The Evolution of a Photographer

I've always been interested in photography. I remember as a teen living on Alakoko St wanting to take a picture of "fire and ice". I didn't know how I could do it so I don't think I ever even attempted it. All we had were instamatic-type cameras and I think I must have realized that that type of camera just wouldn't do the job. I know I wanted to do it in the dark, have the fire shining through the ice, or something like that.

Eventually I got myself a 35mm camera from a pawn shop and took Rachyl's senior pictures for High School. I was finally able to play with a camera. But in the same limited way that everyone could during the film camera era. It was a cheap camera and had a limited life with my gang. 

So in about 2000 I took the kids on a trip to the coast, hiked the entire Dungeness spit and visited the lighthouse at the end. I borrowed my Mom's 35mm camera and was so excited about the pictures I hoped I was getting. I recall having to reload the camera with film as we picnicked at the lighthouse. On the way back to the mainland I took lots of pictures. At one point I accidentally left the camera sitting on a piece of driftwood and Dane and I had to hike back at least 1/2 mile to retrieve it! Then, later that evening, after having the kids pretend to be scaling a cliff face while I lay on the ground to make it look like they were quite a bit above my head, then sunset shots and Keith taking pictures of a slug it suddenly occurred to me that we should be running out of film. I always had a hard time reading the film indicator numbers. Turns out that when I inserted the film it never caught on the wind-up spindle. I got NO shots of our visit to the lighthouse, the long trek back, the kids "climbing" the cliff and the sunset. Agh! 

The next year I was introduced to digital photography via another borrowed camera for a trip to Yellowstone. I was thrilled to be able to take tons of pictures and not have to worry about processing costs! It was not a great camera and my inexperience got even more in my way and some of the most important shots got bungled. 

I, again, bought a used camera, this time off ebay. I chose an Olympus because that's what Mom's camera was and it took great pictures. It was a 2 megapixel digital camera but I enjoyed the freedom of shooting a whole day's worth of shots and then only need to upload them to my computer to be able to view them. And EDIT them! Picture It was awesome! 

When I was preparing to head to Hawaii for the first time in 30 years I had the funds to buy myself something brand new so I got the same kind that a co-worker had bought and fallen in love with, a Canon Powershot. He was right, the camera was perfection! On our last day in Hawaii I drowned it under a waterfall and had to go back to my Olympus. But the pictures were safe on my parents' computer and on the memory card. 

That's about the time that people started commenting on my pictures. I overheard a person in line behind me at the store raving about the nice pictures, she had been peeking over my shoulder. Then a friend's relative told me they should be post cards or calendar shots. Hmm... 

A couple years later I decided to splurge the big bucks on a brand new DSLR and a class. 

I went kinda overboard with my photography, I loved it so much! And then Rick and I had that in common so it was even easier to overindulge. 

Right now we're in a bit of a slump. We had a downer autumn. But my family keeps me shooting, I've become the family photographer. I get requests for maternity, newborn, engagement, anniversary, etc.

I particularly enjoy shooting "outside the box", in this case meaning not your average poses and scenery. I had an idea for my granddaughters, I wanted an old-fashioned tea party shot. Rach and I got together to do it and it came out PERFECT!! 

Rick and I had been toying with the idea of joining a photo club and finally did when he signed on with Boeing, we joined their club that meets on Wednesday evenings. We've been going for about the last 6 weeks. 

For me it was a bit discouraging. They have a judging and then a critiquing session for all the weekly entries. Well, my stuff was all getting judged basically mediocre. While I don't consider myself an outstanding photographer I also didn't think my work was "mediocre". Last night was print night, meaning that our pictures were to be printed and presented on some kind of mat. I chose my picture for the night but also decided to include a copy of my little Tea Party granddaughters' picture since I had it available, I had printed new copies for the moms since the first ones came out rather dark. Well, my chosen shot again came in at a mediocre score but my Tea Party girls was a big hit! I was shocked and thrilled! They told me I should be a portrait photographer, if I wasn't already. 

So, wow! I'm happy to finally have some recognition from other photographers. Only problem is: from here it's all downhill...

All Quiet on the PNW Front

Yep - not a lot of excitement going on right now.  For the most part everyone seems to be getting along, no one is pregnant and there are no weddings in the plans.  We're all working and paying our bills.  But here's the few things that have come along that are worth mentioning:

Dad had a heart attack a couple weeks back that could have been a much bigger, life-changing event but thanks to being informed they did everything right and it became somewhat of a non-event.  I know that it wasn't and still isn't a non-event for the folks but at least there isn't any major happenings going on because of it.  They handled the attack right, got to the hospital quickly and dad's doing good in spite of a 100% blockage that could have been a real tragedy.  He still has to find out what they want to do about the remaining blockage and has to correct some diet and activity.  But all in all, it was mostly a wake up call.

Both granddaughters are now walking.  Elise is much more mature in spite of the mere 5 months age difference, she walks like a long-time walker.  Taylor is still getting her walking legs.  But they're both extremely cute little girls.  It's been so long since we had girls that it's surprising how cute they are!  Sure, the boys are all definitely cute as well but girls are just different.

Rach is planning major surgery for the end of the year and is going through all the tests, etc, that are necessary before it can be done.  She'll also be my companion on my annual trip to Kauai this year so I get to be the tour guide once again!  Yahoo!  It's no fun to go see places I've seen before by myself.  Let's see, Waimea Canyon, Polihale Beach, Salt Pond Beach Park, Kalalau Valley, Secret Beach, Queen's Bath, Hanalei, Kilauea Lighthouse...

Rico and I joined the Boeing Photo Club and got to share some of our shots for their critiquing.  This last week Rick shared a shot of a globe thistle with a bee and actually got really good comments and 2nd/3rd place in the popular vote.  The competition has begun!

Rick's done with his training at work and actually got to work OT this weekend.  He's supposed to do that every 3rd weekend but with an impending strike he's gonna see if he can do it more often.

Oh!  Denny recently tried to get a new truck and I ended up as a cosigner or something and got a real credit rating for the first time in my life.  For once I got an actual number, I've always just gotten records of my on-time payments month after month.  This report said; "Scores range from a low of 300 to a high of 850".  Then on another line: "Your credit score: 000826".  WOW!!!  Nice number!

Right now and for the next couple months I'm part of a 4 member team whose job it is to inventory the Auburn School District's elementary schools' libraries.  All 14 of 'em!  It's actually a fun job except for the fact that the bookshelves are situated low for the little kids.  We're crawling around on the floor half the time.  I'm a Grandma - that crawling on the floor stuff is exhausting!  But I'm paying for my trip to Hawaii and getting my mom's "Sweet 16" ring fixed with the $$$.

I'm rather excited about our upcoming trip to Ireland.  I have our itinerary set up, maps to all the places we'd like to see and included maps to thrift stores ("Enable Ireland") and Kingdom Halls.  I have rooms for all but 4 nights, 2 are at hostels, one at a hotel, one at a CASTLE, one at a B&B and one at a "guesthouse" on the NW coast.  I've been driving around on Google maps to see what we'll be facing when we go to find some of the more obscure sights that I hope to see, castle ruins and the like.
  
Oh, and speaking of Google maps, Rick went to Google Earth and looked at our place and saw this:

They managed to get "the Stump" while it was in the extraction process (the other red circle is the dead neon in the driveway).  Kinda funny...

So, while no news isn't great for blogging purposes, it means life is just moving along - peacefully...

Road Trip Extraordinaire!

Well, Rick finally told Sarah where we're going for as her graduation gift so I'm free to talk about it - we're going to IRELAND!!

The way he told her was actually kind of cute. He got her an iPad (for xmas) and put this picture on the desktop (I added the date in photoshop):

Sarah had given us a list of places within our budget that she'd be interested in visiting so the hunt began. France was not on her list but I don't really think she'd mind if we chose to go there, it was actually right there in ticket prices, pretty equal to Ireland. Sweden was quite a bit less but when I looked to see what there was to see in Sweden I didn't find much, it almost seems like a better place to visit in winter. England and Scotland were a little more expensive and Rick was just not interested in the Czech Republic. So Ireland it is!

I bought the tickets 2 weeks ago and the research ensued. It turns out there are hundreds (if not thousands) of castles in various states from a hubble of rocks to grand, reconditioned and refurnished, probably even more splendid than originally! I chose a variety, some ruins that still have some structure, some even still have stairways and walkways and we'll also visit a few reconstructed ones. The refurbished ones involve an admission fee and often a guided tour so those have to be limited for both finances and time. Churches, cemeteries, abbeys, and "houses" that could have been "castellated" back in the day are all on the list as well.

I was unsure as to what we'd be able to fit in a day and if I was just trying to do/see too much. My plans are for between 150 and 200 miles a day with lots of stops along the way. I have many sights planned and mapped and we'll be sure to stop at anything interesting we discover as well. I finally got some input from Sarah so was able to add her findings to our "must see" list.

Our hope is to be able to peruse colorful villages and hopefully also find some open air markets where we can enjoy the local fare. Some pubs (which children may frequent), thrift stores and Bed & Breakfasts are in the workings. We'll also spend an occasional night at a hostel, to save some bucks, wash some clothes and be able to know what it's like to stay in a hostel. Many of them now have private rooms for 4, some even have their own bathrooms!

We also have a special tour planned that is a surprise for the time being. That one excites me too - you'll have to find out about it after the fact...

This will definitely be an adventure - talk about a road trip!

The Blog Void

Yeah, I haven't blogged in a while... What can I say?

I was working full time, as I mentioned in a previous blog. I didn't know just how badly I didn't want to work full time. It actually put me in a depression. When I was single and working full time I had weekends and evenings to do as I pleased in social and spiritual pursuits. Then I flip-flopped and had my weekdays for those same pursuits. But when I became employed full-time and married my weekends were spent with THAT GUY. You know, Rick? He's not causing the problem, it's just the whole "being married" thing.

So now the job is done and I have the time to get back to all these other things I spend my part-time employment free time doing. Working on photography things, family things, I can get back to spiritual things, etc.

While it wasn't what I wanted to do I'm glad I had that time working. I was able to earn some of the money we needed for what Rick wanted to give his daughter as a college graduation gift - a trip to Europe!

So since ending my job at the Auburn bus barn office I've done a little babysitting, gathered some materials for my next family photo session involving 2 little grand-daughters, put together a 2013 calendar and bought the tickets for our upcoming trip. Once the tickets were purchased and finding out that the country we're visiting is having a huge tourism year planned (no doubt to boost their economy) I've been busy looking up places to visit and sights to see so I can plan out a route (we'll be doing a ROAD TRIP!!!) so I can reserve rooms and special tours or dinners or whatnot. Our trip is planned for June and some of these things are already selling out, believe it or not!

As yet we've not told Sarah where we're going so I'm not free to share that in any vaguely public forum. But Rick will be spilling the beans soon so I'll be able to share. Stay tuned!

December 15 was a big day that deserves mention. There were 3 events. 2 were both of our parents' anniversaries. My parents celebrated their 50th and as much as I wanted to be there with some of my family I just couldn't handle the huge price tag on the December trip-to-Hawaii tickets! So we couldn't be there... Bummer. Well, we did help them get here for Dane's wedding in February so we shoulda just celebrated then!

For Rick's parents' anniversary we decided to buy them a new goof-proof computer that, as yet, hasn't become everything we've wished it to be. His mom would like to be able to use the computer and internet. But there were various factors in the way of that happening and we didn't know about all of them. We knew that his dad has a tendency to mess up the computer by accident, by doing simple things like not realizing he's holding the mouse button down and dragging things around. So the new computer fixed those issues. But it turns out that they also have a DSL modem that's about 45 years old. Try as we might we just can't get the internet to work properly. So today Rick ordered them a new modem as well. Hopefully all will be well ...

And last but certainly not least is that Shirley got baptized as a JW! I know that doesn't mean a lot to many of you but for Shirley that's a huge step! Those of us who are now her spiritual brothers and sisters are thrilled for her! Good going Shirley!

Cars That Say "Cheese"!

So there was a local guy who had a car collection that grew - and grew - and GREW! until it was so big, it filled many warehouses.  It numbered over 3000 cars and was the largest collection in the world.  They would open the collection to the public once a year, in August.   In 2000 Harold LeMay died but his collection continued.  Hundreds of his vehicles have been displayed in a new museum built in the parking area of the Tacoma Dome.  But the old warehouses are still full.

Rick and I visited a Tacoma Photo Society meeting years back and have been receiving emails regarding their meetings, etc ever since.  Well, they had a photo outing planned for the old warehouses this past Saturday and we decided to join them.  Fun!

We got to the museum early to stop at the Senior Center and have breakfast that was right there next to the warehouses.  It was $4 for a slab of ham, a couple scrambled eggs, coffee, orange juice and all the pancakes you can eat.  Yum!

The day turned rainy so it was great to be inside and dry.  But the warehouses were packed.  It was hard to get any good angles of thes cars.  There were even shelves packed with cars!  Old beaters all the way to perfect restorations.  Early 1900s all the way to fairly recent cars.  Foreign and domestic.  Fire trucks, school buses, a tank, motorcycles, tow trucks, limosines, cars that open on the front and those whose doors swing up.  You name it, they have it...

We spent an hour in each warehouse and got about 100 pictures in each.  So when we got home we had a lot of editing to do.  I ended up dumping all but 111 and only edited 13.  3 got emailed to the Tacoma Photo Society to share with the LeMay people to possibly be used in their brochure or on their website (everyone was encouraged to send in photos, to repay them for our special rates).  After receiving the 3 they asked me to send more of my stuff, they liked my "eye".

Here are the 3 that I initially sent in:

Maybe we should join the club!

Kids - Waddya Gonna Do...?

And I've got more than my fair share of them.  But I wouldn't give a one of them back!

I received this text from one of them this past Monday :

"I have a bump on my brain..."

Not exactly the kind of text you want to see coming from anyone - let alone one of your kids!

Denny has had migraines since he was 6.  Lately, though, they've increased to a point where the doctor finally decided it was time to look into a cause for them.  They've increased to 2 - 3 a week and he's also having blurred vision in connection with them.

So the first plan of action was a CAT scan.  Let's see if there's anything in that noggin.  Well, it looked like there was.  A MRI was done the very next day. 

It turned out to be a good news - bad news situation.  Good news - the "bump" turned out to be just an oddly located blood vessel, no mass, no tumor, no bulge, just a vessel.  Bad news?  They still don't know what's causing the headaches and blurred vision.

And now, on a totally different note - Keith started his first job!  It's not a super job, by any means, but since he's 22 and this is very first job ever it's a big deal!

I didn't get filled in on what all it entails but his comments to Rick were that is was stupidly easy and boring.  He's working at an auto auction and the only description I got was involving stickers.  I'll get more information tonight but - in the meantime:

Congratulations Keith!

Turning Around

6 weeks ago my household was in a pretty sad state. No one was employed and the money was flying out of Rick's savings account to pay the bills. Buying anything was strictly on hold. Food and gas were eating up some of our meager cash holdings. But we weren't too down about it, we knew it was only temporary.

A couple weeks after Rick was out of work and we found out that he would not be able to collect unemployment I decided to apply for food stamps. I hesitated because between us we had what I thought was too much money in savings. But what could they do? All they could do was deny us. So I gave it a shot and I was approved within a couple days and was immediately issued over $700 in a EBT food account!

The following weekend I found a cabinet on Craigslist for free that could be used to house Rick's camera collection that he wants to rebuild. It's in very good condition and other family members wish they'd seen the ad first!

Next, I had cut Tony's hair a couple times without any compensation so they finally brought us over a 12-pack of light beer.

Rick had rebuilt a gate for his parents and they loved it so much! They dropped by that same weekend to repay him with steak and more beer!

The following week Rick found out that his ex-brother-in-law had spoken to his boss at Boeing and Rick got a call for an interview. I also got brought in to work at the Transportation Department at the school district to fill the void for a woman who suddently loss the sight in one eye. I've been here since late September and will probably be here for another month. My income is gravy so this is all going into a fund for travelling, etc because...

Rick got the planner job at Boeing! He's making typical Boeing wages and all the benefits that come along with it. He started "working" last week, meaning that he's getting paid for his time but for now has nothing to do. Training starts soon and will be complete before the end of November.

Keith got a job! Job #1! It's a part time job at an auto auction putting "stickers" on cars, whatever that means... But it's a JOB!!!

I'm psyched, can you tell?

WOW! what a turn around from just a few weeks ago...