Friday 5 [Wenatchee photography + design]

1. My dog, who eats apples like a human. He holds them down, takes his time, and when done, leaves the core and stem. Which is good because apple seeds are poisonous to dogs (and can build up in their system.) Apples are a good snack for your dog, but if they are inclined to eat the whole thing, make sure you cut them up first to remove the seeds.
2. I have a love/am-sometimes-disappointed-with relationship with Keen shoes. They are a high-quality brand, stylish, long-wearing and (usually) comfortable. I love this pair that I just got for the impending winter and they are super comfy. Once. you. get. them. on. The opening is just a bit small, so it takes some work to get them on. Once you do, love, LOL, so, they only rate: :/ I will say that shopping at Zappos, where I go them, is the absolute best of the best for online shopping. Overnight shipping, free returns and a huge selection. I've never been disappointed with them.
3. Love the work of Austin Kleon. He is a writer and artist and is the author of Steal Like An Artist and Newspaper Blackout. I love the messages that reveal themselves in his work and I also love the graphic starkness of the black and white and words.
4. Yep, winter is coming. This was a shot of the first snow this season, which was Wednesday. I love that we have 4 distinct seasons, but I really don't love snow. Well, I don't like snow the day after it snows. When it's slushy and icey and grey and inconvenient. When it's falling though (and I'm not driving!) it is magical.
5. I'm headed to Seattle again this weekend to be an audience member at the CreativeLive Decorating Holiday Cupcakes and Cookies course. I was originally taking a Scott Kelby photoshop course, but this fell in my lap and they were at the same time. Since my daughter is a pastry student in culinary school, I thought this would be something fun we could do together. Plus, it's CREATIVELIVE! Hello! I have watched (and bought) so many of their courses. Jasmine Star, Zack Arias, Tamara Lackey, Bambi Cantrell, David duChemin, Jeremy Cowart...the big names just keep coming. Even though this course isn't necessarily photographic in intent, it will be good for me since I love to bake and photograph those items. Check it out, it's LIVE and FREE on Monday from 9 am-12 pm at CreativeLive. (This "Seattle" image is one of my prints available at Society6. There are quite a few cities and states, and I can create a custom one if you don't see yours.)

Android test

Disregard, just wanted to try out a new android app that lets me post from my phone.
This blur of color is from a moving train...love the jewel tones of Fall. Sadly we must make way for Winter as we got our first snow yesterday.

Model material :) [Wenatchee photography + design]

A few more images of my daughter. I mentioned earlier she is thinking of modeling. She has the height and is interested in the fashion industry. She recently entered a contest where she had to make a fashion related video for JCPenny and Seventeen magazine. The top 10 videos were chosen by Seventeen and then voted on by the public. She was one of the top ten picked and then ended up 6th and won an iPad. She was pretty happy, to say the least. Next, she entered the "E! Live from the Red Carpet with Adrianna Papell" contest where she had to design a red-carpet dress and, again, the top entries were chosen and will be voted on. She was one of the chosen entries so that voting window begins Monday on Facebook. If chosen her dress will actually be made and worn.

Anyway, all that background to say I am proud of her for continuing to do what she can to further her interest, even when she doesn't always have the same opportunities as others may have (because we don't live in a metropolitan area). She does what she can, when she can, and has never given up on continuing her interests.

We've been working on a portfolio over the summer and had another shoot last weekend. These are a few of those shots.

A liar and a thief in our midst [Wenatchee photography + design]

Because I think "public humiliation" is a powerful tool for correcting bad behavior, I am posting this screen capture of ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPHER SELLING MY PHOTO as his own. JOE WILSON of BLACK MIRROR PHOTOGRAPHY (Lake Oswego, OR) - What the fuck dude, that is NOT OK! The image has since been removed but thanks to screen capture, we get to see it whenever we want. This person and I share contacts in social media circles, so I'm hoping he sees this (plus I will be contacting him directly), and everyone he is contacts with also sees it to know he is a LIAR AND A THIEF. Or is it an accident? As if you could "accidentally" sell someone else's photo. I particularly like (OK, DISLIKE) the 2011 copyright statement he has at the bottom of the image when my Flickr page, where it was first posted, shows I took and posted it in 2008.

I don't understand people in a creative industry not putting that energy into being creative themselves, but rather stealing from other artists. If you can't do it on your own, find a different job. No one is making you be a photographer. Apparently, not even yourself...

Friday 5 [Wenatchee photography + design]

1. This is one of the best descriptions I've ever read on the purpose (and necessity) of having a logo. I've been a subscriber to Before & After magazine since the early nineteen-ninetys. That is a LONG time and should tell you something about the quality of the information put out by John McWade and group at B&A.
2. My good friend, Stephanie, sent me this. She's vegetarian, I am not. And I am finding myself in that weird place between being an omnivore, and really believing that humans SHOULD be omnivores, and yet feeling like we really SHOULDN'T be eating animals. I understand the "top-of-the-food-chain" idea and even the nutritional benefit of eating meat, but I do think "just because we CAN do something, does that mean we HAVE to?" Maybe one thing that comes with being at the top of the pecking order is using our brains/compassion to find other sources of protein and stop eating animals? Like maybe with the privilege should come the responsibility to not kill other things? I don't know, no hate mail please, I'm just expressing an opinion and a bit of my own self-questioning. One thing I DO know for sure is the "meat industry" is pretty abhorrent and I definitely don't support the feeding of hormones and think free-range is better.
3. Pretty sure I won’t consider my life lived until I eat a Salty Pimp at the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop
4. Really looking forward to the "Light It. Shoot it. Retouch it. Live!" class with Scott Kelby in Seattle later this month. I am a firm believer in never being too good or too old to learn something new and being passionate about learning is very important to me.
5. My middle daughter is pretty interested in looking into modeling. We've been working on a portfolio of shots for her and this week she got up the courage to submit to an agency in Seattle. I'm proud of her. It can't be easy putting yourself out there in an industry pretty much aimed at making you not feel "good enough." She's a real girl with a real body and real insecurities and I think she is brave. And I love her.