9:12 Portraits

Well, we have somehow already made it to week 9, which I admit I was kind of dreading, as portrait photography is not really my forte. But, here we are, so I took a stab at it. You can join in, even with a Point and Shoot! This week's lesson is HERE. 

This week's assignment was to choose one or all of the following options for taking your photos:

1. Take a portrait of an individual.

2. Take a group portrait if you have the opportunity.

3. Take a portrait in front of a backdrop or colorful wall or a fun outdoor setting.

4. Take a portrait with black & white film or convert your photo to b&w. (In fact, we'd love to see both versions - color and black & white, if you care to share.)

There are a few tips you should follow when taking photos of people. First, no matter what f/stop you are using, make sure to focus on the subject’s eyes. You don’t want to turn out having their shirt or hair or even worse, the background, in focus while the subject is just a tad blurry. I have accidentally done that before, since you can’t quite tell in the camera that it is not quite all the way focused. Don’t do this! You will be sorry later.

Portraits often look better if you lower the f/stop, which literally puts the focus on the subject and blurs the background so that the subject really pops. You can even do this with a point and shoot. Use the icon called Portrait (a little head). If you are taking photos of tall people, try to get them to sit, or you should stand above them (because a picture of the bottom of your chin is never flattering!) If you are taking photos of children, try to get on their level.

Taking a photo of a group is of course hard. The more people you have, the more likely one of them will not be looking at the camera, not smiling or goodness only knows what else. It’s good to take as many shots as you can. Never take only one group shot. And try to loosen things up a little with a fun shot. My family did a bunch of normal, smile for the camera group shots last Thanksgiving. Then we said to, “act as silly as you can”. This was the result. 

They also suggest using a fun background. In this case, I used a plain background so that the subject would really stand out. That’s me by the way. Mr. L made me put on his hockey equipment and block some shots. Have you ever smelled a pair of hockey gloves? Nasty. 

What did I learn? I still need a lot of practice with this, and some willing subjects (Mr. L is tired of my putting my camera in his face). I am much more comfortable with inanimate objects.

Join in next week for Week 10, Landscapes (also can be done with a P&S -- the little "mountain" button). 

Do you like taking portraits? What is your favorite silly group shot that you have seen? Do you prefer color or black and white? 

The World. The Wide. The Web.

I was flying out of Missouri the other day, looking out the airplane window at the flat, tree filled expanse below, and I thought, “Before I came here I never really knew much about Missouri.” Before I came to Missouri, I didn’t realize it would have huge limestone bluffs. I did not know that in the fall, the colors would be so beautiful. I did not understand that there were (smallish) mountains here. I did not realize that they grow almost as much corn and soybeans as Iowa. I was unaware that there are hiking trails and running trails and wineries. Wineries! I did not know any of that.

But you know that. Because I have posted photos and wrote things about many of these things. If I didn’t post anything, someone has. Somewhere on the internet you may have seen something about one or all of the above things.

The internet has been good in this aspect. It has broadened our horizons. It has made us realize what is out there, in the great big world. It has made what once was unknown more accessible. For this, I love the internet. I may have never known that I wanted to travel to Bhutan without the internet. I would not keep in touch with and go visit some of my friends who I have met while traveling. I would not know that there was such a thing as diving with great white sharks, hiking in the fjords of New Zealand, or eating rotten whale meat in Iceland.

I read a lot, so some of these things I may have found out through books, but I think the internet has opened us up to so much. I don’t have to buy a whole book about The World’s Largest Animals. I can just Google it and see what the top 5 are. I don’t need to buy a Glamor magazine full of ads when I can see in a glance what the latest fashions are.

However, sometimes I also think that the Internet has caused us to learn less. Why bother learning the capitols of the 50 states when you can just Wikipedia it? Why bother calling your Mom to ask her who starred in Kiss Me Kate, when you can IMDB it? How many riveting discussions have been cut short by a quick look at Google?

I still have mixed feelings about the internet. Sometimes I think that you don’t really need to know everything off hand and having Google can be a blessing. On the other hand, are we too reliant on the internet, so we are not bothering to remember anything anymore? Which of these things are important to learn yourself and which ones are okay to Google and forget?

Do you think that the internet has had a more positive or negative impact on society (or you personally)? In which way has the Internet helped you in your life? In which way has it made things worse?

Then and Now: October

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone had a great month of October! Do you remember where you were a year ago?

In October 2010, I was literally half way around the world. It was a busy month, filled with adventures. I met a bunch of new people, had Everest in my sights, experienced the effects of altitude, got food poisoning, ate my first Mo Mo and had Pizza in Kathmandu.

This October I am back in the proper hemisphere, but things are still pretty busy! I finished up working in Missouri, spent time with friends and family, took a trip to New York, ran a half marathon and am learning how to take better photos!

So here we have, in photo form, the WHO, the WHERE, and the WHAT of Then and Now. 

THE WHO: 

2010: 

Random Dirty Children, Yaks, Fellow Travelers, and yes, Mr. L and his Nasty Beard

2011: 

M in MA, Berreaux in NYC, Red and Lucy the Dog, Mouse the Cat, Mr. L *and a much more manageable beard

THE WHERE: 

2010: The Highest Mountain in The World

2011: The Highest Mountain in Missouri

THE WHAT: 

 Activities: 

2010: Lots of Trekking

2011: Lots of Running

Food: 

2010: Lots of Sherpa Stew

2011: Lots of Bratwurst

DRINKS: 

2010: 4000 gallons of lemon tea

2011: 4000 gallons of water

I am looking forward to seeing what November holds. I think it will be a lot of hiking, spending time with family, baking, cooking and eating, since I am currently staying with my Mom and have plenty of time on my hands (and no phone service or internet!) and lots of great people and places to see!

What were YOU doing last October? Have things changed? Or are they happily the same?

Mayhem in The Airport

Instead of grabbing a beer (inspired by Kim) and checking out my week, I am going to interrupt this regularly scheduled program with a little something different. You may know already that I spend a lot of time in airports. This week was an especially airport / airplane filled one! So, instead of looking what I did this week, we are going to do List Sunday, where I let you in on a few of my Travelers Peeves, Airport Style.

Air Force One - in SFO on Tuesday!

- People in the waiting area who sit in one seat, have a bag in another and their feet (or purse or food or...) in another. Especially when the airport is really busy. There is no need to take up more than one seat. The ones who lie down on the seats are equally as annoying. Common courtesy people!

- That guy who talks back to the flight attendant when she tells him that he cannot have three carry-on bags.

- People who have three carry on bags. Or people who, since you can only have two, have two of the biggest bags ever. And when the bags don't fit into the overhead, the people try over and over and over (while holding up the whole plane) to stuff the too big bag into the bin.

- People who take up a whole bin to themselves, whether or not they have three bags. They put their coat, their hat, their purse, shopping bag, suitcase and travel pillow into the bin so that it fills up the entire thing. Or they put their roller-board sideways, even though the attendants keep telling them, "wheels facing out!"

- That guy (and there always is one) at security who forgets to take his laptop out of the case (a no-no), who puts his case on top of the laptop (a no-no), who forgets to take his change out of his pockets, forgets to take his watch off, forgets that he has to take his coat and shoes off (annoying). I ALWAYS get behind that guy. Is this his first time flying? If it is, I forgive him. If it's not, get with the program. We are all trying to go someplace. Literally.

- The people in zone 4 who stand up right in front of the podium as soon as the flight crew says, "we are going to begin by boarding people with small children..." and then continue to stand there throughout the boarding process, even though they are NOT people with small children, nor are they in Zone 1, 2 or 3.

- The people who are in Zone 4 who get IN LINE when Zone 1 is called. Then when the attendant says, "sir, we are only boarding zone 1 now", he looks at her stupidly, and stands there for a while before finally getting out of line (and then getting back in once Zone 2 is called).

- The lady behind me when boarding who keeps touching (pushing) me / my back, as if by doing that, the ENTIRE LINE will move faster.

- The guy who keeps talking on the phone after the flight attendants say to turn the phones off. And then once they ask him again to please get off the phone, he looks at them disgustingly and keeps talking. (I love the campy gay attendants who give them attitude and say - Get Off The Phone, "SIR"!)

- People who stand two abreast on the moving walkway. "WALK-way" people! One of you needs to walk or both of you need to stand aside.

- People who are sitting behind me who put their feet on my armrest. It has happened!

- People sitting beside me who are kind of oozing over into my seat. I even had one guy snuggle up to me with his back towards me and his butt over the line. Too close for comfort.

- People who try to talk to you when you clearly (earphones, book, flat black stare) don't feel like talking.

- People at baggage claim who stand right up next to the conveyor, so then I can't see my bag and when I do see it at the last minute I have to lunge in and try to get it. I admit to "accidentally" knocking my bag into these people if they are inconveniently in the way of my bag extraction. (I like the places where they put the yellow line around the conveyor and you have to stand behind it and then you can step in and get your bag once you see it heading your way.)

- People who make out on the plane. Right next to me. Really? Are we 12?

Well, that was fun. I am sure there are many more, and maybe next time I should stop being so negative and make a list of things I LIKE about airports and airplanes. But this is more fun.

What are your airport and airplane pet peeves? If you don't travel a lot, what are your "crowded places" pet peeves (bar / restaurant / train station / elevator)??

Passed With Flying Colors

On Sunday, instead of doing a training run by myself, I opted to meet up with a friend of mine in Massachusetts and run the Newburyport Green Stride Half Marathon! Newburyport is a cute little town in the very northeast corner of the state, just before you get to New Hampshire. It's about an hour north of Boston, so we stayed the night in Boston, where we did our carb loading at Nebo, in the North End. My friend is gluten intolerant and they have a full gluten free menu!

All I wanted to do was to beat my last time (1:53). I wanted a new PR.  

Before the Race

I woke up on Sunday morning with a sore throat. I had been feeling a little under the weather but was hoping it would hold off until Monday, but it didn’t. The drive from Boston to Newburyport was not too long and the fall colors got better and better as we headed north.

The weather was about 45 degrees at the start of the race and warmed up into the low 50s as we ran. This time I got towards the front of the line before starting, since last time I was farther back and it took a while to cross the start line. I think it took me only about 5 seconds to get over the line this time! The race started downtown, which was filled with spectators, and headed north at first. The first hill came around mile 1 and that is where my running buddy and I split up. 

The course wound around town and had a few ups and downs along the way. The best part was around mile 4 or 5 and then again around mile 8 when we ran past lakes surrounded by orange trees. The water and the reflection of the trees in the water made me want to shout out, “This is beautiful!” But I didn’t. 

I ended up using the Pink Lemonade Honey Stinger Chews as my fuel (Thanks to Jill for the suggestion!) They are great. I would recommend them to anyone who can’t stomach the Gu or the gels! I took one at mile 6 and one at mile 10. This was enough to keep me going but not too much to make me feel sick. The package comes with ten chews. I will probably need to split it up pre-race so I am not carrying around excessive fuel. 

This was the inaugural race for the Green Stride Half Marathon. It was pretty good overall, but there were a few kinks they will need to iron out for the next one. 

THE PROS: Water every two miles. There were plenty of volunteers to tell you where to go during the race. Gu at mile 6. Lots of spectators! Beautiful course that was mostly flat with several small hills. Great fall colors! Good sponsors – 2 free beers, pizza and plenty of snacks at the end, as well as a local band. Chip timer was on race bib rather than shoe. There were plenty of port-a-potties at the start line. T-shirts were sponsored by Life Is Good. 

THE CONS: Mile 10-12 was run right in the middle of a traffic-filled street that we had to cross! Also mile 12-13.1 was run on a single track wood/asphalt path along the harbor. It was like one of those cattle chutes, and I had a hard time getting around people at the end, when I usually try to sprint. The start and finish was in a fenced off area, which only had one door for entrance and exit, which was not good. The start and finish was also surrounded by a parking lot and people (runners) were trying to get out of the parking lot while others were still finishing the race! Also the room for spectators at the end was quite sparse and unorganized. At the beginning of the race, the first 500 people who signed up got a long sleeved t, but they did not have a good system of telling people who got one and who did not. No port-a-potties on the race course. Only the first 500 registrants get a wicking shirt. 

Right before the finish -- see the parked cars!?

THE VERDICT: I would run this race again. I really hope that they figure out better logistics for the finish line, so that the runners can run without being worried about getting run over by cars as well as having space to run and to pass other runners at the end. I also think they need at least 3 port-a-potties along the route. 

I ended up coming in at 1:49:21, which is an 8:21 mile. So I got my PR! I placed 13/119 in my division and 345/1103 overall. The fastest woman was around 1:10!! I “only” have to shave 39 minutes (roughly 3 mins/mile) off my time to beat her next time!  **(I was looking at the placing and IF I was in the 60-69 age group, I would have gotten 3^rd. Otherwise I wasn’t very close to the top 3 in any other category!)**

Did you race last weekend? Or, if you are not a runner, are the fall colors showing themselves in your neighborhood? 

Don't forget to go to Jill's for more Fitness Friday blogs! 

8:12 On The Go

This week's assignment was about taking photos of things that are in motion (<--- pdf for lesson here), which can be very difficult. I am sure we have all gotten photos like this of babies, dogs, athletes or even your family eating Thanksgiving dinner:

Note that my friend who is holding the baby is not blurry. The baby, on the other hand, is moving just enough to be a little blurred, which ruined an otherwise good photo.

So how do we get it so the subject is not blurry and the action is frozen? There are a few things you can do. You can adjust your shutter speed so that it is faster (If you have a point and shoot, use the "sport" setting, which is the icon of the running man). This, as we learned in lesson two (the one with the water on the glass) can decrease our lighting. So, we may need to bump up the ISO or lower the f/stop. Remember the Exposure Triangle?

Our Assignment this week was to do one or more of the following:

1. Use a fast shutter speed outdoors to photograph your moving subject
2. Experiment with panning
3. Embrace a little blur indoors
3. Take action - practice your skills at a sporting event
4. Take a portrait of your pet-in-motion

Here are a couple examples. I chose number 1 and kind of, but not really number 4. I just noticed there are two number 3s, which doesn't matter since I did not really practice either of them.

The first photo of Lucy was taken with a shutter speed of 1/250, an aperture of f/5.3 and an ISO of about 3200.

The second photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/800. The suggested setting is at least 1/640 outdoors and at least 1/250 indoors. As you can see, it freezes the action enough to catch me in midair and catch that little bit of sand being kicked up. Isn't that fun? The ISO in this photo is 640 and the aperture is f/8.0. The only thing that needs work now is that the photo is exposed on the background instead of the subject, which makes the subject's face dark. That is one thing the lesson suggests, is using Manual Mode, so you can expose the light to the subject's face rather than the background. 

What have I learned? I have an easier time "stopping the action" when I am outside, since there is more light and it is easier to up the shutter speed without compromising your light. When indoors, it is hard to get a good balance. I am definitely getting more comfortable with upping my ISO, which I was not really using when I started taking photos with my new camera. I thought I had to slow DOWN the shutter to get enough light, when instead I should speed it up and raise the ISO.

Join us next week when we talk about Portraits. Don't forget to link up with Kate! 


Have you ever tried taking action photos?

Have You Seen This Food?

There are some really strange foods out there, that you may or may not have seen before. Here are some of the ones that I enjoyed trying, looking at, laughing at, and of course, most importantly, taking photos of while traveling around the world.

Egypt: Chicken Livers

Cambodia: Squid on a Stick

China: Jews Ears (a type of mushroom)

Montenegro: Chicken Pate

Nepal: You thought it was a hamburger, but it's a Yak-burger.

New Zealand: Fejoas (a fruit, not a bean)

Portugal: Caracois (Snails)

Italy: Tiny Octopus Babies, with olive oil, naturally

You can find more weird foods over on WRTR, where I talk about Snake fruit and Dragon fruit!

Have you tried any of these? What other weird foods have you seen or tried?

Is Your Comforter Your Worst Enemy?

I admit to being a neat freak. Sometimes. It's strange. I like to have certain things in certain places. However, other things I am not as worried about. For instance, I am not really germophobic. Don't get me wrong, I wash my hands after I use the bathroom and I don't *usually* touch the doorknob afterwards, but otherwise, I am lax. I sometimes use the 3 second rule.

I recently talked about how I pretty much live in a hotel most of the time. This girl, with her comment about comforters on my post, reminded me about an article I read in Conde Nast a few years ago about the dirtiest places in a hotel. You may think it's the toilet, but you would be wrong.

They tested one 5 star hotel, one mid line hotel and one low end hotel. You would be surprised; the 5 star hotel was not necessarily cleaner than the low end hotel. Here are some of the worst offenders (germ wise).

The ice bucket.
The remote control.
The phone.
The door knob.
The alarm clock. 
The desk chair.
The comforter.

These items were covered in E. Coli (fecal borne) and other bacteria which causes yeast infections. While I can see why the desk chair may have fecal material on it (even though I don't like to picture it), I never really considered the comforter before reading this article. It makes sense though. How many hands, faces and butts have touched that comforter in between washes?

I suggest wet wiping the obvious ones - phone, remote, clock and door handle and taking the comforter off the bed all together or at least folding it down so it doesn't touch your face while you sleep.  If the chair is fabric, put a towel down. I wouldn't even use the ice bucket. And above all, wash your hands.

Okay, now that I have grossed you out, let me add this. They say that even after these findings, the average hotel room is CLEANER than most people's houses and definitely more sanitary than flying, since you are confined in a limited amount of air space with so many people.

Just some food for thought.


Are you a neat freak? Are you a germaphobe? How often do you clean your bathroom? Do you ever stay in hotels? Do you wipe anything down or do you just use it?

Sam I Am

This week's beer is... Sam Adams. I have to admit, I am not a fan of their Summer Ale. However, I may have to try one of their fall or winter brews this weekend, while I am at...guess, guess....

You guessed it, I am in Massachusetts this weekend, racing in the Newburyport Green Stride Half Marathon. I am probably running right now, as you are drinking your coffee and reading this post. So, you know the drill, put down the coffee, grab a beer, and look what happened to me this week! (Inspired by Kim) (photo credit)

It was another busy week, but in a different sort of way this time. On Monday I finished up with my last client in Cape Girardeau and headed to Columbia to check out of the office. Now I am once again jobless! Back to the old drawing board. But first, let's start at the beginning...

Last weekend one of my very dearest friends came to visit me! She and I have been friends since...well probably about 20 years. We played little league together. Her nickname is Red.

We decided to do some hiking at the Trail of Tears State Park. Along the way, we found....More Ponies! These ones let us touch them! 

Then we went hiking! It was great! Except I told Red that the trail had "a few hills". I didn't remember that it was quite strenuous! We took her dog Lucy and poor Lucy was tuckered out afterwards (and so were we!)

Even though she was tuckered out, she was happy to dress in this banana split costume and pose for the camera. Can't you tell how happy she was? 

The foliage, or as my family likes to jokingly call it, FOILAGE, is beautiful right now!

After Red left, I took at 16 mile run, my last run in Cape. It was 90 degrees. It was brutal. This is the Cape LaCroix Creek trail, where I have been running for the last 4 months. 

And then it was time for me to leave Cape. A departing shot of my "home", the Candlewood Suites.The drive to Columbia is about 4 hours. It rained the entire time.

I had to check out all my equipment and I said goodbye to my friends in the office in Columbia. More importantly though, I checked the color of my urine against this chart in the bathroom. My favorite? The second one from the top...in case you can't read it, it says, "You're just fine. You could stand to drink a little water now, maybe a small glass of water." Who writes these? And who has pee the color of the bottom one? If you do, you better get to the doc ASAP! (or maybe you ate beets?)

And then? One last run in Missouri. This time the weather was in the 40s. 

Total miles this week: 30.

And now? 

Wish me luck. Hopefully I get a beer when I am done!

What did you do this week? Do you live close to your best friends? What friend have you had the longest? Have you ever dressed up your dog in a costume?