I am on cloud nine today. No, not because I had to go work all day for that client that makes me want to go rock in the corner, nope. I am high on the possibility of things to come, an intoxicating feeling, which also seems to land me deep in the present.  For a non-new-agey person, I think I may have sounded definitely ‘out there’ and new-agey.  I am taking another huge leap of faith this week and letting loose said client, which means I will not have the ‘security’ of a paycheck.  I understand what they mean by leap because it feels like a huge one (apropos that I should choose this during a leap’ year, no?).  I am just ready for this, mentally and fiscally. I’ve saved and saved and saved. I haven’t bought a pair of shoes, gone out to dinner or a movie since I don’t know when. I saved like my life depended on it and it does.  I am not King Midas now by any stretch but I have enough to get me through a few months and to see if I can make it without a ‘real’ job. I am not going to be laying poolside eating bon bons either. I have been working hard, very hard, but working and loving what I do is an extreme pleasure that I can’t quite articulate. I love how I feel in the morning when I know I have a whole day of possibility ahead of me. I love that I feel creative, productive and light. I am scared but it’s a happy fear (is there such a thing?). I can’t wait for Souvenir Foto School to start, it’s always a good time and I feel like it’s a perfect way to wish my old life a ‘bon voyage’. Thank you to everyone who visits, your support has helped my dreams come true as you have never given up on me and have been my virtual cheerleaders.  I am both humbled and extremely grateful.Thank you.

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The reason I like this photograph, is not the photograph itself but the memory it conjures. This lone bat was in a tray sandwiched between bird wings and bird beaks in the otherwise bird specific section of the Natural History Museum. Why then a solo bat? There was a note next to the bat, which in retrospect I should have photographed as well that read something along the lines of, ‘although a bat can fly it is not a bird.’. Just in case anyone may have thought a bat was a bird. Even as a small child I never once thought a bat was a bird, but maybe there are other kids out there (or sheltered adults?) that may have been confused until they came upon the lone bat?  Anything is possible I suppose, anything.

I saw a documentary last weekend called Ghost Bird about the discovery of a thought to be extinct bird called the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. I don’t want to ruin it for you in case you want to see it, for those that think a documentary about a woodpecker is about as exciting as watching paint dry I should add that the story that unfolded for me was one of hope, the power of belief and great sadness. It’s amazing how destructive humans can be but equally amazing what humans can accomplish if they set their minds to it. The Nature Conservancy was started as a result of the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers first round with extinction. This pair of birds are Western Meadowlarks. I live in a concrete jungle, there’s pockets of nature here and there but I never see little yellow birds flitting about. This pair is as close I have ever been to seeing a bird like this in Los Angeles. I once had a hummingbird come visit my back door, I about imploded with delight. When I was a kid I’d see Blue Jays all the time, but I haven’t seen a Blue Jay since I was about six, no idea where they could have gone, but I don’t blame them for moving. I am hoping with our impending re-location that we pick a spot where seeing a beautiful bird is an everyday occurrence. I pinky promise that I would never, ever take it for granted.

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This is about where I threw the towel in on this project last year. Tonight I almost did the same, not because I didn’t have an edit I sure did, but my desktop computer slowed to a snails pace and then the Photoshop threw up a white flag of surrender–I lost all my work. I would say it was devastating, but that seems a bit much, I’ll save devastating for a natural disaster not a software failure on a self-imposed assignment. This was taken with my Iphone, it’s ostrich legs in case you thought it was perhaps a dinosaur. I’ve always been curious about this large flightless bird that stands upright and can run over 40 mph. I hate to admit this, but I have actually had a bite of an ostrich burger once. I swallowed. I can’t believe I would do that, have you seen the eyelashes on this bird? How could anyone ever eat an ostrich? I still hang my head in shame, it’s not like I was starving on a deserted island and the only thing I could find was a bite of ostrich burger. It’s one of the things I regret in life, truly.

I will be editing a photo a day for the remainder of 2012::Project MMXII, this is my ‘after’, you can view the ‘before’ here. Read more…

 

I have always received a lot of email from my blog friends/visitors, I even tried FormSpring once so the questions could be asked and answered in what I thought was a very organized fashion. It seems that my blog friends/visitors preferred answers one-on-one. As the internet grows and my email bulges with unanswered questions I thought I would just write a post and see if I can get them answered. I have been very slow with my replies lately and I don’t want you to find me rude. There’s not really an order here. If I missed your question leave it in the comments and I will either add it to this list or answer you in the comments.  Happy Friday!

A: Now that it has been growing out it is no longer square, but becoming very rectangle (no joke).

A: I loved having a ‘fancy’ (fiancee) but having a husband is so much better! He’s such an amazing husband but he does snore-LOUDLY.

A: Ah, great question that I have no answer to. I started testing new waxes for the candles and haven’t been happy with the results. I also am still playing with packaging, but thanks for the push.

A: I wanted to do a photo challenge like the 365 or 52 weeks, but realized I already have a ton of photographs, what I needed more than taking more poor photographs was to edit some of the ones I’ve already taken.

A: I hope not! I do choose the really awful ones specifically because I love the metamorphosis of the image. When I shoot professionally for a project like my product shots I am conscious of getting the photographs right in camera so I spend less time editing. You don’t want to be doing what I do for this editing project for an entire shoot. I really despise editing bad exposure, white balance etc. on hundreds of photos. I’d rather just try harder when I shoot.

A: Yes! We always change up the sessions so it will not be an Alphabet edition but something else entirely. I am so excited about it as we have never done a session like it before. It will be in April and I promise to make the announcement for sign-up by March.

A: Probably not, BUT I can tell you one font that I got tons of emails on and you should buy today because my friend Debi created it and it’s awesome. It’s called Bellucia and you can get it here. The talented girls that participate in Font Friday always find amazing fonts and I highly suggest blog hopping with them to find their discoveries. Any typophile will find great pleasure in clicking from link to link.

A: Again probably not. I’m sorry, I worked really hard to find my resources and establish relationships and it’s my livelihood to protect them (if I win the lotto this could change). I will be sharing some of my favorite printer resources with my Souvenir Foto School students though, because I think every photographer should have at least one great print of theirs in their home.

A: Yes! I will be teaching photo editing classes w/Photoshop this year online in private sessions for both beginners and intermediate students. I am madly in love with the program and I would love to be able to share what I know with others.

A: Funny you should ask…I am thinking that since I am doing the MMXII project and editing a photo-a-day that maybe once a week I’ll try my hand at editing one of your photos.  I might just do that.

And that concludes todays Q&A.