Another Day, Another Storm

That is a typical Florida summer--hot and sunny one minute, a major thunderstorm the next.

Following my bridge playing fun this morning I raced home to watch the U.S. Open golf tournament, specifically to watch Phil Mickelson play alongside Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods. Unfortunately, as happens all too frequently, when I want to watch television, the cable doesn't work. In this case, the box would not turn on despite multiple attempts with both the remote, and my actual finger touching the On button. Frustrated, I called Bright House and talked to a girl in Canada who told me she loves the cold. What can I say--people tell me things. Originally she told me she could not help me if the box wouldn't turn on, but with some prodding I got her to re-boot the box on her end and all's well that end's well. For my trouble I got an internet upgrade and a monthly price reduction for 24 months. Phil fell apart big time. Tiger did not.

Anymore, if you have the television on, be prepared for beeping and warnings when a storm is coming through, which I find very annoying. You would think it was the first time it has rained in Florida from their histrionics! Thunder, lightening and driving rain ensued. Big deal. It's done for the moment after dropping 1/2 inch. Of course, this morning the sprinklers ran. Isn't that always the way?

Yesterday, on the other hand, was beautiful until around 6 when the wind picked up, the sky turned dark, and what looked to be a whomper storm turned out to be much ado about nothing. For most of the afternoon, I lounged both in, and beside, the pool, finishing the novel, A Land More Kind than Home. I love reading a first novel don't you? It seems as if the writer, in this case, Wiley Cash interviewed here, gives it his or her all with no expectations placed upon them by either editors or readers. Sometimes that seems to pertain to my photography--I continue to do what I know people like rather than take the chances I did when I began.

Speaking of which, the other evening I was hunting around through closets, baskets and on shelves for my little tripods. Bruce, in an effort to raise his little speaker phone gadget closer to his mouth, wanted to see if one of the baby tripods would work. Eventually I found them, and as is always the case with a major hunt, I found other stuff I hadn't thought about for a long time. I discovered my first sales book--a great tool for putting my business into perspective. I was lucky though, selling to the public on my first outing and most every time since. Furthermore, I found a book I used to keep on the table for people's email addresses--many of the folks I met in the first year are now friends, or, in the case of Mr. Roger, helpers. The little frame which held the business card Bruce made for me with some software was in the basket, reminding me of how we would come home from the market and he would print up new ones as I ran out, on perforated paper. The excitement, and disappointment comes through on those pages. It was fun seeing the first day I sold "Beach Daisies" and "Street Art", my two top sellers.

Saw this on a car the other day and it sure spoke to me. Sunday, for the gazillionth time I told someone the story about how difficult it was for me to actually put myself in a booth and hope people would come inside and see what I am all about!

And then there was this quote from an unidentified, at least as far as my notebook is concerned, source:"You are as interesting as you are interested in the things around you." Don't you agree?

My last visit to the library I got about four books. And then I ordered more online. And then another one came that I ordered about two months ago. I can't decide which one to read next!

This isn't even the full stack! Decisions, decisions! You're probably thinking "brother, if only that was my worst problem!" and for that I sympathize. In fact the correct word should be empathize because, believe you me, my life has not always been so easy. Raising four sons has it's moments!

If I've shared this recipe before, forgive me, if not, please try it-- you'll be in for a treat! Dirty Risotto by Giada. Time consuming but worth every moment spent stirring!

On my table I have four baskets of prints as follows:

Funk

Flowers and Animals

Food and Wine

Beach and Landscape

These are fairly loose categorizations but it helps people gravitate to what they like the most. Despite having a fair number of what I consider my best flower pictures in the basket, people more often than not gravitate to the daisies.  I have a collage titled, "Crazy for Daisies" which is oh, so true. Which is why I'm always trying to dream up yet another daisy picture. This one started pretty good but the daisies had a mind of their own and refused to stay clustered:

Which to my mind makes it kind of funny, but this one will never make it into the baskets! And I tried this shot:

For those wondering, that is Bruce's car hood after another storm. Looking out my office window just now, the sky looks about the color of that car hood. 

Finally, I want to take a moment to thank all of my faithful readers whoever you are. Unlike many bloggers, I love to write. I mean love it. As I go about my days, writing is on my mind nearly as much as photography. Titles and ideas come to me when I'm washing dishes, mowing the lawn, riding my bike,or doing laundry. I think the reason I've kept at this for so long is because it is a labor of love for me--not a chore. Before I sat down to write this post I went through a book loaned to me by Mr. Roger during my last visit to their home. In fact, I met the author because he was having a poster designed by Roger for his upcoming show at the Orlando Museum of Art. Jimm Roberts photographed and interviewed some extraordinary writers and artists living in Florida. While watching the golf I went through it, reading the interviews. Many of the famous writers said they knew they wanted to be writers from childhood. I never had the confidence to even consider such a notion, making me grateful for the internet which has allowed me a little bit of cyberspace to pursue a love. The thought that my writing is worth a bit of your time is overwhelming.


Again thank you,
Gail

You Must Have a Really Good Camera!

If I've heard that once, I've heard it a hundred times, which, quite frankly, gets old over time. The fact of the matter is that although I have more than a point and shoot camera, I have one that is the bottom of the line; loads and loads of people own the same camera. The truth is that I have more practice than most, having shot pictures almost daily for over four years now. I have learned oh so much during this time, things like how to get the background you want, composition, lighting, and maybe most importantly being ready for anything. To stand out from the crowd what you need is imagination first with a decent camera--it doesn't have to be the best or I wouldn't be here writing this!

Furthermore, oftentimes people say, I know so and so who, if they did this,  would be sure to sell a bunch! Maybe, maybe not. In my experience, what it takes is serious dedication and "hard" work. I emphasize hard work because it is. Or at least at my age. This weekend took it's toll on me. HOT, HUMID, and RAIN--the outdoor vendor's nightmare trifecta! What was I thinking, pray tell? Taking the set up down in the dark and rain on Saturday night, Bruce and I got into a rare fuss--I was miserably hot and tired, he'd spent a very frustrating day, attending an unexpected funeral for an old friend, Bill Petrey's dad, and once he finally got home to get back to work, I needed his help to set up on Church Street during the hottest part of the day. Arriving home, he found he had no internet connection! He has two new jobs starting today, as well as an inspection tomorrow, another one next week and 350 unopened emails!! Now, his job really takes hard work! No wonder he was unhappy. We loaded everything up, most of which had some degree of wetness. We did not, however, unpack the car when we got home.

Waking up early yesterday morning, after seeing a weather report which said there was 60% chance of rain, we hemmed and hawed about setting up. I decided to take the chance which proved to be the right choice because the rain never materialized. On the other hand, the humidity cranked up to nearly 100% around 2:30 and if I'd not had my fan I would have died!

Enough about the challenging parts, I did take a few shots of the events which made me happy. I remember once when I met the professional photographer Cindy Ord who had moved here from NYC, she told me that in New York, if your photograph did not include people it was considered a dud. Not one to argue with what's hip in NYC, here in our little city, buyers skip over any I put out with people every time. Thus, my people shots are seen only in this little space. Here is one I took on Saturday evening that I just love:

I was chatting with two very nice young women in front of my booth when I saw this happening. Grabbing my camera quick, I love the light in both her hair and the street is perfect. Those shoes were amazing! Dana had the security guard let me in the building so I could get on the crosswalk over Church Street for this:

I keep thinking the woman on the right with the flying hair was trying to get cool. How funny that six out the seven have their sunglasses on their heads.

Starting the day in Winter Garden I took this, which has no people, but I do like the early morning light:

Because there are so many families, I often have the opportunity to take some sweet pictures of Mothers and Dads with their little ones.

Along with the beautiful pavillion the city of Winter Garden built for the market, a shooting water feature is in the same area. I was so delighted when I saw this one on my computer: 

I was very happy that I'd caught her in a jump. The reflections of her little purple shoes are icing on the cake! Point and shoot my friends. I always take my Panasonic FZ8 to the markets because not only does it have a long zoom, it has a fast lens allowing me to shoot in lower light. I can still remember buying it, about six months after I got my first digital camera. I was very nervous about spending $250 for a camera. I bought it at Circuit City which I still miss; apparently we were one of the few who preferred it over Best Buy. Four years later, which in today's market is considered a lifetime, it is still going strong. Many, many of my most popular still lifes were taken with this workhorse. I may take my Nikon on a trip, but, more often than not, the shots taken with my trusty Panasonic are the ones I like the most. 

After leaving Winter Garden, on my way home I dropped off what I had on Church Street before heading home for the tent and such. I took this out the passenger window before unloading:

Something about this scene called out for black and white. Funny, while looking at it now, I am astonished by the number and variety of the lines. 

The threat of rain kept many of the vendors and customers away from Sunday's market. I saw this guy last week with the lemur on his shoulder. He must get a kick out of having people stop him all the time. For whatever reason, this week the animal was not wearing the little diaper I saw before.

Because I shoot the market, week in and week out, I'm always looking for something different. This girl's bright purple umbrella caught my eye:

As did this turquoise one:

Finally, it was time to call it quits for the weekend. Sales were slightly disappointing, however I did meet some nice folks. Interestingly enough, while I was chatting with a young mother and her three daughters, I couldn't help noticing how intelligent the girls were. Turns out they got it from their mother who attended the AAIM program at Blanker only a few years after Matthew. It's a small world out there my friends.

Before we go, I wanted to show you something remarkable. I looked down and noticed this black swallowtail butterfly in my fan while it was blasting away at the highest speed:

Saying out loud I wondered how I could get it out before it was hurt, a man in the booth told me I could "start by turning the fan off." Duh! Once I did, the butterfly flew down towards the bottom, escaping with ease; off it flew with seemingly only minor injuries. Clever readers out there will be able to turn this into some sort of metaphor for hanging tight in tough circumstances or something along those lines. Any ideas?

p.s. Blogger is misbehaving today; please do your best to ignore the font changes and such will you? Gail