I got a tiny bit of sleep… my fault for staying up late, but when you got momentum, it is wise to use it!

After the kids departed for their respective schools, Lisa and I drove around to this Lake. I forgot the name - will get it from Lisa - but it’s the largest lake in the South East or something like that. We only had a little bit of time there, as Max had to be picked up from Daycare. There were geese there, and we shot some of them. One reason I’m crashing @ Tim & Lisa’s - even though Tim’s not there, is because I’ve been saying for a while that I’d help Lisa out with her Photography. I’ve given what advice I could in the past, sent them a hotshoe adapter, tips on software, the occasional book… but you certainly get much more done in person. Lisa now has a Canon Digital Rebel, and my lenses are compatible with that. This gave us a perfect opportunity for me to show her what lenses I recommend, how to use them, and why. She took some great shots the day before of the kids. I had just bought a Canon 180mm 3.5 with Macro, so I left my Canon 100mm 2.8 with Macro with Lisa. While we were at the lake, I showed her a few Macro tricks. Just to clarify, Lisa’s photos are superb! She doesn’t need any help… she just needed some confidence in her skills. Her skills are definitely awesome. We shot a few geese, trees, water, and then had to rush to get Max from his day care.

While we waited for Maxfield (named after Maxfield Parish, one of Lisa’s favorite artists) to come out, I was coming up with good opportunities to get some business by using MySpace. One of the things that Lisa enjoyed was when she was an intern at an ad agency that shot a lot of stuff for Jewelry. My suggestion was to find local jewelers on MySpace who’s pictures are lacking, and contact them for some free or discounted photography.

When Max came out we went to McDonald’s to eat and play (Max) in the playground. Oh my god! There were soooo many little kids there! It was so loud. My Coke Slushee was too dry, I am not impressed. The woman working the counter (I try to start conversations with everyone these days) had told me that the Icee here was much much colder than the Icees they had Walmart when she worked there. It really was cold! I got the hardest brain-freeze I’ve had in a very long time.

After McDonald’s, we went to this abandoned barn that Lisa had wanted to shoot for a while. It was fun to push her out of her comfort zone. Next to the barn was an abandoned house, and we went inside. At 1st she was quite hesitant… what if there’s someone in there? What if we step on some of that broken glass? What if…. Screw what if– I jumped right on in. It’s fun being fearless If there’s someone there, I can fight them if I have to, or more likely just have a conversation… but no big deal… there was no one there, and Lisa jumped right in. As a matter of fact, since I was teaching her long-exposure experimental stuff the night before, she had forgotten her ISO at 1600… so when I reminded her to check her ISO, She freaked out, and decided she’s got to run back in there and shoot the whole place again. The barn was cool….. lots of vines. I climbed IN it… spiky vines and all. I climbed on some obviously rotted wood planks. Whee!!! They crumbled under my weight, so I tried a few - just had to watch my balance, and try to test the ground beneath my feet.

I shot some macros of some mushrooms that were growing on a log. Lisa suspects some of the vines around them were poison ivy… oh well! Guess either it wasn’t, or I’m just not alergic, as I was sticking to all sorts of vines. Lisa stayed with Max and walked around the barn some more– I ran across the street and shot this other abandoned house. It’s kind of creepy walking into someone’s house uninvited… even more since no one’s there… but it’s incredible! You get to see what someone’s life might have been like. Who lived there? Why did they leave? Was it timed? or in a hurry as these places have some stuff left. Is it haunted??

Since Lisa’s husband (and my very good friend) is Tim, aka Timmy… I took a photo of a wooden sign in the house that said “For Timmy Only” - isn’t that odd? I had to babysit Max while Lisa reshot the 1st abandoned house (turns out she actually liked her 1600ISO pics better, as the grain added character).

We got Trevor from the bus stop, and went back home. I tried to work on images, and since we kept joking around and getting that “Be Prepared” song (from Hoodwinked) stuck in each other’s heads… I had to put Hoodwinked back on. So, yes… that makes 3 times in 24 hours I watch that film!

I was supposed to meet my fried Melissa at 8pm…. I started rushing to leave… but then it turns out she had a job interview for bellydancing (something I wanted to interview her about), and did not get home till 11 something. I was pretty bummed, because by the time I got there, she was already in her PJ’s, and in the morning she had to leave as soon as she was ready…. so, no photoshoot or interview. I did not need “a place to crash”! My trip is about the people and interactions… not just the couch. Until she was done with her interview, I was still at Tim & Lisa’s. Myndy had asked me for some pictures I had taken of this guy Derek when I was in Utah in October.. it will be his birthday on January 14th, and she wanted to print up some pictures as part of his present. I’m flattered. There’s nothing cooler than someone wanting to give your pictures as something special for someone special. I dug up the pictures, and Lisa saw them. They were pictures of Derek smoking a cigarette in front of a work-light… they came out really awesome! Lisa said that she had always wanted to take pictures like that of someone smoking…. I said I can certainly help her out…. I brought in some lights from my car, and then I had to figure out how to make smoke…. Lisa’s mom smokes, and leaves lighters and a cigarette in one of the drawers. We found it, and I smoked for the picture. I hate cigarettes, the smell, etc… but *shrug* I’ve probably done worse for a photo Then it was just fun about playing with the lighter…. I brought a reflector, to make a dramatic picture with only a lighter for the light. We played with that for a while, then I took some beautiful low-light photos of Lisa & the kids. Then just the kids… then one of them had a reaction to something, and I had to go to Melissa’s anyways.

As I said before, when I got there, Melissa was already ready for bed. She’s a programmer, and had a lot planned for the next day. We did chat for a few minutes. Her home is lovely, and has some amazing Feng Shhui. Melissa gave me some delicious apple cider. I for a worked for a tiny bit - but was pretty tired, so decided to go to sleep. The comforter she had given me was reallllllllly comfortable. I actually had a small crush on Melissa in high school. She was a babe , a cheerleader, and was nice to me. She even showed up for my birthday party. I was kind of a geek…. did I say kind of? Hmmm…. well.. I think of myself as a geek, especially when reflecting on those days.

I took a photo of her couch… but not of her- maybe I can grab a still frame from the infrared video.

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