Tag: new year

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Bah, humbug!

It’s not that I don’t like the Christmas season, I’d rather focus on the Christmas reason, you know, the why we do all of this. I’ve had the Christmases that were perfect, with everyone unwrapping all that they asked for, the cooked-to-perfection meal for twenty, and the decorations that could make the spread in “Home and Gardens.” All of that takes lots of shopping and planning for what to buy, and it’s so stressful! And to be honest, I’m just not a big shopper. I know I stand in stark contrast to the many people who live for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I don’t pore through on-line ads or those in the newspaper. My nickname could be “make do”, because I’m fine with last year’s styles (and in some cases, last decade’s styles), and I love repurposing things. My husband would tell you it takes me longer scraping the last of the contents from this bottle or that than it would to go out and buy a new one.

I’m probably an offense to every red-blooded Amansfield_2893merican girl who shops for the sake of shopping.  Forget window shopping; I’m more like a guy when I shop. As soon as I see what I need, I bag and tag it and move to the next store! I abhor clutter, whether it’s in my home, car or even on my computer. I’ve never collected knickknacks, though I think they’re really pretty in other people’s homes.

One thing I don’t mind having a lot of or spending time shopping for are pictures. Pictures on the wall, in albums, on blankets and pillows, and even on my coffee mugs! Pictures for myself and those I buy for others. I like pictures of all kinds, my kids in school, my family on vacation or enjoying the holidays or ones depicting our everyday lives. Pictures that show us happy, sad or melancholy. They help me remember what we were doing this time last year, five years ago, twenty years ago, or in the case of my parents’ pictures, a lifetime ago. When I look at pictures of me and my loved ones, it helps me to remember who I am and what’s important to me. They preserve our memories and remind us how grateful we are for one another.

I’ll make no excuses for not having the most brightly lit house on the street this year, because I’ll be reminiscing over pictures from Christmases past and remembering what’s really important to me. That brings me back to the real reason why we put so much focus on this day of the year. The day Jesus entered this world, nothing would be the same. It set into motion a plan that from the beginning made a way for us to be saved. Christ alone is the one who saves; this is nothing we can do for ourselves. John 3:16 says, “For God so loves the world, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting lmansfield_2893ife.”

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Blog Children Family Pets Portrait Sessions Rambling Self-exploration

The Hiccup in My Brain

Pano of the portrait garden

I woke up this morning different. As always with me in February, I begin to get a little moody. I’ve always blamed it on the lack of sunshine or of being outside less often. If I don’t watch myself, I begin to care less about the things that are important to me; I begin just passing time.

As the temperature fell be a degree or two, I looked out the window and began to see the heavy raindrops turn to sleet and then, to snow. And as the snowflakes fell lightly to the ground, it seemed as though something in my thinking seemed lighter, maybe fresher? By the time I got to work, I felt entirely different from the day before. I was making lists and looking forward to the weekend. I was planning my next craft project and looking forward to making dinner tonight.

How is it that a little snow could change my whole attitude? Am I so shallow that it took an abrupt change in the weather’s pattern to shift my perspective? Why do I feel so useless, at times, when trying to gain the upper hand with my emotions?

Change, whether good or bad, can be construed as positive, in that it opens up our mind to possibilities that we couldn’t contrive before. What I experienced this morning was a simple jump start for my brain. I’m sure I could have found other ways to achieve this, such as taking my dog for a walk or visiting a sick neighbor.

Bertrand Russell said, “In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth: will you not be aware of it?”

IMG_0692
Avoiding work
Pano of the portrait garden
Pano of the portrait garden
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Blog Rambling Running/Recreation Self-exploration Workshops, Seminars & Talks

Nothing off the chopping block

I began running today. I’ve run plenty of other times, in fact most of my life I’ve run for recreation and leisure, but I had taken a hiatus.  I run for so many reasons. Because my pants feel tight, because I feel blue or maybe I feel “blah.” I run when I feel a little under the weather or if I’m cramping. I run to clear my head or to help me solve a problem. I run to feel the wind on my face and the sun on my shoulders.

But because I’m going through this process of “deconstructing” my life in order to put it back together better, I stopped doing many of the things I became so used to doing just because I’d always done them. The running, to me, had become symbolic of my life. Because I mindlessly cruise through my day like a hamster on its wheel, success was tied to how many “things” I could check off my list, not the meaningful interludes with people.

I was a lot like Bill Murray’s character in the movie, “Groundhog Day,” a weatherman who grudgingly travels to Punxsutawny Pennsylvania to cover Punxsutawny Phil, the groundhog. He finds the job to be beneath him, and is even more upset when he’s snowed in that night. Instead of going home the next day, though, the weatherman wakes up to find it’s the same morning of the day before. And, only he seems to know the day is a repeat. This happens morning after morning when he realizes there are no lasting consequences to his actions. Whether it’s overeating or acting like a jerk that day, it’s forgiven the next morning when he gets to live it all over again. He quickly finds this life to be a lonely one, and so to improve himself and, hopefully, “get the girl,” his outlook on life begins to change. He takes piano lessons, learns French, becomes an ice sculptor, but most importantly, he becomes a student of the people in the town he comes in contact with each day. As his focus is drawn from the inside out, he becomes a happier person and more attractive to those around him.

If I’m going to spend much time on an activity, I don’t want it to be a completely selfish and wasteful endeavor. If I’m trying to live more purposely, should something I ordinarily do by myself face the chopping block? As I run, I think about how basic, how elemental it is. By simply throwing on a t-shirt and sweats, stepping out my back door, and doing something I love, I can feel more passionately about the things that are important to me. Living my life more simply with less stress, I’m hoping to see through all my busyness to the things that really matter.

So, I’ll keep running, especially if it helpsIMG_0347 me do the things I love with the people I love for as long as I can!

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Blog Photo Gear Tips & Tricks

New camera, New Year?

Get out and practice with your new camera.
Get out and practice with your new camera.
Get out and practice with your new camera.
Get out and practice with your new camera. As you practice, you will learn and have fun while doing so. It’s a great New Year resolution and may bring some joy in your life for 2014.

Did Santa bring you a new camera for the new year? If so, I’ve got a few tips that will help you get started with capturing some great images.

1. I know it sounds lame, but open that little book that came with the camera and read at least the first chapter or so. It should be a pretty easy read and will get you familiar with the basic functions. Read with your new camera in front of you and be sure to make note of how to turn the camera on and off, the location of the shutter release, zoom for lens, button or menu setting for ISO and white balance.

By the way, don’t try to learn all of the menu options. If you had a difficult time programming that old VCR, then trying to figure out all the menu items will easily confuse you early on. If you read something and it doesn’t make sense, simply read on and don’t get bogged down in technical details. Shoot for the basics at this point.

2. With the knowledge of being able to turn on the camera, set the camera to any of its programed shooting modes. Sometimes its a green P, or a symbol of some sort. Refer back to the manual if you can’t find it. Once found, I suggest going outside and practice. Go out during the day which should yield enough light for quality images and shoot until you get bored.

Practice capturing subjects that won’t run away or move. Your house, car, flowers, etc. all work well. Try to train your fingers to the locations of commonly used buttons. Be sure to to zoom and and out so you may practice with the lens as well.

Shooting in Program mode will force the camera to do all of the work for you with regards to setting the shutter speed and aperture. With time you can learn how to control these but at first its important to simply get started. Shooting in Program lets you enjoy quality results without all of the knowledge.

3. So you read some, practiced some, now its time to evaluate your results. I suggest downloading your images to a computer of choice. I’m a Mac user but any PC would work just as well. Once downloaded, use the OS or a program such as Adobe Bridge or Apple iPhoto to view the images. Look at each image you captured evaluating the technical quality. Look for sharpness and overall exposure. Try to remember what camera setting was used and make a note or mental note of what worked and what didn’t work.

You can put the camera card back into the camera during this process for some additional details sometimes not easily seen when viewing on a computer. With the media card back in the camera, look for things like focus point (where the camera focused), histogram (technical but helps to evaluate exposure) and any other settings used.

4. Once you have a handful of favorites, I suggest you send them off to be printed. Print 4×6″ at a minimum but if you feel you really have a few good shots, consider printing 8×10 inch prints. In Nacogdoches, any of the local drug stores can print.

With print in hand, compare what you were seeing on the computer. Darker, lighter or spot on? Compare to what you were seeing in the camera display.

5. The last tip is to give your favorite image to a friend, co-worker or family member. Have you heard about the Joy of Photography? Give your favorite image away and you will experience it in both you and the person you gave it to.

I would love to hear about your experiences regarding the new camera and new year.

Enjoy!

Greg Patterson, Certified Professional Photographer