This one is processed a little. All I did was change the light/dark values to make this more "wintry." I really like the outcome. Hit the big version to see the the ice details more clearly.
They looked like jewels. Like garnets.
People complain about weather problems, and I'm guilty of doing the same. But I try to appreciate the beauty that comes with the problems too. This morning, for a brief moment, the world was frozen. It was quiet. I couldn't hear the hum of the rush-hour traffic on a nearby six-lane highway. Everything was encased in crystal. I did hear a certain dog huffing and rumbling in pleasure as he broke through a layer of ice into the snow though. For a few minutes while Apollo and I wandered around, it felt like we were truly in a small town, as opposed to the suburbs of a city.
And that brings me to the "big news" I've been hinting at for awhile. Most of my friends and family know about it - if you're one of the few that don't, my apologies! I haven't been able to talk to some of you in person for awhile.
In about two months, I will be moving out west, to somewhere along the mountains. I haven't decided where exactly, but right now Colorado Springs is a top contender. Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Fort Collins (north of Denver) are the other contenders.
Some answers to questions I think I'll be hearing in next few weeks...
What will I do for money?I have money saved, so I should be okay for several months. I'll look for a parttime gig to help stretch out the dollars and start freelance copywriting full time. It's actually an excellent time to start freelancing because companies are outsourcing projects instead of hiring people.
What about photography?As much as I'd like to make money photographing, I don't think I have sufficient experience yet to pursue it seriously. This'll continue to be a hobby for awhile.
How long will I be out west?I don't know. I fantasize about living in a town for a few months, then moving on to the next. I'd love to hit Alaska for a year so that I can experience the full cycle of the weathers up there and photograph it. One good thing about this is freelancing will give me the freedom to move around the country.
Will I move back East?Again, I don't know. It depends on the opportunities and what's going on in my life. I would not mind temporarily living in upstate NY or northern New England though.
Have I told my bosses yet?Hell no. I'm waiting until after I fly out to visit my sister's family and to scope out the Colorado towns in Feb. I have an idea I'm going to pitch to them, but am waiting as long as possible. Just in case they say, "STFU, don't let the door hit your ass on your way out." In which case, I'd be out of a job a lot sooner than I expected. I have heard from my coworkers that they took on that attitude with some former employees.
For godsake, why?! D.C. is fabulous!D.C. is fabulous - if you enjoy that lifestyle. I don't regret taking this job nor the time here, but I've known for quite some time that I'm not a city person. At best, I'm a "big town girl." The towns that I listed fall into those categories.
I did not have time to do much work with them, so it's as-shot. More later!
We had an ice storm overnight and my district had two hours delay or were closed. Which means if I want to, I can just stay home and not use PTO. Hurrah. I'll probably go in, though.
I used the time this morning to find a different blog template. I like this one better, and don't worry - I will be adding a bit more color. I chose the header (the picture) because now that we've had our "big snow" - a whopping 2 and half inches under the ice - I'm definitely ready for spring!
I'm not really happy with this one, and probably will look for a different template to use. Edited to add: The blog template I tried last night is now gone. Scroll down to see the screenshots.
Problems are many, as you can see. If photos aren't 400 pixels wide - like the vertical ones in the posts below - then the text of the post gets all screwy and it also somehow screws up the subsequent posts. I don't like that and I have no clue how to fix that.
Unless the creator of the template fixes them...I'm moving on.
I was searching for a different template that let me display my pictures a bit more creatively. I liked the polaroid in the header, it's cute. And for a personal blog, it's ok to be a little cutsey. That's the only reason I went with this one.
For posterity, I made a screenshot of this, so after I change the template yet again, this post still makes a bit sense.
Before:
After:
OK, I got a little carried away. I couldn't decide what to do to "fix" the guy. So, inspired by his faux fur collar, I decided to play around a bit with colors and tried to make him into "early 90s punk-meets-metrosexual man." The hard part was, because his hair is tousled, I couldn't tint it without it looking artificial. If you look at the large version, you should be able to spot my shoddy job of tinting his hair a bit more easily. He obviously got lipstick and eyeliner as well, I think that looks pretty realistic. I also tweaked the tones so he isn't so yellow and got rid of his stubbles. I tried to whiten the whites of his eyes, but something went weird, so it looks pretty fake to me, I think. Oh well!
Before:
After:
What I did: Tweaked the tones so the chick wasn't so yellow, got rid of errant flyaway hair, smoothed her hair so that it looked a little more groomed/styled and got rid of skin discolorations. That's all. Didn't put a lot of work into this.
I wonder what she was thinking.
A guy reading a chess book.
Think about it. A guy...reading...a chess book. At 8 AM.
Seriously, who reads those things? No less, at 8 o'clock in the morning? Serious nerd.
It seems I've been, as the title says, operating under a misconception. My memory of the legalities of photographing, taught in a high school class, were wrong. I thought that if a person were clearly recognizable in a photo, even if it were taken in public, it could not be displayed on a public media forum without permission. Recently, I decided to check on that, and found that I'm wrong. There are certain exceptions, but as long as the people are in public, "anyone can be photographed without consent except when they have secluded themselves in places where they have reasonable expectation of privacy, such as restrooms..."
So, expect to see a few more "people pictures" here, and I hope you will give me feedbacks on them. Incidentally, if you happen to photograph an incriminating event in public, the police have NO legal right to take your camera. It's up to you if you want to argue that with them, though.
Today, I was reading a photog's blog detailing his battle with the court over his right to photograph police that were in a public place, and he has a short article about police attempting to confiscate cameras. Blog here: http://carlosmiller.com/ It's really an interesting read, so even if you're not into photography, take a gander.
Today is an exciting day for Obama and his family. Historical, certainly. He is our first mixed-race president, after all. Think about it - it's been barely 40 years since segregation legally ended (1968). This is the guy who, as a child, had to drink from a separate fountain from the whites. And now he's our President. A lot of people are saying that we've made great strides as a society since then.
I don't really agree. Yes, we've made some progress toward true equality. But race inequality still exist. Actually, that's a topic I'd like to explore another time. Back on topic at hand.
People are also saying that today marks a change in our trend. I do agree that most people, on the whole, are more optimistic. This is a guy whose whole personality and set of values and mores are so vastly different from what we're used to. Not necessarily better. Just different. It's...refreshing.
Am I excited? A little. Optimistic? Not yet. I'm reserved. After I hear and see with my own eyes what Obama does in not just his first 100 days but also his first 100 minutes, I'll let myself feel excited. Obama is so pro-green, so pro-biofuels, in support of women's rights, etc. I truly hope that he achieves what he said he would. I want to believe that he will. We'll see.
President Bush, though well meaning, did some damage, unfortunately. He banned stem-cell research, supported turning over Roe vs. Wade (hasn't been yet) - and appointed the Supreme Court Judges that would support his views. He also supported drilling for oil along our coasts and in Alaska. He also fought each and every request to declare an animal endangered - why? Because it would've cost his supporters money to comply with the regulations to preserve the endangered critters' environment. Those are just a few examples of what Bush did or supported that goes wholly against my views.
And there was the no-child-left-behind act. This is a good example of a good intention gone awry. A lot of people supported this without fully realizing the consequences. I don't fault Bush for this, but his name is on the bill. The program needs further fine-tuning.
In the first 100 minutes - yes, minutes - Obama is expected to revert several rulings that Bush made. A full report probably will be made tomorrow (Jan 21); I haven't heard anything on the news yet regarding this.
In short...this is a post about nothing.
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