Cracked out in Lakewood

For those of you that don't already know, I have a complete addiction to pork. I love ham, ribs, fried pork chops, roast pork, pulled pork, carnitas, and most of all bacon. Rarely a day that goes by that does not have some form of my love. The other day I was driving and noticed a sign for a new barbecue restaurant. I was so excited! I didn't have time to stop, but today I did! I was a little skeptical because of the location. It is in a little mini strip mall by Lakewood Country club. I thought, yep, they probably have everything watered down so that the old folks don't get to burned up by the spices. Even if it is good, how long would this place last? Old folks cant eat heavy, spicy food all the time. However, since I am on a mission to try everyone's ribs, I went anyway.

I hopped out of the car, and immediately the smoke smell hit me. I thought, ok, a real smoker, no Tony Roma's happening here. Good. I walked in to see a few tables filled with families eating. Good again. Must at least be tolerable. Then I looked at the menu. Short and too the point. Ribs, pulled pork, tritip, etc. The usual fare. Then I saw it! WONDER BREAD!!! I almost squealed in excitement. Any joint that has loaves of Wonderbread on the counter must be pretty damn good! You only see that in the 'hood. Yeah!! I proceed to order one of everything on the menu, but then quickly remembered I only had $21 dollars in my pocket. Damn. Oh well, I can't eat that much anyway. I ordered the two-meat meal, with St. Louis Ribs and pulled pork. Today's special was macaroni and cheese, so I ordered it instead of potato salad, and my other side was barbecue beans.

As I hurried home, I thought ooooh, this will be a good opportunity to practice my food shots! The red in the sauce and the yellow macaroni will look great! Right. It was all I could do to snap off these couple shots. I was hungry and it smelled good. Forget practice! These would have looked much better if I would have plated the food, set up the lighting, etc. That will have to happen next time.

On my eye's note:
-Eat before trying to learn food photography.
-Practice with food you are not obsessed with.

Is the weekend here yet?

Well, it's Thursday and I don't think Monday ever stopped happening. I'll be glad when the weekend gets here. I thought I would get home early enough to work on a shot I've been planning for some time now. No such luck. My real job needed my attention all day and night.
I'm sitting here trying to find some inspiration for today's 365 project, but nothing is coming to mind. It's funny to me that human nature was designed so that when man is most trying to do something, he often can not do it. My camera is on, but my brain is empty. At this moment I could be standing in front of a blank canvas with a brush in my hand and the paint would merely be falling on my shoe.

Barack Obama flew over my head yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera. That's how this week has been.

On my eye's note: I went to Samy's to discuss this lens that I was so fed up with. Of course it worked magically when I was there, and to rub salt in my wound, the guy told me they had one 1.4 come in, but it sold immediately. (more of my lovely week) I ended up keeping the lens. I have just given up my expectation that I can shoot in low light with it. Hopefully the 1.4 will work a little better. Hopefully next week will work a little better!

It's Monday

I usually don't have a problem with Mondays. It's just another day of the week. Today, however, has been ugly. In fact, last Friday was a great day, and I think my "Friday the 13th" is today. I'm going back to that day, literally. My computer had a little crash this morning, so I need to do a restore back to that day and hopefully find a folder that has the last 2 years of my work in it. This all started me on a down hill slide. I was late for a meeting, couldn't print out the document I needed and I cant find the file I need to work on for a meeting tomorrow. I can deal with that stuff. It will be a major irritation until I can recreate all that stuff, but I can deal with it.
I also found out Yosemite is sold out already for the summer, and my dog's lost tag is going to cost another ten bucks to replace. I can even deal with that stuff. What I'm most irritated about is this ridiculous 50mm lens!

I rationalized myself into getting a lens that is just horrible. I mentioned how I love this lens and it's ability to blur out backgrounds. Well, I have completely changed my mind about this piece of crap. I read the reviews, and was ok with the plastic casing and the noise. Big deal, I'm not shooting anything serious and it's just my "in the meantime lens" anyway. This thing cant even handle that responsibility. The whole reason I wanted this Canon 1.8 50mm was for that 1.8 aperture ability. I never in my wildest dreams would have thought that it wouldn't be able to focus at a 1.8! I mean really, you get the ability to let all kinds of light in, but then cant focus! Are you kidding me?!?! This lens is cheap. I understand that; but it's not even worth the $89 or the gas money I burned to go get it.
I'm taking it back today.

The problem is the auto focus. When the light is low, the lens just goes in and out and in and out. It cant find the focus to save it's life. I was taking self-portraits and then trying to shoot different angles of my sons guitar. There was lots of light for my shots. In fact so much that I turned down the light because it was creating a glare. I had lots of light coming in from the top, left, and right so the lens should have had no problem. Eventually I got some passable shots. I have a small ray of hope that my lens is just a lemon, but I have a feeling all these lenses are junk. Stay away from this garbage. Pay the money and get the 1.4. I have yet to get my hands on one, but the build quality is supposed to be much better, and I'm assuming the additional $250 is paying for the focus ability that was not included with the 1.8.

What to write about today...

I was thinking about writing about the women I work with. They really are quite amazing.
Then after dealing with my son all afternoon and through the evening, I was going to write about parenting. I have pictures for both. I actually spent the most time on taking pictures of me to support my parenting discussion, but I'm in a better mood now, so I think I'll write about my co-workers instead. After all, who wouldn't want to see themselves in print?
These two lovely ladies are P and M. We'll keep it at that for now since I haven't exactly told either of them that I was going to put their picture on my blog and have it available for every creepy crawler on the internet to stare at.
So let's talk about P. She and I have worked together for a few years now. She actually sat in on the interview to hire me. We are just alike and completely opposite. She likes a good burger, just like I do. She's always on a diet, just like I am, and she's a princess. (Just like I am, but don't tell anyone!) Ok, so it's not like everyone doesn't see that, but I like to position myself as the queen, not the princess. Ok, I know, I know, the king. Whataya gonna do?! It's good to be the king! P's a very interesting character. She's fiercely loyal to her family, her clients and her convictions. Like me. She has an aversion to all things electronic or technical. Unlike me. She also is an admitted kiss-ass. Unlike me. I can accept this about her because she owns it completely and there are times when her kiss-ass approach is pretty useful. I just try to keep my projectile vomit off whoever she's schmoozing. The other lovely, M, is someone that works for me. I'm coaching her so that one day when the world finally acknowledges me (with cash) for my incredible ability, she will be ready to take my spot. She's another interesting one. She's been in the same role for the last 9 years and was incredibly good at her job. Her clients loved her, her team and management loved her, but she couldn't make it out of that department. She really is one of the best in her field and I was lucky to get her. She's also cheery. Very cheery. I don't know how someone can be like that every day, it's unnatural. One of our clients even mentioned something about it. I know for a fact that she has had some tough times, but she remains a ray of sunshine all day and all night. It has been really nice having her around. So here I am at work today. I decided to lug Big Mama around with me because I had this new lens. I have a little PaS (Point and Shoot) with me every day, but sense I'm still on a buyers high, I took the 40D (BigMama) with me to work as well. I pulled it out when we were all together just to play with it. I feel very blessed to be around both of these ladies. They are often subjected to me and my ego, moods, child issues, car issues, pms, and anything else that comes up in my day. They both have been very supportive and encouraging of me and all the little side trips I take on this journey. This picture is proof. How many other people would smile on cue after the coffee has worn off and before lunch time? A big thanks to you both! xo

On my Eye's note: This was taken with the 1.8 50mm. I had a single spot focus set which, I think, is why M isn't as clear on the first picture. Again I love how this lens really focuses on the subject only.

Patience of a 42 year old

So today, I'm realizing that my super impatient son, doesn't act like a seven year old. He acts just like his mother.
I have been drooling over this 50mm lens. I tend to be one of those "buy every shiny electronic toy and all it's accessories immediately" types. What can I say, I like to think of myself as an early adapter. This time however, I decided to be different. I wanted to learn to take good pictures, period. I don't want to be one of those peeps you see with a bag full of lens and no clue as to when to use them or what they're for. Plus my resolution of some new years eve ago was to be responsible, pay ahead on bills I know I have coming, and get things when I could pay cash.

So, that day came and I ordered my lens. I even shopped around and found it for a reasonable price. As the possible delivery date got closer, I got more and more anxious to get the lens. Dreams of these amazing pictures with the perfect lighting were dancing in my head. I had visions of the most incredible depth of field all coming out because of this lens. I decided to just call and "check on" the status of my delivery. To my horror I found out that the store was over-sold and wouldn't have the lens available for another 3 weeks, maybe. I was crushed! There had to be someone that had this lens. Didn't "they" know I've been waiting to take these great shots?!?! After calling every store on the internet and stores within a 50 mile driving radius, I gave up. It just wasn't going to happen for me and my lens. That's when I suddenly turned into a seven year old.
During my speed shopping, I discovered Samy's had a cheaper version of the lens in stock! I immediately rationalized that I could get that lens for the "mean time" and then just sell it when my other lens comes in. It was a fantastic idea! I jumped up, ran over to my son's school, grabbed him early so that I could have a car pool buddy, and made it to Santa Ana in 23 minutes flat. It was great! I was even able to get a quick eyeball on the Crumplers! I decided to wait on those though. I want to take my time and research them all to find the exact one I want. I'm so glad that my ability to wait and be patient is getting better. It could have been a very expensive day.
Here is a picture I took with my new lens. I'm using it for Day 28 on my 365 project. I love having the ability to blur out everything that's not the subject. The subject matter however, we'll save that story for another day.

Today was a funny day. I'm not sure if it was the time change, the fact that it was Monday, or maybe the new moon. Who knows, and in the end, it doesn't even matter. I could dwell on how difficult the day started out, but the reality of it all is that it ended great. I am lucky to have all the opportunities that I do. Even more, I think I am really lucky to be in a place to recognize them. I love my life and wouldn't trade it for the world.

On my eye's note: I planned a shot today of me sitting on the back of a pickup truck like some country music star. Once I actually remembered to take the white balance off lightbulb and switch to outside in the shade, I was ok. Then of course my family decided they wanted to be in the shot, so there went that idea. In the end, I liked this one the best anyway.

My cousin S'lynn

Does that sound like my cousin Vinnie? Lol! I crack myself up. A lot. I'm sure anyone reading this knows that about me or will soon. Anyway, my cousin called me. Unfortunately I literally had about 5 other things going on at the time and couldn't focus on her call and had to cut it short. I love my cousin. She absolutely brings out the best in me. I can't say that she and I go back a long time. It's been a while now, but not since little girls or high school like you so often here. See, I was friends with her ex. Over the course of their relationship, she and I became friends. Some how through the divorce, she ended up with me, and my "friend" fell off the face of the earth. So for those of you following along, she isn't even really my cousin. We are in this relationship by choice. She is one of the few people that has ever given me honest feedback. She also is not judgmental at all. She's also beautiful, and built.(bitch) I had an interesting reality check with that over New Years Eve in fact. I was looking at a collection of her ID's, D/L's, etc. I felt like I was looking at someone else's pictures. For whatever reason there was a disconnect between what I was seeing on those cards and the person I had in my head. I guess I just didn't look at her that way. She was always my friends partner and then one of my best friends, so I didn't even see her surface. No wonder she can always get so many hot dates. (again, bitch!) She's a great artist too. When I started trying to take myself seriously about being a photographer, I was getting hung up on artist vs photographer vs being good enough for either of those "titles." She was one of the two people I talked to about that whole subject. Her response was so damn on and right, I was floored. She has a way of seeing life that makes so much sense. I hope everyone has a cousin like mine.

Day 2

I've been working on and off all day on a profile for this thing. At one point I started to write I'm a nature lover. In fact, I did write it and left it there all day. Later I decided to erase it. I'm no where near one of those save the planet, backpack across Italy types. I can appreciate nature. In fact, I love camping. It's a very grounding experience for me, but I really am a city girl. I like hiking. My idea of hiking is this cement trail to the top of Signal Hill or even better to the top of Buena Vista park in SF. Of course that usually comes after partying all night at the End Up so it automatically gets my vote as the best hiking trip on the planet! Given all that, I found myself less than enthused to go on this photography session in my local nature center. The last thing I wanted was a bunch of pictures of ducks and flowers. I went and actually managed to really enjoy the day. A couple days later, when my little group compared pictures, I had to just chuckle to myself. All my mates had these great pictures of the creek, macros of flowers, etc. Me, I had a picture of this recycled telephone pole that someone started graffiting. It was my favorite shot of the day. Go figure.

Day 1

I am fascinated with this whole "have your life on the internet" errr, I mean blog concept. It's free, so I thought I would set one up and play with it.