Me and Shelb

Scary and Disgusting Stuff

I went to the gym this morning. Nothing too out of the ordinary about that. Didn't feel like it but went anyway. When Shelby and I came back we saw muddy footprints outside our front door. People used to use our backyard as a thoroughfare so I wasn't entirely surprised about it starting up again. Ran some errands throughout the day and when we all got home around 6:30 P.M. our newest neighbor who lives right beside us, met us in our driveway. Apparently they were robbed. Same muddy footprints on their back patio as in front of our house. Times are hard, yes, but do people have to be so disgustingly greedy/selfish/self-centered?

A Day at the Park

 

It was a long week

Busy is good, I suppose. We spent most of the week getting footage to put into a promo video for Sid's school. It took a lot more out of us than I initially thought, but then again, isn't that how most things are. You never realize the true scope until it's too late to back out. lol The good thing is, after going to bed at 5:45 am on Saturday morning and then waking at 7:00 am, the video came out ok after all and by 10:30 am of the same day the viewing at the Education Day Rally was over. The Director admitted to crying and the others who I spoke to said they liked it. That made it worth it. Plus, it was good experience. I even got to the voiceover! :D

One day this week we hope to make it to the beach for the sunrise. (Yeah, right!) No, for real - we will. Tomorrow. If the pix come out good then I'll post a couple. The purpose it not to catch the sunrise itself but experiment with taking pix in that light. The sun rises relatively fast so the window of opportunity is short which adds to the excitement of trying to get good pix. We'll see how it goes.

WID

I am so exhausted! Did a shoot today for a local dentist who was doing free work for the day for "Women In Distress." We got to his office at 9 am and I didn't leave until 3 pm. One lady had 10 extractions. Yes, 10 in one day! Another lady had a mouth full of golds and couldn't get a job and was totally transformed with their removal. It was a wonderful experience. Hubby did video and I took stills. Dr. Ken Ross is one of the seven founding members of Project 31 - an organization of dentists that want to give back to their communities. They set up all kinds of 'missions', days that they do pro bono work. Great concept. Hopefully other doctors and service providers will catch the fever and do the same.

Another business card

Hubby has some business cards like mine (with Shelbs on it) but now he also has this one (with Sid on it). It'll work for now.

Some things don't have to be learned the hard way

Before you sign up to do something, ask around first. Get input from experienced others. Draw up a contract. Be specific about what services/products you will be providing so you don't get caught with "feature creep" in the end.

These pix were taken at the end of a shoot of a friend of mine. By the end, Shelb was cranky so she didn't want to take any pix herself. I put her on the stool and this is what I got.


Of course, I had to rescue my baby in the end.

II of II Photo Shoots

This second shoot was much shorter but we still got some nice pix.

I of II Photo Shoots

Some of my faves from one of two shoots I had yesterday afternoon.

FOUR LAYERS OF CLOTHES YESTERDAY!

*************************

Boy, do I bring doom and gloom whereever I go? Found out yesterday that the school I've been teaching at (parttime) is closing down. The instructors will be around long enough to finish teaching their classes but the goal is to get all the students graduated and placed by the end of the year. For me, that means I should have until early March. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

*************************

At the behest of an old friend I finally downloaded Android and the latest Eclipse IDE and Java SDK. For what, I don't know. It's not like I have a G-Phone....

You would think that there would be a certain amount of relief on your part once you have delivered a product to a customer. Not necessarily. Any relief you may feel is quickly and greatly overshadowed by a nerve-wracking waiting period as the customer finds time to review the work. In my case, that period lasted over 24 hours! In the end, the customer and our contact were impressed, which is good, of course, because that should mean more commercial business.

There are still good people in the world

I stopped by my previous place of employment a couple of days ago. I was under the impression that an ex-coworker had something for my kids. On my way there I was debating whether or not to go upstairs or ask the lady to come down, but I unstrapped the kids and went up like I knew in the back of my mind that I would. After the lady at the front desk went to get my friend it seemed to take forever for her to come up front. I called before arriving so she was expecting us, and her office is not far from the front, so I was wondering what on earth was keeping her. I soon found out. There she came but she wasn't alone. I didn't think anything of it though; I figured she just told some people along the way and they came to say hi...until she pulled out the card and proceeded to speak on behalf of the group. All I heard was something about them getting together to give me (the fam) something, and then I got all sappy and started crying right in front of everybody! (lol) I was very touched by the gesture. It was completely unexpected. Keep in mind I haven't worked there since early October yet as the holidays approached they thought of me and my family. I will forever have a soft spot for those guys.

Keychain Picture

Me and my baby at the all-white banquet. (Pic taken by his daughter.)  

The Latest Business Card

 

The Photography

The "studio" is almost complete. I have a camera, tripod, awesome pistol grip head, lights, umbrellas, seamless paper, the paper stand is a work in progress (I'd say 90+% done), and the battery grip with extra battery is on the way. We're supposed to do a commercial on-location shoot next week that I'm looking forward to. It's for a company that produces a hair straightening product. They may still need a female model who has big bouncy curls. If you know someone, get me a pic and I'll forward it.

I started a gallery (http://www.kaspinn.com/gallery.aspx). Take a look. Positive and negative feedback would be greatly appreciated. :)

I wish you a happy and properous 2009!

It's not too late to set some personal goals for next year. Notice, I didn't say resolutions. I prefer to think in terms of having something to work towards instead of resolutions that may imply a sudden and drastic change in behavior. For me, one goal is to grow my business so it's actuallyprofitable in 2009. To do that I have to put together an action plan for each area of the business. If I want more exposure, what do I have to do to get it? If I want more commercial work, what doors do I have to stick my foot in? If I want to produce better quality work, what practice can I get, what classes can I take, what other photographers/videographers can I work with. All this and more I have to think about for 2009. What will YOU be doing next year?

Check out the rainforest

Make sure to watch the bloopers at the end too. :) That's my boy!

Rays of Sunlight Near Sunset

 

Civil Rights

What do you think about the whole gay rights issue? Should marriage be defined as one man and one woman? What is marriage? Should two people have the right to decide to spend their lives together? Should they be denied survivorship benefits? Why do we have to be so stuck on words? Ok, so marriage is defined as one man and one woman. And let's say we call the union between two men a civil union. What's the difference again? Take religion out of it and tell me what's left?

Marriage was defined in the Bible. For someone who doesn't believe in the Bible it doesn't make sense to be forced to be defined by it. The Bible is for believers.

Have at it if you want. I'd love to hear from you on this one.

Is it for real?

Not sure how to take all this excitement. It's easy to get caught up in it though. People gave their lives so that a day like yesterday could happen - that a man could be judged by his character instead of his race. Everywhere I turn people are smiling and happy and talking to each other. Thinking back on today it seems I was one of those people. lol. I think even the world has breathed a sigh of relief at the election results.

To my son, who is five and said he would vote for Obama without any prompting from me or hubby, it doesn't seem like a big deal. He can't fully appreciate the enormity of what has happened. Not even I can. But when I see men like Colin Powell overwhelmed with emotion, I get it.

I wish Obama the best. I don't expect miracles like saving the world. I do expect that the next four years will be something to look forward to in this country. After that, who can tell, but at least for now there's hope.