Friday Fun Day!

Today I am super excited to be guest posting on the  theindiealist.com 

Where I am offering a FREE printable to keep in your camera bag to use as quick reference guides when shooting your images this summer!

Next Friday there will be 3 more - talking about Aperture, Shutter, and White Balance!

 Then all of August I will be posting an in depth look at each function card!

I hope you enjoy these as a little Friday Fun Day gift to you!

Here is a little sneak peak at the Flash Key Card!

My life in negitives

This morning I spent some time scanning in old pages of a yearbook, and transferring another bundle of random negatives that I found in a box to 3ring binder sleeves so they can be stored and protected until I get around to scanning them to store digitally. I seem to come across random envelopes of negs every time I dig around... so I try to do this process anytime I see them.

It was only a week or so ago when I was asked why I was never very good in Math in school... and I replied - well if I could do it again, maybe I wouldn't choose to take Math with the cute teacher. Funny, I couldn't remember the name of the boy who I had my first kiss with - but I remembered my math teacher.

For the record, after dusting off that file in my brain I did remember where, and when... and I did even remember his first name... before I looked him up in the yearbook.

Thumbing over the grade school yearbook I came across that boys photo... along with so many other good memories. It has really got me thinking this morning about the memories that I capture for my daughter now. How important it is not only to record the images and store them safely for her... but since so many of these images are not being printed we have lost the opportunity to write on the album page or on the backs of the images for who and when... and even why that image would be important to us! Those signatures and little notes - those are precious memories for me now.  There are so many people that I have photos of that I don't remember a name for... but they must have meant a lot to me at one time. 

I even found in one high school yearbook where someone I crushed on promised to propose to me on Graduation day.... I remember not knowing he wrote that for several years - it's funny how life changes. 

Oooooh that 80's hair - how I don't miss you! 

I find myself looking at her images differently now that I have reviewed the negatives and prints of my past. I'm not sure if changing the digital file name will be enough to satisfy my needs to record this time for her. Now that she is taking photos for herself... I want her to record her memories easily as well. This might be the inspiration I need to print again... make albums - create photobooks - and even record them digitally in a new way taking the time to add a digital journal so that 30 years later in her life - she can look back and remember those people who were inspiring to her. 

Yes... even the first kiss.

Because somethings you should remember for a lifetime.

The Clooney Car

So there I was, driving home from our weekly library trip when this beautiful Lincoln town car pulls into the lane in front of us. Now, it's pretty common to see Infiniti SUV's, BMW's and a plethora of  Audi, and Mercedes-Benz rolling around the streets in our community North of the Energy corridor in Houston. Town cars, like the sleek black... insert old school Mr. Big here? Not so much. I mean... it's a family type neighborhood and there isn't even high end shopping or hotels on this side of town. So naturally I thought ooooo I wonder if they are lost! 

Then my eye landed on the licence plate. The vanity plate. 

CLNY 11

My mind immediately went to George Clooney  - You know like Oceans 11.

How funny would that be. George tooling around the neighborhood with his driver!

It could happen. I mean the man does travel.

So I indudgled in a bit of a comical "what if" moment... and thought - 

wow what would happen there... 

would it be like a page of the steamy summer romance novels, maybe there's an accident next to us and he jumps out to help. We meet... he's dazzled by my ability to dress in anything other shorts and a tank top on the sweltering humid Texan day. 

Yes. I indulged. Everyone does it.

Don't they?

Why not?

The lights red in front of us and tuning out the ramblings of a 6 yr old requires a practiced mind. 

This is how I practice. Don't judge me.

That's when I remember... 

I'm sporting the fantastic - don't leave home with out them....

burn you to the ground with my impeccable, scorching hot fashion sense...

Hello Kitty sunglasses.

Wouldn't that fit right in to the fictional tale of meeting Mr. Handsome... the stunning and now mortified woman proceeds to melt into the pavement from pure embarrassment.
I might need to lay off the summer romance novels.

maybe.

But okay, let me explain why I am wearing these bright pink - obviously way to small for me sunglasses.

Yep. I have lost 3... count them 3 pairs of sunglasses in the past 2 weeks. I have given up completely on finding them. So in order to see in the blistery sun blinding rays... I stole my daughters. Because looking like a fool in bright pink sunglasses is a better option than giving the sun ANY opportunity to add to my "crinkles". I'm a firm believer in wearing sunglasses so that I don't squint and by default I will reduce the amount of wrinkles I earn.

I could just see George's driver looking in the mirror and saying...

Holy cow man... you totally gotta see this chick.... are those Hello Kitty sunglasses?

Yep... so George... or whoever you were sitting in that posh ride that was totally in the wrong part of town... I'm not crazy. There was a PERRRRFECTLY good reason.

Oh. You will be happy to know, I took this as a sign and my next stop was the Target. Because if life is going to toss the possibility (or even random irrational thought) about meeting someone even remotely close to a Top 10 sexiest man alive - I'd like to do it with SOME shred of dignity.