it always works out at the temple

so today, I decided i was going to go do baptisms before work.  this isn't too hard, since the temple is 30 minutes away from my house, and 10 minutes away from my work.  i left a little later than planned, but figured it wasn't a big deal.  well, last week the seattle temple declared itself open to walk-in baptisms for the summer. for the first time ever, as far as i know.  apparently they've had  favorable response (one sister told me they had 100 people come in the other day).  so, when i got there, the baptistry was by no means swamped, but it was a little backed up.  i was a little nervous about getting done in time for work.  since the temple is sacred and we're not supposed to worried about time or anything.... and i'm a little shy at times... i didn't want to interrupt anyone and ask if i could be placed ahead in line.  i just kinda didn't feel comfortable asking about it.  i prayed, though, "please help me to get done in time for work!" and decided to trust Heavenly Father to take care of me.  i was a bit anxious, but not terribly so.  one of the sisters working in the baptistry today came and sat by me.  we chatted quietly for a moment and the conversation turned to what i do and i mentioned that i am working today.  she asked if i was going to get there on time and i might have looked just a little nervous when i replied "i hope so!" with a smile.  she figured she was inspired to sit next to me and find that out, and went over to the brethren in charge and asked if i could be bumped to the head of the line.  they asked the sisters in front of me who all agreed without hesitation, and so it all worked out.  everyone was so kind, easygoing, and accomodating.  i love that about the temple.  i ended up walking into work perhaps 1 or 2 minutes early.  it was awesome.
my stake president once mentioned that anythign in the temple that could go wrong, or seems to be tricky to figure out, or whatever- always seems to work out.  i absolutely agree.
my experience today reminded me that Heavenly Father hears and answers my prayers.  and sometimes He even helps me out quickly. and He's even willing to help when my problem could have been solved by planning better and arriving a little earlier.... He took care of me today.  it was a nice reminder.
He doesn't always answer prayers quickly, but He does always answer them.  it's important to remember that.

A note to non-Mormons: you may be wondering what the heck I am talking about.  so, as members of Christ's church, we have the opportunity to help those who passed away without receiving the gospel, to get baptised. we stand in as proxies for those who have died, and are then baptized on their behalves. this work, baptisms for the dead (among other services), is performed in our temples. if you'd like to know more, please see the mormon.org articles on family history and Christ's church. see also 1 corinthians 15:29, 1 peter 4:6, malachi 4:5-6, and john 5:25.  and lastly, see lds.org's gospel topics information on baptisms for the dead. and feel free to ask me anything!

here are a few pictures of baptistries in different temples. couldn't find any of seattle, but the general design is always the same- after that of the baptismal font in solomon's temple.  (see 2 chronicles 4:2-5, and 1 kings 7:23-26)


photo from here


photo from here. this is in the rexburg, id temple. i have spent many hours there. it's beautiful, and i love it there.

photo from a fox 17 slideshow, with multiple photos of the kyiv, ukraine temple. very cool. check it out.

 
both photos from here. the one on the L is most like the seattle temple. plus, you can actually see the oxen in this photo (they are hard to see in the others!)

squashberry muffins

So, I'm easing into a new diet. A migraine diet, (as found in a chapter in this book, recommended to me by a nutritionist). The idea of this diet is essentially, a bunch of things I can eat without worrying that they will cause a migraine. Yes, it's pretty much an elimination diet (which I have heretofore refused to do), but honeslty, I haven't really felt that way about it. It's a no-worry diet. (Here's a list of some things I am to avoid.) So, I'm learning how to cook new things and eat things I've either never really liked or never even heard of. No red apples- only green? Oh, I guess the green ones can taste good. Oh, and quinoa is amazing. One of my new favorites and is now one of my staples :)
So anyways... along with this, I was looking for a nice recipe for zucchini bread, with none of those migraine ingredients. I found one, and adapted it per my preferences and supplies. Below is my recipe (yes, I am now officially one of those Mormons who shares recipes on their blogs... never thought I would join that prestigious circle). I made two loaves of bread, and 9 mini muffins. I ate most of the muffins relatively immediately, but did pause to take some pictures. oh, and they are delicious.

3 eggs (omega-3 fortified) 1 cup canola oil 2 cups demerara cane sugar (it's this beautiful thing from guyana) 2 cups squash (grated and drained). i used zucchini and a couple of other similarly shaped squashes (yellow and stripey green). dunno their names. 3 tsps vanilla 3 cups wheat flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 3 tsps cinnamon 1 tsp baking powder 2-3 cups fresh blueberries 1 beat eggs till foamy 2 add oil,sugar,zucchini,and vanilla 3 mix lightly 4 sift dry ingredients together and gradually add to egg mixture 5 blend well 6 add blueberries and fold into batter 7 pour into a loaf pan and bake at 350 dgrees for 45 minutes (about 12 minutes for mini muffins) 8 check at 30 minutes to prevent burning

culling

Everyone looks at their work and thinks about what they like and don’t like. But until you make an actual decision about each image-is it the very best image, is it good (but not great) or was it just practice-you won’t open yourself up to the learning that comes when you actively force yourself to separate the best from the throwaways. -Lara White

Culling is a word used by photographers for something I don't do too often.  It dates back to the 1200's where it meant "to put through a strainer" (see etymonline's second entry for cull... unless you want to read about testicles, in which case read the first).
I need to do this with my photography-- I have literally thousands of pictures that are simply mediocre that I have yet to bring myself to throw away.  Why shouldn't I?  Will I ever use them if they're mediocre and I have better ones?  Probably not.  Will the clients ever want them if I already provided them with the best photos I could produce?  Doubtful.
Ms. White concludes,

As photographers, I believe it’s our job to say something with the images, to add something more than just what meets the eye. I learned this more in the editing room than on any shoot. The editing or culling process allows me to see what works and why. And even more important, I learn what doesn’t work.

 And isn't this what we should be doing with life anyways?  Give it a try.  If it doesn't work, don't keep it.

on photo editing: a process reader

When I first attended college, I took English 110: College Writing.  I had an excellent teacher who thoroughly introduced me to the beautiful processes of writing.  She even required analyses of each essay we wrote- a sort of personal review of the process we went through.  Indeed, the textbook for our class was all about analyzing the process of writing, not just what makes a finished product good and what it might mean.  (I am keeping that textbook... probably forever.)

I was thinking about this this evening and thought of how it is valuable to stop and do that from time to time on everything we do- particularly in my mind, to sit down and really think about what processes I go through as a photographer.  The following is written as if to a client, explaining why I do things certain ways in my photo-editing process and what to expect.


It normally takes me about 4-8 weeks to finish editing a full batch of photos (end product 15-20 photos).  In the week following your photoshoot, I will upload originals from the photoshoot to a private online album which you may review and leave comments- helping me to know which photos are your favorite.  That same week you will also see about 5 finished photos published to a public web album for your enjoyment, as well as my blog and facebook page.  Thereafter I tend to edit 2-5 photos a week (depending on my work schedule and the amount of editing required per photo) until I have completed at least 15 edits with which I personally feel satisfied.  A single photo may require only 5 minutes of editing (this is rare) or it may require 60 minutes (a little on the excessive side, but in no way unheard of with the perfection I strive to achieve with each photo).  I will spend on average probably about 30 minutes per photo.  With this amount of time required and understanding that photography is not a full-time job for me, it easy to see how I (along with other portrait photographers) may take 6 weeks to finish editing photos for my clients.


I have never produced just 15 edited photos for a client- I often produce multiple edits of one photo (and count that as only 1 of your 15-20 finished), and will end up producing less than 20 only if the edits required were of a more time-consuming nature.  It is important to me to have your feedback on which photos are your favorite and I make it a priority to produce edited photos that will satisfy you based on what you have told me and what I know about you. However, I rarely edit all photos you may have marked as favorites.  My artistic opinion and professional experience and knowledge guide my decision of which photos to edit, weighing in mind the primary factors of the finished quality, potential and client satisfaction of each photo I work on.  (I ask myself questions like: how will this look when i am done?  do i feel that this is a photo i would personally want to display in my home if it were of me?  will it make my client smile?  does it evoke an emotion?  how can i enhance this photo- what would it take to achieve the vision i have of what this image could be? etc etc.)

With every photoshoot, I learn and employ a new skill.  Sometimes that skill is behind the camera, during the photoshoot.  Sometimes that skill is something nifty I've learned in photoshop or using a new photo-editing program.  With every shoot, the end result is a product created from hard work and creative detail.  The photos are not only added to my portfolio, but the experience of producing them expands my photographic capabilities and skills.

The Guyana Journal... Post #3

24 Oct Mon 7:23 am

I am in South America.

Our plane just touched down.

Let the journey begin!

~10:30pm

What a day!  After going through customs and getting our baggage, we hopped on a beer bus donated for our services generously by a member of the Lion’s Club of Bartica.  We went to another international airport, this one was only for small planes.  We had to wait 2 or 3 hours for the weather to clear up.  We slept and ate some Indo-Caribbean food in the meantime.

The plane ride was spectacular- just like something out of a National Geographic magazine- except I’m really there!  I took a ton of pictures.  I really wanted to sleep but I couldn’t tear my eyes and camera away.

pictures from our plane ride from georgetown to middle mazaruni
from L to R, top to bottom: 1 & 2- rainforest mountains,
3- mine 4- rainforest 5- city on the coast
6- world's longest floating bridge
7- city on the coast 8- road from the coast to the interior
9- from the cockpit 10- miriam, bekkie, and dr fred on the plane

We landed on a dirt road and some mining guys unloaded our stuff from the plane into a couple of boats.  We met Bekkie’s partner, a Guyanese man whose name starts with “B”.  The boat ride was only supposed to be an hour, but it was probably more like two.  I assume it was the Mazaruni River.  The boat ride was beautiful and interesting- floating mills?  Or something.  I think Bekkie might have said “floating community”.  I took pictures.

Carol, Fred, Miriam and I were all happy to have blood flow return to our buttockses when we finally reached Isenuru…  We were greeted warmly.  Added to our team is Dr. Michael [sinc-- Maykal] from Cuba, Sylvester a Dentex, Sister Smith, a big wig lady from Bartica, and another big wig lady whose name I’m forgetting.  Ministry of Health people.  Auntie Irene prepared a wonderful lunch for us.  Delicious steak, rice, salad, and plantain.  I discovered today that I like plantain, “leechies”, and “doubles”.

The village is very humble.  Haven’t seen many people yet, but tomorrow they will all come for clinic and we will see plenty of people! …And I just drifted off and tipped over my light.  I think it’s time to sleep.

Trip of a lifetime.

Put God first in your life.

my camera. note to self.

why do i always feel embarrassed when professionals ask me what kind of camera i have? honestly, i love taking pictures, i like making money for it when i can, my camera was a very generous gift from my grandfather, photoshop was something my father was blessedly in the position to give, and someday (hopefully soon) i'll be able to start saving up for a nice canon or nikon body + lens, but in the meantime i'm totally privileged to associate with and learn from wonderful photographers!

so i need not have an inferiority complex when asked what kind of camera i have. so what if my camera isn't a DSLR, or i don't have a really cool f/1.8 lens (drool), or a telefoto lens (again, drool)? at very little cost to myself, i have the tools i need to develop photographic skill and that, in the long run, is extraordinarily valuable.

i feel like i'm fighting a cultural thing that teaches if you don't have the latest and greatest toy (piece of technology or whatever that "toy" be), you can't succeed. you must be competitive on every level as soon as possible and (here's the real kicker), if you have to go into debt for this, then do it.

i'm okay with taking the risk of calculated debt. that's what i'm doing for this guyana trip. but as things stand, i can't afford expensive camera equipment, and i have more important things to save up for in the meantime. so for now, i will drool over my friends' and peers' cameras and enjoy the wonderful camera and tools i have and use them to develop the best photography skill i can.

that is my reply to the "i should"s i have inside my brain that needed silencing.

the end.

you're being watched!

So I was looking at the stats for both this blog and my photo blog. Recently most people have gotten here from facebook directing them to my Guyana post. No surprise there. What's fun is to see the countries viewers are from.... Mostly the US, some Canada, UK, Netherlands, and China. Wow surprising.

Even more surprising, however, are the stats of viewers for my photo blog. By the way, go to google images and do a search for Seahawks drumline. the 7th picture that comes up is mine... as well as a few others. Apparently I've gotten traffic that way. Awesome. But that also makes me feel like I should've put my name on those photos. I think I uploaded them at a small size, though, so that's okay. I put my name on all photos now.

Anyways, here's a screenshot of the viewer stats for my photo blog. Interesting, eh?