Wedding photo gig number two. Date: Memorial Day weekend. Setting: A pretty little lake, tucked away in the country. Bride and Groom: The very first really, truly friends we made in Lawrence...our favorite double date for sushi...and just a pair that it's so easy to be happy for.
I'm going out on a limb a bit and sharing a booth with Sweet Husband at our local Art in the Park this Sunday. In addition to his usual lovely jewelry wares, I'll be peddling my pretty pictures via greeting cards and prints. It's always a fabulous place to pick up some hand-crafted goodies, so if you're local, come say hey!
(First off, thanks everybody for being so sweet yesterday. When I got home it was nice, so I let the other chicks out to play. Before long three of them were in my lap eating out of my hands [and Ingrid is just petrified of people, so I didn't take it personally]. Between being metaphorically cuddled by you all and actually cuddled by my girlies--well, it's nice to feel the love! And now, on to something very happy indeed!)
When Sweet Husband first started making custom jewelry, he would almost get ill when it came time to give a piece to a customer. What if they hated it? What if he had to re-make it? Even now--with both of us in grown-up jobs--the cost for a do-over would hurt, and at the time he started it would have been living on tuna cans for a month. Essentially, there could not be a do-over.
Thankfully, everyone has always been happy with his stuff, and it never was a problem. By the third or fourth time around, I--while still sympathetic--got to a point where I would tease him about it a bit: "You know they're going to love it, you're just pretending to freak out so I'll [insert household chore to be done]...."
I gained a new understanding of his feelings however, when, a few weekends ago, I took pictures of a wedding for the first time.
Lovely Bride was a friend and co-worker, so there was no way I could hide from her forever if it just didn't work out. Also, a thought that hadn't forcefully occurred to me until I was speeding down the road to the church eating JuJu Bees like they were crack--with photos of babies, engagement pictures, etc., you can always re-shoot them later. A wedding....there could not be a do-over.
It ended up being a gorgeous day, and happy people, well, I tend to think they're kind of easy to take good pictures of. Looking at the little screen on the back of my camera, I thought I was getting some nice shots, and editing them only made me feel better. Finally, Sunday morning I sent Lovely Bride a link to her pictures, then held my breath.
And she loved them....phew!
And it turns out that--besides that wee sugar induced freak-out--I loved taking them. There's something about the energy at a wedding....it's a "love high".
Thanks for letting me be a part of it kids! And here's to your wonderful life together!
(But before I get started on that, post #2 is up over at Urban Homesteading, wherein I discuss the book Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer
Remember Nice Scooter Friend? The one that Sweet Husband met online who did not leave him dead-in-a-ditch? The one whose awesome girlfriend moved here from New York last spring? The one who threw that way-fun Halloween party?
Well, now he's started a band. They're called The Latenight Callers, and they're really good--like, in that addictive, can't-get-the-songs-out-of-my-head-good kind of way. Seriously, I've been humming the intro to "The Tease" for weeks now, and I love it!
(Go listen, really.)
In advance of their first live gigs, they needed some pictures, and, of course, I was all too happy to oblige.
I have to confess, this was some of the most fun I've had taking pictures. There was even liquor involved at one point. Babies? Who likes taking pictures of babies?
Oh, that's right--me!
The thing is, these Latenight Callers--they kind of exude bad-assed-ness just standing there. All I really had to do was play with the lights a bit and push the shutter button.
But this little guy? He made me work for every smile...but it was so worth it!
Worked. Glorious, unapologetic productivity. It's a good drug. I can really understand how people become workaholics, as there is definitely a high that comes with crossing things off your to-do list.
Knitted. More about that (and pictures) later this week, but I actually ran out of row counters at one point and started using my hand.
Taught someone else to knit. Again, more about that later, but suffice to say it wasn't Moe or Porter.
Saw Ira Glass. As in, Ira Glass of This American Life. You know, I think if I had gone the journalism route (and I did consider it) he would have my dream job--i.e. going around and investigating interesting stories and people in an "every day" sort of way. And even for a little ol' blogger like me he had some very instructive things to say about the way to tell a story properly. If he's near you sometime, go listen to him talk--he's fabulous.
Took pictures. Of an awesome local band called The Latenight Callers. I haven't edited the shots yet, but as far as just-out-of-the-camera stuff goes, I'm really psyched.
Watched the snow fall. Winter just won't quit around here. I'm OK with that for another week or so, but come March I want to start tackling some outside projects that just can't be done with snow and frozen ground. Weather gods, please make this your last snowy hurrah, OK?
...because in about 15 years she's going to be beating teenage girls away with a stick! Serious heart-breaker here!
(Yes, more of me playing at the photographer thing. I kind of think I like shooting the wee ones like this--they're not at all self-conscious and they're a heck of a lot of fun!)
So, the other thing I've been doing lately is taking a lot of pictures...which isn't really new, except now I'm taking them of people--strangers even--not just my dogs and family. The engagement pictures I took for my friend have set off a chain reaction, and, well, looks like I'm in business for the Christmas card picture season, at least!
Last weekend I shot two sweet little families....
OK, but really, I have to confess, my favorites were these two....
All together now....awwww!
But, just as a note, if you're local and you want some pictures taken, drop me a line. Sweet Husband says my rates are horrifically low, so come get a deal before he talks me into raising them!
Not a real bench. Not real railroad tracks either--unless a kiddie train that runs around the park counts.
But hey, why not? The little engine that thinks it's a gweat big twain...or something like that!
Happy Bench Monday!
(Pictures and some sparse words I scribbled down while we were there....some of which actually match up with the pictures I took, but most of which don't....click to make 'em bigger.)
Wind roaring-rolling up and down the hills through the trees.
Pink and blue sunset.
Moe trying to catch little sparks from the fire.
Slightly creepy being out alone in the woods.
Not a darned thing to do but go for a walk in the woods (and throw sticks, which Moe discovered for the first time).
Two dogs crashed out (sometimes before 9 a.m.).
Thin, blinding November sunlight.
Coyotes barking outside. I wonder if Moe and Porter would know how to talk to them.
Wee critters in the woods that make the leaves rustle.
So much quiet--hard to be without the gizmos and noises and constant entertainment.
Set camera timer. Wriggle out of boots. Climb up on wobbly stump. Snap. Hop down. Try again.
Would be much easier if Moe wasn't barking at me. "Throw the frisbee-thing! Throw the frisbee-thing!"
Such is life today. A bit inefficient, a bit incessant, but how can I complain when I've got glittery, striped socks?
I first encountered the concept of "Bench Monday" on the blog Bluebirdbaby, but lately it seems to be going viral, with it's own Flickr group and everything. The rules? "Stand on a bench. [Or a stool, or whatever happens to be handy.] Make sure it's Monday. Wear something pretty." I don't know why, but this amuses me like nobody's business. So here I go....
New boots. Pretty porch punkins. Leaves that I can't figure out whether to sweep away or not. Happy Bench Monday kids!
As much as the idea of being buried gives me the heebs, I love going for a walks in pretty, old cemeteries. Strangely, there is one kinda-sorta near our house that I hadn't yet visited, so tonight I decided to rectify that situation.
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