleasing that I may leave the G9 home more often.

The Droid recently replaced the Blackberry that has been part of my life for more than a decade. Besides an 8 megapixel camera, it also offers 720p high definition video and I plan to try out that capability over the next few days.

Tuesday’s sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains near Meadows of Dan, Virginia (with a little help from Photoshop).

With everything that has happened lately, I took a pre-dawn ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway to think and reflect.

As daylight and dawn approached, the beauty of our area emerged.

This was a grab shot with the Canon G9 camera that I carry in my motorcycle saddlebags. It reminds me that — even in difficult times — nature’s beauty can remind us that we have a lot to live for.

It also reminds me that I have neglected my photography for far too long. It’s time to get back to what I enjoy doing most and finally start to enjoy some of that relaxing life of retirement that we came here nearly six years ago to embrace.

By the time rock and roll legend Levon Helm took the stage at FloydFest 9 Saturday night,  a nearly full moon hung over the Dreaming Creek stage and  it was obvious that the annual music event that bears Floyd’s name had become a legend of its own.

FF founders Erica Johnson and Kris Hodges may remember 2010 as the year their music festival fulfilled their dreams. As the largest crowd anyone could remember seeing filled the festival site Saturday nothing — not the opresssive heat or a hit-and-run at nearby Mabry Mill — could dim the enthusiasm.

Sen. Mark Warner roamed the crowd — a sign that along with the ATM machines, cyber cafe and VIP area that the one-time “little hippie festival” has become a mainstream music event that draws thousands from around the world.

Helm’s two-hour show kept the crowd rocking and capped a day that included top-notch performances by regional and national bands throughout the festival site.

The festival ends today in what will no doubt be it’s best year even as promoters look forward to FloydFest 10.

Related articles

• FloydFest 9 is a mountain happening (blueridgemuse.com)
• Floyd Fest 9, Day 2 (blueridgemuse.com)

Hot weather didn’t cool the enthusiasm of those flocking to day 2 of FloydFest 9 Friday.

A power outage from a blown fuse threatened the action Friday night but Railroad Earth performed with generator power. Seems the same fuse circuit that put last year’s festival in the dark for a while blew again.

FloydFest continues today and Sunday. See you there.

FloydFest 9 kicked off Thursday amid the heat and humidity of the hills just inside Patrick County just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Now firmly established as part of the national festival scene, FloydFest is more than a four-day music event. It’s an instant community that brings another national spotlight on the area. The people who attend make the event as much as the artists who play, the vendors who sell their wares and the various attractions that provide an atmosphere that is part festival, part carnival and all fun.

FloydFest officials say they expect 14,000 to attend this year’s festival with the largest crowd predicted Saturday when Levon Helm headlines on the Dreaming Creek stage. Saturday is also predicted to be the hottest day with temperatures expected in the upper 90s.

We will be reporting on the festival over the next four days. See you there. Bring plenty of sunscreen.

Spotted on a rural road in North Carolina this weekend.

Sway Katz, the dance band with a big band swing, rocked the Pine Tavern Pavilion Saturday night to a large crowd that kept the dance floor shaking throughout an evening. Even thunderstorms that ventured into the area couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm.

Busy weekend in Floyd. Kickoff of the Country Store’s 10oth anniversary celebration, the second annual Town Jubilee and Sway Katz at the Pine.

Kept my camera busy.

Here are a few shots.

Scenes of Floyd County High School track stars at the Regional Track meet at Radford University on Saturday.