snorting in sunshine Aug 31

snorting in sunshine Aug 31, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

oh he is a pain in the a$$!
but what puppy isn't?
I love having him visit and sometimes I think it would be fine if he were mine
....but mostly I am also pleased when he goes back to his own loving home
and I bask in the relative calm

farmer's gold? Aug 29

farmer's gold? Aug 29, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

one of the farmer's markets that we go to
is in a sprawling building that once housed city trollies and buses
and it still has the wide windows high up on the walls
through which light poured in and splashed down on piles of fresh carrots

hugs available when needed Aug 27

hugs available when needed Aug 27, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

when your Dad is not around
and your Mom's hands are full with the twins
it is helpful to have another friend's Dad
available for a hug.

a galaxy of flowers (iphone) Aug 25

a galaxy of flowers (iphone) Aug 25, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

on a back alley walk with my Mom
we found this bed of echinacea and globe thistle
it is one of those small, regular favourite places that I think we all have
and I always pause for a moment to enjoy it when ever I pass it

goat's eye Aug 24

goat's eye Aug 24, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

this is not the goat we own
but possibly one of her sisters
anyway, all of the goats seemed to find us interesting,
as we, my youngest and me,
fed and watered the free range chickens
while the farmer was on her travels

not long Aug 23

not long Aug 23, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

now, my husband has never been a fan of Michael Jackson
so I did find it funny to have him hold up this shirt and take a picture of him, all the while him not knowing what was on the front of it.

little toaster portrait

little toaster portrait, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

Found on an alley wall on a day when I needed a reminder to be a "brave little toaster".

batty batty batty bat

batty batty batty bat, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

hidden in the corner of the out house in the campground
my oldest son's sharp eyes found it
as we were packing up to go home
tucking itself up to wait the day out

pretty dock

pretty dock, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

When we go camping at this place, I love getting up very early and taking my camera down to our private, little bay. In the past I have tried to work around the dock, never including it in my pictures because I thought it was ugly. On this morning, I tried to embrace it and see it as pretty instead.

wildlife

wildlife, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

espite the idiots on the jetski, in the powerboats and even the beer can and trash strewing ones who had the campground before us
we were still graced with the presence of whisky jacks, squirrels and this deer.

gaudy

gaudy, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

this is a place that can sometimes explain the startlingly vivid paintings of sunsets that are done -

butterfly finger

butterfly finger, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

rescued from the lake water
my youngest child
brought the butterfly carefully over to the picnic table where I was sitting
so I could photograph it and also protect it
while it's wings dried

sanctuary (iphone)

sanctuary (iphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

we have been lucky in our friends and where we camp with them each year, hopefully for many more years to come
pump water and pit toilets
bugs and no electricity
only the view from our private beach
the clean air
the stars and
each other
an excellent trade off

screen saver

screen saver, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

snapped from the car window
on our way to camping
so unrealistically pretty
made me think of a computer screen

george (iphone)

george (iphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

n the pottery studio there are blanks for people to buy and paint
this one caught my eye on the same day that we bought 1984 by George Orwell
which made me think of Animal Farm,
convoluted? Sure.

farmshare (iphone)

farmshare, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

sa means community supported agriculture
and we are a part of that community at "our" farm - where the potatoes are so fresh and good they are almost sweet!

topsy turvy

topsy turvy, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

giggling with delight at being up ended by her mama

the school of "Imeanttodothat" handstands

the school of "Imeanttodothat" handstands, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

nearly the end of the handstand that went, unexpectedly, over backwards

unofficial guinea pig appreciation day (Aug 10)

unofficial guinea pig appreciation day (Aug 10), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

snuggling with a member of her herd
the guinea pig wrangler is happy

dirt is best

dirt is best, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

a final scene from the folk music festival
where this little girl thought the dirt was a bigger draw then the musicians on the stage beside her.

wildfire moon Aug 8

wildfire moon Aug 8, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

although we are about a thousand kilometres away from where the fires rage through the forests
we could still see
as the smoke and ash painted the moon
with the colour of flames

the best camera to have is the one you have with you (iphone/toyphone) Aug 7

the best camera to have is the one you have with you (iphone/toyphone) Aug 7, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

about twenty thousand people show up at the folk music festival every day
many of them struggle to sit as close to the stage at the bottom of the hill as possible
we gave that up long ago and climb to the top
and look waaaaaaay down at the stage
but the sound is good, the people are nice and views are spectacular!
(love my iphone camera still)

music to catch grasshoppers by Aug 6

music to catch grasshoppers by Aug 6, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

our local folk music festival
is set in the natural amiptheatre
of one of our city parks
which is great for the music lovers
and for their kids too

*****************************

thirty two years ago - my youngest brother was born-it changed my life, mostly for the good!

I wish him the very happiest of birthdays!

ifolk Aug 5 (iphone/toyphone)

ifolk Aug 5 (iphone/toyphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

high on the hill at the folk festival
the stage far below
I used my iphone to take a picture of someone using an iphone
and wondered if someone was doing the same to me

the view from nineteen years Aug 4 (iphone/toyphone)

the view from nineteen years Aug 4 (iphone/toyphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

on my first "real" date
with the man who became my husband
he took me to a park bench
that overlooked the river valley
and the city and it's lights
then suddenly it is twenty years later
nineteen of them married
and he took me there again
I am a lucky woman.

Up Up Up (aug8 but using for aug3)

Up Up Up, originally uploaded by gawdessness.

at the folk music festival
babies fall from the pink sunset sky

iso 100, shutter speed 1/1600 second, focal length 70mm, Canon 30d, exposure 0ev
****
This post is really about things that I have learned about photography in general and specifically about starting my own photography related business.

Why the baby? I was tooooooo busy to take pictures on the third (at least I haven't found any if I did) and I liked this shot so much that I wanted to share it. Partly because it is the shot I went after and I didn't have a very large window of time to get it. So I was pleased that I figured out how and did it.

In point form (and in no particular order and by no means complete ) some of the things I have learned:
- when handing out business cards do not tell people that they don't need to take one if they don't want too
-workflow is a very important word - it means how you manage the digital information from your camera from the moment you download, how you download it, edit it and how long it takes to get to your final product.
-I usually need at least a day before I can look at the pictures from a shoot after I have downloaded them because I am at first staggeringly overwhelmed with how much they are not as good as I want them to be (nothing to do with subject) and I need time to have a more realistic perspective, shake myself and just do the job This is harder than it sounds though. Possibly one of my biggest challenges...
-emailing each edited picture to the client as I finish with it, is a nice idea but not a practical one (it takes too long and I send too many) nor a constructive one (I overwhelm the client with images/and being in the middle of the workflow is not the right time to ask for what changes the client would like made)
-I need time to practice printing out images so I am comfortable with doing it and also having them printed out so that I am comfortable with a service and what they offer and can recommend it to clients
-beautiful, handmade albums to give to clients at the end are a lovely idea but not at all possible to do if I buy the ones I want ready made (they start at 275 US)
-talented, beautiful friends and family are amazing resources for all kinds of things, letting me take pictures, waiting while I figure out the rest of the process, encouraging me, providing me with mockups of beautiful, handmade albums that we can make for picture presentation...etc.
-if I need a few minutes to iron out a problem with one of my cameras or the lighting, I should say so and just do it - that is more professional than attempting to forge ahead and brazen it out and losing images because the quality sucks (painful lesson)
-I also need to take a few minutes during shoots to review and use things like that the focus is where I want it on a subject, the f stop is right for the subject, and the iso and the metering etc. and to not worry about that not coming across as professional
-I have about a ten percent return on my shots (i.e. shoot 400, get 40 pretty good images) and that is not bad at all
-the best shoots take from 1-3 hours
-have a plan, stuff never goes the way you think it will but having a plan is comforting and professional
-there is a reason photographers cost so dang much!!!!!! And it isn't just because they can and I have to suck it up and come up with some kind of pricing-but I feel weird about it
-editing is a whole different ballgame and skill set and I need to research more about it because it is worthwhile
-getting the right picture onto the memory card from the beginning is the very best way and my biggest goal
-jpegs can be a very useful format
-raw format means I can save a picture I might not otherwise have been able too
-I love my 5d but wish I could make it shut up and be quiet instead of noisy when I am shooting (maybe I can, I have not read the manual all the way through yet)
-there is NOT enough time in the day........
-taking pictures for other people is much more intense in some ways than taking pictures for myself and yet it is very much the same and I LOVE it.
-being a professional portrait photographer is about a lot more than just snapping some pictures (Duh)

each moment is precious Aug 1 (iphone/toyphone)

each moment is precious Aug 1 (iphone/toyphone), originally uploaded by gawdessness.

she and our other old dog can make it for about two blocks
one out and the same one back
and then they are tired
and I think with a lump in my throat
when we would run and run and run
and gratefully run my hand over the soft fur of their heads
and slowly follow them home