Thursday, December 31, 2009

I'm right here!


Weddings ... and rehearsals ... and dinners ... and photos. I get to be the photo part of a celebration tonight, and while I hope to be the invisible one that no one notices taking their photos, I have to admit there are some precious interactive moments. This photo isn't one of the "money shots" from the rehearsal dinner (no, photos weren't required, but I can't NOT take them - especially when there is a casual atmosphere and family is interacting naturally) but it's my special moment.

This little one (who will ultimately be the star of the evening tonight) was going about her socializing and spied my camera. "Will you take pictures of me?" OF COURSE! She didn't know I had been taking plenty already (good photog!) ... So, with my long telephoto lens, I backed up and started shooting a few. Edging nearer and nearer, I'd have to back up more and more.

"I'm right here!" Her exclamation made me smile.

It seemed odd that I didn't have my camera right in her face. I showed her the long part on my camera and told her because of it, I have to be a little farther away. She asked, "Don't you have flashes?" And I told her I do, but I like to take pictures without flashes. She looked at me like I was quite an oddity.

I turned the camera around and showed her this photo. Her face BEAMED with a wide-smiled surprise! There really were photos happening! My little friend and I have a photo date tonight ... this one with fancy dresses, a few cameras, and even some flashes!
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Monday, December 28, 2009

Sloppy Dog - It's a DIY Dog Wash!


It was the crowning moment of holiday vacation time together ... Sloppy Dog Wash. Definitely an adventure, but I'm not sure who was more exhausted after the excursion - the dogs or the people!

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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

VOTE QUICK! (you can keep my grinchy song - FREE!)


I'm a finalist! Enjoy ... and vote for me until Noon (PST) Thursday, December 17!
VOTE HERE (look for Ingrid): http://hightechdad.com/htdhpv
LISTEN HERE (can you guess the vocalist?): http://soundcloud.com/indigobleue/youre-a-lean-one-old-pc

Yes, I REALLY want to win. No, I won't tell the sob stories (though I am VERY tempted) ... but it is the holiday season! There's enough to be sad about already. And when it comes down to it, I've been so busy that I haven't had fun like this in a while. Enjoy the song!

YOU'RE A LEAN ONE, OLD PC

You're a lean one, Old PC. You've lost all your appeal. Your motherboard's a cactus, Your OS is an eel. Old PC.

You're a bad banana With a greasy gigibyte peel.

You're a monster, Old PC. Your hard drive's an empty hole. Your brain is full of spiders, You've got viruses in your soul. Old PC.

I wouldn't touch you, with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot widget pole.

You're a vile one, Old PC. You have termites in your drive. You have all the computing sweetness Of a seasick crocodile. Old PC.

Given the choice between the two of you I'd take the seasick crocodile.

And your router, Old PC. Can't connect your sinful dots. Your network's a dead tomato splot With moldy purple spots, Old PC.

You're a three decker software and hardware sandwich With arsenic sauce.

You nauseate me, Old PC. With a nauseaus ASCII-naus. You're a crooked jerky jockey And you drive a crooked horse. Old PC.

Your C-drive is an apalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable, Mangled up in MFT knots.

You're a foul one, Old PC. You're a nasty, Windows skunk. Your hub is full of unwashed socks Recycle bin's full of gunk. Old PC.

The three words that best describe you, are, and I quote: "Stink. Stank. Stunk."
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Saturday, December 12, 2009

Happy Holidays!


Little Miss M and I had a fireside night ... which for us is still pretty busy! We burned 12 CDs of the songs she recorded, did 12 CD layouts, and cut 12 CD inserts (part of her Christmas gift project). We ate a lovely meal of couscous and shrimp. She stabbed herself with her fork. And she just reminded me that she lost her tooth (that's where she "stabbed" herself)! The dogs were ever so cute, sweet and lovey-dovey (while smelling the food, of course).

I was inspired by the fire and got my camera out ... and then decided to make a little Christmas card for everyone. I always want to send cards and rarely end up doing it. BUT - this I can do! I have received the cute letters from my relatives telling about the year ... in poetry, in drawings, in pictures. It inspires me! But I rarely am able to find time to get it all done.

So, here's my candle, and my wall
And my wishes for y'all!

How's that for a holiday rhyme? Maybe in the coming days, I'll find time to sit and write (and I know I owe some emails to several people when I get some quiet time). But the fire is slowly dying and it's time for a game of Battleship!
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Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Recluse Photog


I'm a sucker for romance and coffee ... and the combination was enough to draw me out of photography hibernation! When an artistic and gifted photographer in her own right asks me to take her photos, I consider it a huge compliment.

Yes, I often decline photography requests. And if I have declined such for any reader, please don't be offended! If I were building a business, I'm sure I'd have to shed my reclusive comfort zone. But when it comes to people, I don't want my moments behind a lens to be driven by dollars. I have never liked selling anything ... not directly, anyway. And if I do not have the time or energy to freely give myself to a project, or if I feel like people could be better served by another, I feel obligated to direct them to someone else.

The truth is, I purposely shy away from the traditional business of photography. I've been spoiled by magazines. They need photos, work with a budget, have to pay SOMEONE (why not me?), and there's no financial pressure on the subject for the photo session. I can think in terms of print layouts and graphic design instead of framed portraits. And when it comes down to it, even I the recluse photog have to admit that seeing my work massively in print - especially if it was part of a great layout - gives me a charge!

So every once-in-a-while, I take someone up on a photography request ... especially when I can do it in a way that brings my own kind of blessing to them.
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Saturday, December 05, 2009

My Own Snow Fairy


These days are fleeting ... the innocence of fairies and fluff ... and moving toward lip gloss and fashion. Before I know it, this little toddler who danced in a tiny pink tutu - all smiles as she twirled on the thick green carpet of our Georgia home - will be soaring toward her dreams on her own wings. Today, a snow fairy in the Nutcracker. Tomorrow? The sky is the limit.

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How slow do you want the fire to burn?

  Just a little over a year ago, I had an urge to set up my special writing place. One person I wanted to tell was my aunt because I had bee...