Foto Friday

I love sunflowers! They are so sunny and happy. The fact that they bloom at the end of the summer when everything else is giving up the ghost is just an extra bonus.

Usually to see fields of sunflowers we have to drive over the state line into Lancaster County, PA or go up around the top of the Chesapeake Bay onto the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware.

This year, a farm right up the road from me planted what has to be a hundred acres of sunflowers where the fields border the road. Mr.Calary that owns the farm leases the farm out to a local farmer who instead of corn or soybeans, planted sunflowers as the main crop.

I don't know about how much the farmer enjoys the sunflowers but I know that I have heard a lot of people talking about these fields and how pretty they are.

I made a push today to get to the fields and take pictures before they were harvested, and I am really glad I did.

Very image heavy post so if you are on slower connection these may take a while to see...

The mushrooms are from our front yard. :^)

Jamaican Supper Mahn

I was trying to come up with something different from my usual bag of tricks to make from the chicken breast I was thawing for supper tonight, while still utilizing what I have here at the house. Not a huge problem as I generally have an extensive selection of herbs and sauces and what-nots. The final decision after tooling through recipes on the net was Jerk Chicken. I hadn't made Jerk Chicken/Beef/Pork in quite a while and this just sounded really good to me. I added in Basmati rice, cooked red lentils, corn, yogurt with cucumber and lemon, and na'an bread. And I made enough for tomorrow so its a win-win.

It was a hit! We all made quite the lil piggies out of ourselves. lol

Oh and umm... if you cook this inside, be sure there is ventilation. It took opening 3 doors and 3 windows, plus a fan to vent the house. lol The marinade tends to smoke a smidge when cooking.

OK well more than a smidge. But its well worth it.

I would have taken pics but I was on my feet for quite a while as I made this and I was D O N E by the time the food was. Bad photog I am . I will take pics next time round....

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Red Lentils

I simply rinsed them well and made sure there were no stems or odd pieces in there. Common occurance with lentils! I cooked them with vegetable consume', onion and garlic. Powdered is fine. Cook until tender.

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Cooling Yogurt

Plain yogurt....slice a nice firm cucumber into it (bite sized pieces), and squeeze a half of a lemon. Stil well. Perfect foil for the slightly spicy chicken.

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Na'an Bread (Indian Flat Bread)

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

From the cookbook, "The Sugar Reef Carribean Cookbook," by Devra Dedeaux.
This is great made with boneless chicken breast, pork and even fish. Thicker chunks of a firm fish is best.
Serve this with flat bread (naan or chapatis), rice, yogurt with fresh lemon juice and cucumber slices, corn on the cob....oh MAN...goooood stuff!

* 1 tablespoon Ground allspice
* 1 tablespoon Dried thyme
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Cayenne pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Ground sage
* 3/4 teaspoon Ground nutmeg
* 3/4 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
* 2 tablespoons Garlic powder or fresh
* 1 tablespoon Sugar
* 1/4 cup Olive oil
* 1/4 cup Soy sauce
* 3/4 cup White Vinegar
* 1/2 cup Orange juice
* 1 Lime juice
* 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (habanero) (in a pinch I use habanero sauce from a jar)
* 3 Green onions -- finely chopped
* 1 cup Onion -- finely chopped
* 4 to 6 chicken breasts


"JERK: This method of cooking pork and chicken dates back to the Carib-Arawak Indians who inhabited Jamaica. After capturing an animal and thoroughly cleaning and gutting it, the Indians placed it in a deep pit lined with stones and covered with green wood, which, when burned, would smoke heavily and add to the flavor. But first, the carcass was "jerked" with a sharp object to make holes, which were stuffed with a variety of spices. The holes also allowed heat to escape without loss of moisture.
The results were superb. The meat was not only wonderfully spiced, but moist and tender." (Note: Sugar Reef is a restaurant in Manhattan) Seed and finely chop Scotch Bonnet pepper. Trim chicken of fat. In a large bowl, combine the allspice, thyme, cayenne pepper, black pepper, sage, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, garlic powder and sugar. With a wire whisk, slowly add the olive oil, say sauce, vinegar, orange juice, and lime juice.
Add the Scotch Bonnet pepper, onion, and mix well. Add the chicken breasts, cover and marinate for at least 1 hour, longer if possible.
Preheat an outdoor grill.
Remove the breasts from the marinade and grill for 6 minutes on each side or until fully cooked. While grilling, baste with the marinade. Bring the leftover marinade to a boil and serve on the side for dipping.

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F R U S T R A T I O N

Or Shaking The Dust Off My Feet

In addition to my own portrait and wedding client photography I do photographic editing for other photographers and a couple of graphic artists/design companies.

Well..
WELL..
As of yesterday one photographer is permanently off my client list.

The job of the day was to edit an image that is for a magazine cover that is local to her area. I have edited images for this magazine for her in the past.

Now let me preface this with saying that this woman really does not have the tehchnical aspects of photography down. Do we all make mistakes? Yes. Are we perfect? No. Do we all need to grow and change and evolve in our professions? Absofreakinlootly. I won't lie and say that I personally do not have room for improvement.. heck yes I do...
BUT..
If you are putting yourself out there as a professional, asking professional prices, using professional equipment, etc. you have the responsibility to work in a professional manner, behave as a professional towards clients and peers, and produce work of a professional caliber.

She continually fails in all three of these areas. And no, its not _just my opinion. I have actually had multiple occasions to speak to and deal with other professionals that have run afoul of this gal's ....temperment and work demeanor.

I have put myself out there to be helpful to her in that I given her advice on how to better her imaging (per her specific request). I have helped her with computer issues extensively. I have helped her repeatedly with advice with photographic equipment, lighting, graphic design, and on and on and on.

I have had to set hard lines on appropriate times for her to expect to communicate with me. She continually will call me at 8,9, 10,11 o'clock in the evening wanting to discuss jobs. On my days off, during dinner, during family time. ::blink:: Hello?!

She just doesn't listen to advice. She hears, but doesn't do a blasted thing to implement the advice that is given. So why in the heck ask in the first place...?! I DO NOT GET IT. And to quote Anna, I can't think like that.

So yesterday I edited an image for her for the cover of the magazine. In talking to her she told me that the client said the image was too dark, that there was no separation between the people and the background, and they needed the top extended to allow for the copy and logo for the magazine cover. This was via Facebook chat.

One other thing I Have Asked REPEATEDLY is to EMAIL ME SPECIFIC instructions. Give me all that I need for the jobs (additional images for compositing, layouts for magazines or design, etc.), client requests, time frame that client needs the image(s). You know... STUFF THAT MAKES SENSE to complete a job. Duuuhhhh. Yeah. This is not done 5 out of 7 times.

Now...let me tell you about the image:
1. It was shot it in JPG instead of RAW. That means that extensive editing (which this image desperately needed) it is going to block the colors and shadows up (meaning they will lose information and when the image is printed it will not have good detail), and the highlights will blow (all detail will be gone in the brightest areas).. She said she forgot to set the camera correctly...not cool when you are being paid to photograph people for a client, for an image that is going on a magazine that will have 50,000 copies or more printed.. Not always a big deal because we ALL make errors. Except---
2. The image is VERY underexposed. By about a stop and a half to two full stops (meaning it needed twice the amount of light it received to expose the image correctly). The image was hot at 200 ISO @125sec/4.5. The camera used is a high end camera that can be set up to 3000 ISO without showing grain. She screwed up the shoot. The background is almost black...the mom has black hair and there is no separation between her and what is behind her. Her eyes are black holes...as well as the kids.Dead eyes are an image's bane.The mother's head looks like its floating in space. Just a poorly executed image all around. She is a professional?! Learn to use a freaking reflector, bounce card, flash or SET THE DAMNED CAMERA the way it should be set.This is a continual problem with this person....its not a once-in-a-while-oops. The flipping camera all but sets the shot up for you. All she had to do was trust the camera's meter. Oh but she doesn't know HOW to use the camera's meter because she won't read the instructions. Or take a class. Or do anything that makes sense. Gah.
3. It must have been raining slightly because the subjects have rain splatters all over their clothing. One of the children has a dirty face..his shirt is full of lint and crap and bleh. These are things that should have been checked for BEFORE the shoot. It wouldn't be a big deal except, SHE NEVER CHECKS THINGS BEFOREHAND!!!! But then she wants me to fix them AND doesn't want to pay for my time.

OK so those are the big things. It was just a bad image.
I did what I was asked to do. Its still not a great image, but it looks substantially better. As good as its going to get with what I was given.
So I uploaded the edited file and she came back with questions/tweaks. I answered them. She asked. She didn't like the answers because basically she wanted the image to look like she gave me, but.... better. Ummm... there was no detail in the shadows. And the image is mostly dark tones because of how it was shot, where it was shot and that the image is underexposed.

OK the image looks like crap, you want it to stay looking like crap yet, do what the client wants? You can't HAVE IT BOTH WAYS.
I didn't say that to her. lol I just answered her questions.

Then she called me.

It was almost 8 o'clock. This isn't WORKING HOURS WOMAN. Working hours are 10-6. What. The. Hell.

She called to say she liked the way the "tones, color and clarity" of the original image was more than what I had given her edited. Ok that isn't a problem BUT the image HAD no tones, color, clarity. It was so underexposed that the mom had the floaty head thing going on, the skin tones were muddy and nasty, the background was black, etc. etc. She started going on about how "Let's go back to the original image and just do this..and give them that, and etc. etc. Basically saying she wants me to redo the whole image. That she didn't ask me to do what I did.

I didn't kowtow to her... I said you DID ask me to separate the people from the bg. You told me on Facebook that the client said there was no separation. You asked me to extend the top. Now she doesn't like the extension. And now she has something else for me to use. So I was frustrated and said "So basically I need to redo the whole image?" She starts going on to say that I did other than she requested (which I didn't) and I disagreed with her on it. Not arguing but not agreeing with her. This is a _constant_ issue with her. C O N S T A N T. And that is why I was frustrated. Every single edit I do for her we go through this. She asks for something, I do it, then she decides that isn't _really_ what she wanted. I am expected to redo it in a short amount of time, and for very little money, and with a lot of bitching.

She goes on to tell me that I am yelling at her (???) and being unprofessional (!!!!) among a bunch of other mess. I then said No I am not yelling, (and Michael was here and HEARD me and I was NOT yelling). I am frustrated. You aren't understanding why what you want won't work, and I did what you wanted and now you want me to redo it...AND that isn't what you told me the client wanted. I just do not want to redo the image three times." She really has no understanding of what can be done with images and when I try to explain it to her she doesn't FREAKING listen. She wants what she wants, and she won't DO what NEEDS to be done to GET what she wants.

She then proceeds to say I am yelling at her. I said NO I am not..but ok.. I apologize if I seem to be yelling because I am frustrated. I just am trying to get you to understand what you can get out of the image.

Meanwhile she is talking over me..and tells me to "Shut up!".

What. The. Freaking. HECK. ????????

I said EXCUSE ME!? OK..Done...Good bye. And I hung up the phone.

Fifteen minutes later I sent her a letter and told her that she crossed the line one time too many times. That while she may have accused me of being unprofessional but that she blatently was disrespectful professionally and as a friend. I told her that she could use the edited image, or not, that I wouldn't bill her, that our association was over and that it was time for her to find another editor. I then proceeded to delete her from my Facebook friends list and deleted the FTP account I used to transfer files to and from her.

DONE DONE DONE. After almost three years of her BS I have severed all connections with her.

I am so frustrated... what the heck is with people?! Why is this acceptible behavior to? Why are there people who believe they have leave to treat others with disrespect and to talk to them with less than simple courtesy? I have NEVER told her to shut up--and man I have had many occasions where it was well deserved. I have never been rude to her. If I was even close to wanting to do it, I wouldn't...its unprofessional and immature. If she thought I was being offensive or something similar, I would apologize to keep the peace. This time was beyond the pale though. My husband in 24 years + of us being together has NEVER told me to shut up. I have never said that to him. (I might have _thought_ it LOL as I am sure he has but who doesn't at times? *G*) But my point is that I will not be on the receiving end of that treatment, not _even_ when someone is paying me to do work for them. The few hundred dollars I would make over the next couple of months SO. NOT. WORTH. IT.

Did I also mention that I give her exceptionally good prices that are WAY too low? Because I am trying to be a blessing to a small business? Yeah... so much for being appreciated. ::snorts in disgust::

I am pregnant. I have a business that will be exceptionally busy for the next three months. I have a family and friends that are deserving of good things from me. I can't give good things when I am being fed crap and stressed because of dealing with an overly demanding, unreasonable, disrespectful, disorganized, medication needing personality.

This summer I promised Mike that if she started up again with me this Fall that I would not edit for her anymore. I had already decided that before he asked me to please not let her drive me crazy like she did last year. Last year the holidays were m i s e r a b l e because of her lack of organization and how demanding she is (unreasonably so...all due to her poor business practices). I was not sleeping, having anxiety attacks, etc due to her. THAT IS NOT my personality at ALL and this year I am not risking my sanity OR my health or the health of the baby for a measly couple hundred dollars. NOT worth it.

Man I held it together on the phone but when I got off the phone I lost my religion. I really could go all rogue bzatch on her. She sent me a reply to my email and I am not even going to open or acknowledge it. I had a friend go into my email account, read it and delete it. She said its a good thing I didn't read it because it would have pissed me off. LOL

I don't need to have the last word, but in this case I am having it. I am not going to replay or respond to any emails. I will not accept any phone calls. I have deleted all her files off my computer. I am going to wait a month and then I am throwing out the 2 1/2 years of files I have backed up from editing for her.

I am so glad I am not like that. I am far from perfect but I sure don't leave devastation in my wake like this person does. I have talked to other people who have association with this gal who have had these same problems and worse. I have heard her talk about people and discuss situations where these same issues recur over and over with her clients and with other photographers and her husband and her son and her friends and etc. etc.  

2010 will be a good year. A new baby. Out with a huge stressor in my life. A wonderful family. Amazing friends. A career that I enjoy. A wonderful home. A great church.

I do not want or need people who enjoy drama and create drama where ever they lay their feet. I am "shaking the dust" off my robes and sandals and am leaving that "town" behind me. I am ok with that. She isn't, obviously, because she had some snarky nasty reply to email. W H A T E V E R. I have to consider the source. Its not a good source. Its an unhappy source. Its a source that is never content. Its a source that is always looking at other people and wanting what they have and one who ever finds contentment in anything.

I am not wired that way and never have been. Thank. God.

Wow...Just Wow

As I said in a post a couple of days ago, I am not normally the world's most patient person. But I do know how to walk away. I do know restraint. I do know the lines of acceptable behavior.

Obviously, this winner of the "kindler, gentler older gentleman" award knows no such thing.

Stranger Accused of Slapping Crying Child At Store

http://www.kansascity.com/440/story/1420563.html

We have all been distracted/irritated/annoyed by children out of control. By the parents who are out of control and screaming. By a whining toddler.By an annoying child. Its my observation that  95% of the time the true issue is the adult with the child and how they are handling the lil un. If a child is that miserable or is misbehaving, remove them, distract them, feed them, soothe them, and in the case of the sometimes whiney or hard-headed children, discipline them.

But...

BUT... COMON!!!!!

OK so what I am saying? If some sumna gun (hey I am being a good girl and editing myself) touched MY child? His photo wouldn't look so purty. I would have taken my self and jumped his nasty butt, stomped him with my size 9 feet, then helped him up so I could do it again.

Then I would have called the police.

Don't mess with the bull or ya gonna get the horns.

What. The. Heck.

What is going on in our society that an adult of this age would DARE lay his hands on a 2 year old little girl?? HOLY WOW!!!!

Photo Thursday

I haven't posted pictures in a while. I think today is a good day for it. Most of these are from late Winter and Spring...before I was pregnant and sick sick sick. Now the Fall is coming on, hopefully I can get out and DO again. I miss shooting just for fun.

I had a hankering to do a still life for a photo challenge on Facebook. The violin was the product of the challenge. I want to do a series of images with instruments for cards, art portraits, etc. I have an antique piano, a harp, a banjo, a bowed psaltry, Michael has guitars out the wazzo, and the list goes on.

 

The walking paths by our house are wonderful. This is the meadow path behind our house that the Parks and Rec keeps mowed for walkers/hikers/cyclists. I love this image of Brenna and Becca.



Forsythia. I love this yellow in this spring flower.

 

Magnolia blossom from the antique, big old magnolia tree in front of our house.

The meadow behind our house. This part of the meadow is very marshy due to the beavers that have built dams a bit downstream. This is a gorgeous area with old dead trees that bald eagles and kites roast in, red tailed hawks and hundreds of species of birds.