They Joys of Summer

Starting the picking at Patten's Farm in Gorham.

The sun has finally come out in New England! And with it, so do the locals. I picked strawberries yesterday for the first time in more years than I can count. My mother and I took my nephew, who instead picked the flowers and 'prickly things' growing between the strawberries. I love this image, though, because there is something about slowing down to discover things that so many of us forget to do. This small unfamiliar plant sparked his curiosity and kept him happy, more so than any amount of strawberry picking may have done.

Max in a strawberry field.

Which is good since he didn't pick a single berry! My mother and I slaved in the heat for hours...

Not really. But we did a decent job considering the season is pretty much done and the rain has not been a friend to some of our summer crops here in Maine. I went home and juiced a bunch of mine right away. Cuz that's what I do these days, I juice things. I worked hard to get those strawberries so I am going to use up every last one of them! And as I do I will be reminded of that piece of prickly grass and Max's day of sparked curiosity.



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Need an Artist Playdate?

Check it out! I'm being featured on Thursday Sweet Treat:

http://thursdaysweettreat.blogspot.com/2009/06/artist-playdate-this-exceptionally.html

Surfers on Higgins Beach

And while you're there, bookmark Natasha's Blog and check back every week for creative inspiration and the chance to share your work on the web with others!

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SoFoBoMo: Done Deal. Almost

The Book is complete and uploaded to Blurb. Just. In. Time. For. Lunch.



Which is good since I somehow missed breakfast, not to mention a mid-morning snack. Unsurprisingly, I made a handful of adjustments at the last minute, adding more photos and rearranging pages. I created more work for myself, without a doubt, but am much happier with the book I just uploaded to BLURB then I was with the book I stared at for hours last night.

Yay for me!




Of course, there is a little glitch. I need to upload a PDF file of the book to the SoFoBoMo site. I have saved a PDF, but the maximum size is 15 MB, and mine just happens to be 36 MB. Hmmmm... that seems like a pretty big difference. Anyway, I will need to figure out how to make it small enough to upload. I mean, it's done and the book has been ordered so I know I completed the challenge. I will not wear myself out too much with the PDF detail. There are some other tasks to tackle today.

Still, the rule follower in me probably won't rest until it's all done the way it should be.

PDF glitch aside, I am so glad I took part in this. Getting out of the house in the morning with my camera and photographing in new places was a perfect way to spend a month. Not to mention the great people I met along the way. There is also a piece I didn't really foresee: I like photographing food! I have spent years claiming to be a people photographer, and yet this past year has proven to me that I can do a decent job of capturing mother nature's beauty and/or some yummy goody just begging to be eaten. This challenge has opened my eyes to the shifts happening in my work. And I think it's safe to say I like it.





My approach to this project was one that I hoped would challenge me (it did) and educate me (it definitely did) and get me to finally make a book (I did). There was also the hope that I would create a body of work to show others. I scoped out both locations ahead of time, shopping and eating and then asking to speak to the owner. I pitched my idea and came away victorious. Then there were phone calls and emails and schedules to work out. Time spent in each location was not just about capturing images and telling a story, but also about revealing some of my own story. Gluten-free is my life, as well as theirs, and each person was able to share with me different pieces of their journey. Most of that info is up in my brain and not on the pages of the book, as this was a photo challenge, not a journalistic one.



On the technical side of things I shot entirely with a Nikon D300 (2, actually, since the first one malfunctioned and was traded in for another) using available light. Images were edited in Lightroom and the book was built in Blurb' software, Booksmart. Here are some fun stats for the last month:

Camera malfunctions - 2
Computer meltdowns - 1
Miles on car - 736
Tolls paid - $24
Sandwiches enjoyed - 4
Baked goods eaten - 16 (roughly)
Hours spent making book - countless

Now to go take care of that final detail......

Taking a Laugh Break

Tony, Reggie, and Matt on set and ready for their close-up.

With the SoFoBoMo Challenge, along with all of its editing of food photos, almost behind me I felt the need to post a photo that makes me giggle. It was taken on set yesterday when shooting for the hilarious weekly webseries, Willard Beach The Real Story. A happy distraction between my book deadline and a tiny wedding ceremony I will shoot later today. And a good reminder of how important it is to make sure your headband matches your bike.



Willard Beach, The Real Story airs every WEDNESDAY and tells the tale of life in a small town beach community with clever quirkiness and crafty humor. Catch it here - http://willardbeach.tv/

SoFoBoMo: The Final Stretch

Bread fresh out of the oven @ Anello's. Gluten-free never tasted so good!

So, here it is. The final days of the SoFoBoMo experience. I am editing and laying out this week and happy with the way things are coming together. I only need 35 images for this challenge, and I shot 532 (which doesn't include the several that were lost when my camera had its second melt down last week), so I should be all set. In fact, I am more than all set and find myself with almost too many decisions to make!

Twinkle filling mixes at Wildflours.

My entire book is being built on Blurb, which may not be exactly how I'm supposed to be doing things. But I do not currently have Photoshop (Lightroom does everything I need... well except when I need to layout a book!) or any other software to do layout, I'm just using Blurb so I can order my book as soon as I'm done. YAY!

The fabulous Raspberry-Coconut muffins @ Wildflours. I'll drive miles for these.

I feel like on this chilly and somewhat dreary Wednesday I am not full of many wise words or loads of wit to share right now. I will post more before the end of the challenge, I promise. It has been an unbelievably rewarding experience so far, I'm just feeling a little 'computered out' right now. In fact, I'm on my way out the door to give myself a much needed computer break.

Besides, editing all these food photos is making me unbelievably HUNGRY!

The dipslay case @ Wildlours.

SoFoBoMo: End of Week 2

Because I just can't get enough.... of FLUFF!!

GF Baking ingredients at Wildflours Bakery.

And because I haven't updated my life in SoFoBoMo world for a while and figured I should. Since I love this photo, this is the one I chose to share. These are the items that make up the life of gluten-free baking.

I have not photographed for the project since last week. There have been photos to edit and ideas to hash out. I know I have more than 35 photos (one of the few requirements for the challenge), but do I have everything I need? Maybe. I also decided how I want to break the book down, more or less. And today I started to lay it out. I feel like I'm right on track, but every once in awhile I think of details I still need to tend to, and hope I can get it all done in time and to my liking.

Cake decorating at Anello's Cafe.

So, perhaps I will get in another day of shooting at each place next week. There are a few things I still want to capture. Until then, it's back to editing photos and laying out pages...

But maybe for now it's time to turn off the photo brain and just curl up with a good book!

Happy Friday everyone!

SoFoBoMo: Tools of Your Trade

Just another day at the office. Or in the kitchen. And just another day taking pictures of the Gluten-free goodness that comes out of Wildflours in Brunswick, Maine. I am happy to report no camera glitches today....



Today's shoot went well, I will edit the photos later. I just wanted to post these two since I kind of dig them. Tomorrow it's back to Anello's with fingers crossed and all equipment double checked.

SoFoBoMo: Camera Bump

Today I drove down to Portsmouth, NH to get in my first shooting day at Anello's Cafe. I was supposed to go Monday, but had to cancel (something I HATE doing). I had a thought that made me laugh before I headed out the door. What if something else interfered with me getting photos of this yummy GF eatery? I would have to think that maybe it wasn't meant to be. But I laughed it off, jumped in the car, and headed south.



When I walked into Anello's the place was pretty quiet, the lunch rush over. I am trying to time my first few shoots so that I am not intruding or getting in the way during the busy hours. Traci Anello, the cafe's owner, looked at me and said "Well, there's not really anything going on today." They were apparently having what one of the employees would later refer to as a 'Wednesday'. I guess that means it's one of the slow days.



Right around the time I took this photo, my camera started doing something odd. First the image on the screen was splitting up. Then images started having bright pink, blue, green, and yellow lines through it. CRAP! What is going on with this camera I just bought 6 days ago?



Shortly after that my camera no longer wanted to take pictures. I tried to act cool. I fiddled around with things, took the memory card out, put it back in, tried shooting again. Then just ordered a sandwich (which I hoped to photograph...) so I could sit down and try to figure out the problem. More crazy bright lines, and eventually my camera just didn't take another photo. A warning appeared on my screen that I may need to change the memory card, that it may be corrupted. I needed to get some technical advice and solid answers before I continued taking any more photos. SO, yeah, today seemed like maybe it wasn't meant to be!



But, I ate my yummy GF food then drove straight to my camera shop and get a little advice. The verdict is still out whether it's a camera issue or just a memory card issue. Still, if it is just a memory card then it happened on one that I hardly ever use, and I find that annoying. Like I threw my money out the window. Even if the throwing happened 8 months ago.

I'll be headed back out tomorrow, this time with extra memory cards and A BACK-UP CAMERA! Since I'm pretty sure that's why I just bought the second one. Ah, the lessons we learn along the way! Onward and upward, as my dad used to say.....