We are having a VHS night starting with Jurassic Park then Back to the Future. I dont know what else is on tap for the evening, paying it by ear, For now Im going to check my email and slowly close my eyes.
night night
~love and light~
Shady
Its been way too long since ive been here. I am so exhausted from the move that I cant really think of anything to write.
We are having a VHS night starting with Jurassic Park then Back to the Future. I dont know what else is on tap for the evening, paying it by ear, For now Im going to check my email and slowly close my eyes. night night ~love and light~ Shady
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...what does Mother Nature have in store for us.
Today is Earth Day and I am doing my part by shutting down nonessential electronics (even unplugging them because of the phantom hydro use) One of my facebook friends opened a topic that every day should be earth day. I fully agree! We have used and abused our home for too many years and now Mother Earth is fighting back...or so it may seem. We have no control over earthquakes or volcanoes but what if we did. Could the fact that our temps are rising have anything to do with a volcano in Iceland erupting? Probably not but what if it was? Would we alter the way we live to help prevent this in the future? Imagine if we all stopped driving cars and walked, find a job where we can ride a bike instead of hopping on a jet or driving a giant tractor trailer. How much of our earth surface is destroyed because of our transportation needs. Roads, freeways, factories, car lots, parking lots, apartment buildings with underground parking. What if Henry Ford never thought of the horseless carriage....where would our earth be? Just sayin..... ~love and light~ Shady Last night I watched a timeless classic - Mask - with Cher (not Jim Carey) and there was an interview with the producer at the end. He said something that stuck in my head (not verbatim) "Being ugly or extremely beautiful makes you an outsider" It made me think of my high school days when a boy came from an inner city school after being horrifically abused by his parents and older brother. He had been pushed into a fireplace and his face was so disfigured he could have easily been mistaken for Rocky Dennis. He had nubs for fingers and his voice was very nasal. His locker was only a few spots away from mine and he tried to time it so that he was the only one in the hall so he could get books for the next class. (I wish I could remember his name) So one day it was just me and him and I tried to talk with him but he ignored me, so I didnt push it. Some older kids came out of the class and called him a nasty name as they were walking by and all he could say was "Jackasses" I laughed and told him he was right. He gave me a sour look and walked away. Unfortunately this boy had more than a scared face and hands because he refused to hear anything nice. At the time I didnt understand but now I know that it wasnt his fault he was so angry. He only lasted a few months at our school before he was forced to leave because of the bullying
The next year we had a new girl, the ministers daughter, and she was absolutely stunning. She could sing and act and I remember her being picked for the lead in Annie Get Your Gun. She was harassed so bad by the other girls because of her talent, she was beat up in the locker room and even the boys hated her. She was the type of girl that would stand up to anyone and for anyone. They ended up leaving the area for fear of her safety. Why does this sort of thing happen? Are we so comfortable with the 'norm' that we cant see that change is a good thing? Mind you that was back in my high school days. I dont know what its like now.......maybe things have not changed. Just something I was thinking about last night. Nothing profound really, just saying.... ~love and light~ Shady What is there to say about impatience? Well for me its all about sitting here waiting and waiting for the world to catch up to my ambition. Now, that being said, I dont really have that much ambition but when I have something in mind I need to do it now not when circumstances catch up. Its frustrating. Road blocks piss me off. As a photographer, you can never say "I'll sit and wait for the perfect time." because while you are waiting something much more intriguing or wonderful is happening while Im not looking. Im glad I have a Blackberry because I can take my connection to world with me in my pocket. If I limited myself to the PC then I would be stuck here waiting for that all important (and timely) email to come in.
I have a bunch of chickadees that sit on the windowsill of my front porch. They cant see in so I can get pretty close up to them with the camera. Its hard to get a good pic though because they dont sit still and the window on the outside is dirty (Im on the second floor and cant reach to clean them) so I settle for snap shots. Last year it was a yellow finch. The trees are starting to really come out. I missed out on the magnolia blossoms because they came out early and I didnt know where to find a tree. Sad - never sit and wait for a photograph - go out and find it. I like to think that there is a photo out there waiting for me to go get it. Till next time ~love and light~ Shady Well I have given as much energy as I could to working toward a certain goal. How many rejections can one person handle? Well Im not going to see it as rejection Im going to see it as my opportunity to move to new things again. My life is all about experiencing as many facets of life as I can so I am going to spend this day revamping my life again. School was a blast, I learned a lot and I have met some fantastic people. Now its time to move on. Certainly I will keep in touch but this journey is not for me.
What to do....what to do.....?? First of all moving to a different city to get a new landscape for fresh ideas. All my past experiences will be brought together to form a new building block - that has yet to be decided. I know some people would panic if they didnt have the next 20 years carved in stone but I feel more comfortable living day to day. Whatever happens happens because it was meant to happen. Till next time ~love and light~ Shady Made it to see Nickleback last night. What a show - they really went all out with the pyro techs. I tried to get some pics but I knew cameras were not allowed (small cameras were ok) so I had to keep hidden. My ears are still ringing. Of course no event can be...uneventful with me. Our seats were front row on a balcony - the railing was about 4feet high. As we walked in I realized that going from bright walkway to dark stadium I couldnt see. I knew there was a short set of stairs in front of me but wasnt exactly sure where. Feeling my way with my feet, coat in one hand and beer in the other, I found the landing. As my eyes started to adjust I felt ok walking down without the aid of the railing - or so I thought. In the distance I could see my seat about 11 over and started to walk that way. However my eyes hadnt adjusted quite all the way and I didnt see that last step ...started falling over backward towards the rail. The guy that was sitting right in front of me grabbed my shirt and pulled me away from the rail stopping me from tumbling over - flash of life? naaa When I regained my balance I thanked the guy for helping me and we both said at the same time "did the beer spill?" It was all good.
We had a great couple of lightning storms last night and this morning. Something you could try for grabbing that striking image of a lightning bolt is to leave your camera on video. Point it at the most active part of the sky keeping streetlights out of the view (they will kill your light balance) and sit and wait for the light show. Once you feel you have enough load your video into a media player (my favorite is VLC but you may have something better) and pause the video when you come to something you like and capture the screen with a program of your choice. I use something called Snagit which would great for quick captures. ok - Im going to go nurse my ears ~love and light~ Shady When you weigh out the things I have done it may not seem like much but the quick logo I made took me an hour and I think it turned out quite well. The only thing I did do was update my Blackberry messenger and now its frozen - my friend called it a brick - what the heck does that mean???
Going to see Nickleback tonight!! Whoop Whoop! Im super hyped about that and as a warm up we have a bit of Lady Gaga the queen of all that is music and performance art! Have to go get dressed now ~love and light~ Shady Honestly I was fully prepared to go outside today. This book that I am working on caught me in the moment and I actually got it finished! YEAH! The problem is that I sat here from 9am - 3pm completely engrossed in this world I created. The day passed by without me. I still have a couple hours left so I better get out there.
I also started working on a photo composition from the winter. I cant wait to show you! Sorry to make this a short post but I have to run outside to prove that the weather is warm. ~love and light~ Shady Today should have been all about families and celebration. I decided to stay home because lately I havent been in the best of moods. Really there is no reason to spread my crummy mood with anyone. So it was me and my cat, no TV and my writing book. I had to invoke the wisdom of Stephen King for a few ideas (inspiration really) and I managed to get an entire chapter done. I hope its ok.
I hope everyone made some fantastic pics today. If not you still have one more day of this weekend to get some good ones. I have a few tips if you are willing to indulge me. When you want to get that snap of a child in their Easter best, get on the floor to their eye level. No child wants to imitate a munchkin when they have a snazy outfit on. If you are looking down on them you will miss the best view. Full Easter baskets (chocolate and other goodies) get their own shot at fame. Get in close....you arent making a picture of the table or floor, you are making a picture of the basket (unless someone is holding it then adjust accordingly. Now on to the big dinner table....dont forget to turn the camera for a portrait view instead of landscape. Get more people in the shot instead of taking two (providing you are at a big dinner table) My cat has decided its cuddle time so I better sign off. Ugh - I know...a cat is telling his human what to do! Well not the case - if I dont leave he will start doing childish things like pulling the paper out of my printer and knocking my thumbdrives off the desk. I dont know if its me he wants or my chair. Till next time ~love and light~ Shady Who came up with that term? Out and about? Its funny how we ourselves can come up with clever things to say only to find it going viral a few weeks or months later and you have absolutely no way to prove it was you that coined that phrase. Back in September 97, I joined a group of women (ya it was a support group) and there was a topic came up about children and the stress they go through with parental divorce, poverty, bullies, etc. My input was that kids soak up the world like a sponge so its best as a parent to keep the water clean for the good of their mental and physical health. Well my goodness a few months later I hear Oprah herself using MY term. So how do you prove you coined a phrase? A few years later I was talking with my friend and during a discussion we both said at the exact same time "Are we on the same page?" I thought she meant the page in the book we were discussing and I knew I meant thinking on the same level. Guess what? It went viral! Hey that's my phrase - give it back! Well I suppose the world can have it.
So what to do today. Its going to be 26 degrees today and I have many projects Im working on, but I want so much just to kick back and catch up on my tan. My legs are nuclear white (thats my phrase by the way) and I am embarrassed to set them free for the public to see. I also have to get some photos done of some newly awakened crocuses. Im sure I can find some in this town. Photo Tip: Even in the sunniest of weather dont be afraid to use your flash for fill on close shots. If your camera is on auto then it will adjust to the midtones of your subject. If you put it on manual then your shadows will be too dark and your background will look nuclear like my legs. ~love and light~ Shady Well its good Friday and I am working on some writing. The temperatures have soared to an unbelievable 24 degrees and I have been to the park and back. I managed to get a full paragraph written on a book that I thought was done but when I read it over I realized that my introduction was not clear enough. Its a children's book so I have to get in the mindset of a child.
Today is a great day to grab pics of lethargic bugs pulling themselves out of the ground to greet this great weather. I know bugs aren't usually a favorite subject but when you use a macro lens you can get into their world. Try it, you will be surprised at what you find. Till next time ~love and light~ Shady I cant wait for the spring colours to come out! There is nothing more refreshing than the smell of new flowers and good clean dirt. Today is a day of cleaning inside the house. As you may have read in my previous post, I have a cat. A male cat who has decided that his litter pan is a stranger and that means danger. An entire box of important papers in a box that I have been filing for 9 years suddenly met up with the bladder of a very discontent cat. Really he has everything he needs here (except a female cat...thats not happening) so why on earth does he pick on me now?
Now back to blogging about something other than my cat. If you check on my graphics page you will see that I have uploaded a brochure that I designed - logo and all - and its another service I offer. Behind me on the wall I have a small collection of prints from the master himself Ansel Adams. If you know anything about this man you will have learned that he is the reason we have tones in our photographs instead of black and white. He can also be credited for our filter usage over the years...red filters will give you a dark sky for instance. I have to look through my Weebly contract to see if I am allowed to post links so until then please Google Ansel Adams. Even if you are not familiar with his name you will certainly be familiar with his work. ~love and light~ Shady |