experiment station

Every time I drive past this abandoned gas station, it catches my eye. There's a huge street light shining right on the building and its lot. It's been practically begging me to come take its picture. Tonight I obliged, with a little help from my hubby and part-time experimental model.

More crazy, wild-idea photos to come soon...hopefully in the next few days!

yule betcha

Had a swell holiday, thank you very much. Matt and I headed to Quincy to visit his mom at her woodsy palace. Our visit could be the poster child for a laid-back approach to Christmas. We talked, ate, watched movies, played frisbee, and took crazy photos. Ahhhh. We NEVER get to spend the holidays with Susie, so the best part was ending that losing streak. I think there will definitely be more trips to Florida in our future. So here are some quirky, Quincy pics.

Matt in all of his mustached glory

Susie misinterprets "laps in the pool" as "runs around pool with flashlight"

Apparently, giving a flashlight to an adult is the equivalent of giving a cardboard box to a child. Endless fun.

Susie....attempts to hide are futile.

Now we move on to Christmas at my folks' place in Marietta. Definitely a "the more the merrier" type of gathering. There WERE more, and it WAS merry.

Matt got so good at Guitar Hero III that he had to up the ante by sitting down.

Creepy deer watches his back.....so you bettah watch yours!

Nancy & Mary start a new tradition...kitchen ballet

Here's everybody (except me who was too lazy to set the timer)
Back row: Linda, Trischa (sis), Mike, Mary, Gary, Mom
Front row: Ricardo, Matt-o, Deanna, Nancy, Dad

Dad's gear for making the best Old-Fashioneds you'll ever have

Answers to everything I learned in kindergarten

My bro-in-law. Master of the point-and-shoot.

This photo of me and Matt doesn't scream "Christmas", but it definitely screams something.

For our listening pleasure. Sadly, the "Martinis and Mistletoe" isn't nearly as good as you'd think. That's why I stick with Vince Guaraldi every time.

One of the guilty pleasures of visiting my folks is "reading" my mom's People magazines. I get caught up on the best million-dollar gowns, who's lost their post-baby weight, and how I would look if I were Dr McNerdy...and a guy.

Real.

Fake.

When Christmas gets spooky....

HAMAZONIAN! The bizarre surgical skills I picked up at my biomedical job always come in handy when turkeys and hams need carving, or as I prefer, "dissecting".

Dinner! Check out how excited Matt is. Food was wasting precious Xbox time.

Good times. Aint we lucky we got 'em.

For a slideshow of more wacky Quincy pics, click HERE

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

108 in 2008!

Well, here it is for everyone to see (I feel a bit nekkid). I respond really well to peer pressure, so the best way for me to accomplish my goals is to make them known to others. With that said, here's a list of 108 awesome goals for 2008. I tried to make them things that are actually do-able (with the possible exception of #52). I also respond strongly to people telling me there's something I can't do, so let me know if you think there's one of these that I'll never do, and I'll be sure to do that first.

As I was putting this together, I realized that many of these objectives began with "try to" or "attempt". Wondering why I would be so indefinite and lame with my aspirations, I immediately changed them all to be more inescapable. Like Yoda said, "there is no try, only do".

Those of you who know me may notice at least one very big goal missing from this list. What you're thinking of is less of a goal and more of a life-awesomating choice. There will be entire blog entries dedicated to that when it happens! Oh, the anticipation! I also may want to get a dog in 2008, but didn't want to put that on the list. I'd hate for some wonderful pooch to feel slighted because that was the thing I didn't get around to.

I'll update my blog as I cross these off the list. Feel free to throw random numbers between 1 and 108 at me with a loving push to "get on it, already!".

1. Lead a photo workshop project
2. Blog every day for a month
3. Re-start my 365 (photo a day) project
4. Give time to a volunteer / charitable organization
5. Get info on having a booth at a bridal expo and attend one to check it out
6. Learn Spanish and take a trip to Mexico
7. Have Dad teach me how to change the oil in my car
8. Make more connections with other wedding vendors (links for blog)
9. Call one of my friends once a week just to say “hi” and chat
10. Read the news every morning
11. Clean up my email inbox and external hard drive
12. Organize/clean all my closets
13. Go to yoga at least once a week for two months
14. Take a new class at the gym
15. Donate old clothes, shoes, stuff
16. Get our panoramic wedding photo framed and hung
17. Attend a big photo convention (WPPI, DWF, etc)
18. Invent something
19. Second shoot for a photographer I admire
20. Take a road trip to Graceland
21. Get in good enough shape to fit into my “i have a dream” clothes
22. Throw a surprise party for someone
23. Put together a book of my experimental photos
24. Take more “just for fun” photos with a point-and-shoot
25. Cook using a new recipe once a week for a month
26. Do something nice for someone anonymously
27. Spend an entire day watching movies
28. Initiate my photo/story project
29. Learn how to plant and not kill a garden (flowers, herbs, veggies)
30. Research and practice styles/techniques of photography I don’t
typically do (landscapes, studio set-ups)
31. Take another photo class/workshop
32. Read a book a month for 6 months
33. Brush up on the geography I’ve forgotten since school
34. Read three books that are business-related
35. Take good photos of my parents and mom-in-law
36. Fix the big pile of clothes that need re-hemming or buttons sewn
37. Design new business and comp cards
38. Go through all the kitchen cabinets, organize, and donate or
discard stuff we don’t need
39. Design a coupon to mail to clients
40. Order custom labels with my logo and “thank you”
41. Take a ballroom dance class
42. Start swimming at the Y and learn to do a good flip turn
43. Invite a couple friends over for brunch, tea and conversation
44. Start new practices to be more “green”
45. Visit a local photography gallery
46. Write a song
47. Write a letter to a friend to tell them why they’re important to me
48. Visit a relative I don’t see often
49. Take better care of my raggedy fingernails
50. Scope out more cool locations for photo shoots
51. Learn to drive a stick shift
52. Use the word “awesome” less often
53. Organize my recipe drawer
54. Clean out my car
55. Experiment with techniques that are outside the realm of
“technically correct” to see what kind of unique effects I can get
55. Have more face-to-face meetings with other vendors in the biz
56. Paint a mural or something interesting on one of the walls in our
house
57. Spend a month taking family portraits at the beach
58. Create color address labels with logo
59. Make a new vegan dish once a month
60. Come up with something new for my clients that other photographers don’t offer
61. Teach a photography workshop for kids (w/ exhibit at end)
62. Get back to practicing the guitar (before doing #49)
63. Figure out creative ways to cut back on spending
64. Teach my Dad how to use Photoshop, Lightroom, etc
65. Help Dad archive old family slides digitally
66. Find a way to advertise to people who want cool portraits for dating websites
67. Take classy/edgy nude shots of someone
68. Take “light painting” photos
69. Attend a class on html
70. Learn one new Photoshop trick a month
71. Give up all refined sugars for a week
72. Drink more tea instead of coffee
73. Start taking vitamins every day
74. Rent a piece of photo equipment I haven’t used yet and try it out
75. Visit Melanie in Athens and take some photos of Owen
76. Turn my computer room into a spiffy meeting room for my clients
77. Don’t watch TV for a month
78. Get a funky haircut
79. Read books to improve my vocabulary
80. Take a trip to Canada
81. Design/offer gift certificates for clients
82. Start a journal (on actual paper) for thoughts, scribbles, anything
83. Instead of driving, walk or ride my bike more often to get around
84. At a wedding, have my second shooter do a “photo booth” set-up
85. Create a yummy/healthy smoothie recipe to have in the mornings
86. Once a month, write a blog entry about someone I know and the cool things they do
(Mary’s films, Matt’s improv workshops, etc)
87. Meditate for a few minutes each day
88. Do all the planning for a fun date with Matt
89. Re-learn to play chess
90. Go through my magazine clip file and throw out ones I don’t want
91. Find a local place that recycles magazines and drop off “the pile”
92. Learn how to knit from mom
93. Completely re-design my website
94. Have someone take decent pics of me for my website
95. Attend more PUG meetings
96. Start an album of the pics Matt & I take on our anniversary
97. Post some pics and info on some of the buhzillion forums I’m on
98. Take some more portraits of pets and add section to website
99. Sell my hand-made cards (on etsy, in local shops, etc)
100. Go on more photo road trips with Matt
101. Take a series of abstract shots (for small canvas prints to hang)
102. Design a cool symbol to add to my logo
103. Have a photography meeting with Dave
104. Save my layout templates in P-shop
105. Update my recommended vendors list
106. Print labels with favorite quotes
107. Convert multiple shots into a panoramic image
108. Live my life so that the phrase “what if” isn’t necessary

melanie!

This is my super-sassy, smarty-pants, fun-time friend Melanie. She's a really important person in my life. We've known each other for years, and have been there for each other during many of life's ups and downs. If there's a movie with singing and/or dancing, we've seen it together. We dress in sparkly outfits and talk about the 80s.

She is a big part of why I'm a photographer and turned it into a biz years ago. My first paying photo gig was for her. I took pics of her newborn cutie-pie son just after he was born. She insisted on paying me, which was painful and weird for me, but I now realize that it was a huge starting point. Thank you Melanie for giving me that push!!!

She just finished her second year in law school (all A's, mind you). She manages to balance this with being a wife, mom, and all-around superstar.

I was so excited that she came to visit last week. We got to spend some silly fun time together shopping, eating, giggling, and watching movies. I wish I could have stolen her for even longer.

While shopping, we found this great hat that looked adorable on her. Here she is sporting it and looking feisty as usual. Melanie, you're the bestest!

more matt photo love

It's Matt appreciation time again! Here are some shots he took at Chad and Cathy's wedding in November. He's really getting some swell detail shots and fun candids. I'm convinced that this will turn into another "guitar incident". When he and I met, I could play the guitar relatively well (enough to be dangerous). He just picked it up one day and started playing around. In no time, he completely surpassed my skill level without a single lesson. If he gets too good at wedding photography, I'll make him tie one hand behind his back.

The Pequignot Family

Hooray! More holiday shots! This is the Pequignot family. I've known Heather for ages. We knew each other in college, worked together at a pharmacy, and then worked together for 10 years at a biomedical company. I was so thrilled about the arrival of Alex, who couldn't wait to launch his cuteness on to the world, so he showed up a little early. He's one healthy, happy little fella these days.

Our shoot took place at the home of Heather's parents. Their house is famous for having the most extensive holiday decorations. Now I understand why. Every room in the house was decorated for Christmas from top to bottom. I've never seen anything like it. It was something to behold.....and they were just starting on the outdoor lighting!

Heather, Bill, and Alex.....thanks for putting me in the holiday spirit with your wonderful family!