Which Way?

I can't decide which way this photograph looks better? I recently went in search of Plum Blossoms for a client who collects my work. She hangs enlargements of my work in her tea room; changes them out seasonally... I think that is so cool.

Anyway, I barely made it to find plum blossoms in the Nashville, TN area. The day I went out it was so windy, it was hard to get a good shot. This is one of my favorites, but I can't decide which way it should go, I like them both!

Consider this one as A.


Consider this one as B.


Which one do you like better? Let me know in the comments please.

PRO Photography

I was once again reminded that what I do for a living DOES REALLY make a HUGE difference. I am a professional photographer - with very high-end equipment & talents.

I recently threw a surprise 40th birthday party for my husband. In order to get pictures from the event, I asked two of my friends (non professionals) to bring their digital cameras. Obviously, I couldn't be the one taking the shots, since I was bringing my husband to the event.

Disclaimer: I am grateful that these cameras were at the party!

Then I was handed one of the cameras to use after arriving. (You might wonder why I didn't bring my camera to use after the surprise was revealed; that would have clued my husband into something being fishy if he saw the CANON 1Ds Mark II in the vehicle.)

Anyway, all I can say is: A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER IS WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD!!! AND, the equipment they arrive with (at least the pros I know - and myself) also makes a difference! I spent an hour and a half removing red eye out of the shots from this handy little digital camera... that would NOT have been the case with my equipment.

I thanked my friends for allowing me to learn that my talents and my equipment are valuable to the outcome of GREAT photography. I am soooo glad I had this experience; I was about to buy a pocket sized camera to carry around for times when the BIG DADDY Mark II (My husband calls it the HOWITZER) wasn't around.

I'll keep looking... I'm leaning towards the Canon Digital Rebel XT, it's not pocket sized, but it weighs about 100 lbs less than the 1Ds Mark II HOWITZER...

Oh, and by the way, the party was a COMPLETE surprise to Tim. HOORAY!

MISS IDA

My husband’s grandmother Ida fell and broke her neck in two places on Saturday morning. She is 95 years of age; a feisty woman who has always told people how they should do things. It was difficult to see her in the hospital in that condition. She is not paralyzed (Thank God!), but she is immobilized. She actually cracked me up when she saw us, because she said exactly what I knew she would say when we gave her the flowers we brought, "You shouldn't have...", and then shortly there after, she said, "I wish I could make you something to eat...". She made me laugh.


Although I'm never sure in a situation like this, whether it is the "right" thing to do; I brought my camera to the hospital room. This is one of the photos I quietly took. My husband caressed Ida's hand the majority of the time we were there... that plucked at my heart strings.

HAPPY 40TH SAINT PATRICK'S DAY!

Today is my sweet and darling husbands 40th Birthday! I am throwing him a surprise party, I don’t think he knows anything. Although he’s been acting really cool. AND, we’ve been getting along fabulously. I almost think he’s up to something….

I don’t know exactly yet how I am getting him to the party, as it is at a fabulous friends home 35 minutes away from here… hmmmmmm…. I’m still working on that one.

He’s outside planting flowers for me as we speak… I’m soooooo daring (perhaps stupid too) to update my blog with him less then 10 feet away… cause my homepage is my blog... hee hee hee hee...

Thank God I’m an Actor and can deal with this one… the ultimate IMPROV assignment!

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S DAY!!!

POPULAR is Profanity!

Here's a recent comment to my last post (March 8, 2006):

First, I must apologize for the difficulty in posting my response. I thought I had done everything correctly.
I also apologize for the timing of the second response. It did occur to me that you might slow in responding due to your accident, but I posted anyway. I hope you are recovering well.

You are correct. My little comment bomb was more than little. But brevity would have kept me from properly addressing your slap-dash statement on swearing.
I stand by my statement. Since you can't get it to post, if you like, you can send people to my blog http://dimland.blogspot.com/ I have your initial statement and my response.

I will look up creative license. Being a cartoonist/illustrator, I don't have any idea what you could possibly mean by that. It's been fun.

Then, my response on his blog:

It's ALL in fun... isn't it Jim? It's just another ride at the amusement park of life! Thanks for having a sense of humor... that can be a rarity at times...

By the way, I received another response (in my email) from someone named AMY. Can we say POTTY MOUTH??? Yes, I said it, POTTY MOUTH big time... I'll have to admit, after reading her response to my last posting (Blog Stalker=Verbal Diarrhea); I'm rethinking this profanity thing. My goodness did she ever get down and dirty. She called me a f---ing bitch...

See, the amazing thing is, in reading a comment or an email in general, WE are the Actors reading the script, we hear the characters speaking in our head. We make the choices for these characters without truly knowing the subtext. Sooooooo, it's so easy to mis-read the intent of the originator.

Amy's comment was... aaaaaaah... a bit OVER the TOP for me... that's why I'm rethinking profanity right now. But then again, it goes right back to my original question. There IS a time and place. And it takes skill to use it wisely... After reading Amy's response, I would venture a guess that SHE drives a truck (using the stereotype) by the way she talks... or hangs out at the local bowling alley bar (orders beer by the pitcher), has a cigarette dangling from her mouth that's covered in red lipstick (badly), lives in a single wide trailor park, and has bleached hair with roots crying out. OR maybe she's a regular at the corner of Hollywood & Vine... Who knows? Who really cares? NOT ME!

Also, an FYI... The reason I said that truckers don't really deserve that... My husband IS a truck driver, but he's not stereotypical. He's a college graduate who redirected his path. And, we've met some really nice truck drivers in the 10 years he's been driving. I like truckers better than the cut-throat car salesmen I met when he thought he'd try selling cars... (snakes in suits)...yuck-eee!!!

BLOG Stalker = Verbal Diarrhea

On one of my original posts (Is profanity necessary?), I invited anyone and everyone to drop a comment bomb on whether profanity was necessary or not. And while trying to make a creative point, I used characters such as #%$@ instead of typing out the word SHIT. There was method to my madness…

So then, I receive in my email, (instead of in the comments section of my blog) a response from some unknown opinionated person (he shall be known as Jim) with too much time on his hands… this thing was so long, I couldn’t believe it. And then, the guy is bugging me to post it… I tried! But for some reason, the blog software CAN’t FINd your comment that is really more a verbally diarrhea filled dissertation. Soooo, the following is for him to read:

Definition of a comment:

com·ment n
1. a remark (a casual or brief observation) that states a fact or expresses an opinion
2. an implied or indirect judgment
3. a note (something written down, often in abbreviated form) that explains a passage in a text

Definition of dissertation:

dis·ser·ta·tion n
1. a lengthy and formal written treatment of a subject, especially a long paper submitted as a requirement for a degree
2. a formal spoken or written discourse

As you’ll notice, if you are paying attention Jim, my BLOG is short, sweet, and to the point. I like visuals more than words… I am a CREATIVE! AND, I not only am in Peri-Menopause, I’m recovering from an accident that left me with a HEAD, NECK, and BACK injury!!! So give me a fucking (a perfect example of profanity being necessary) break Mr. Jim who doesn’t know the difference between a comment and a dissertation!!!

Hey Jim, you might want to look up “creative license”. Anyway, thanks for stopping by, glad to have had ya!!!

OUCH!

It doesn't look as bad as I feel...




Of course, it really should look like this, cause that's the way we landed...



I cannot believe that it costs $1500 to repack an airbag... is it just me, or does that sound a little fishy? That job must still be available here in the United States. If they sent that job to China or India it would probably only cost .08 cents to do since I think minimum wage over there is $-.04 per hour. I'm sure I just pissed off some air bag packer out there somewhere.

All kidding aside, $1500 EACH!? Two airbags opened up in my car accident (thank God), that right there was $3000 in damages!

And YES, they TOTALED my CAR!!!