AUGUST! (life as a school photographer)

Here it is . . . that time of year! Preparation for the coming school year and trying to squeeze the last bit of summer into a few short weeks. I have even seen on Facebook where some kidos have already  started school. Wow!

I work for one of the largest school photography businesses in the States. And let me tell you, as a photographer, it can make you or break you. The up side ----- all those cute kids! From pre-k through high school, I get to interact with them, learn some cool stuff that they are into and see their personalities through those great smiles. The down side ----- 10-12 hours on my feet, many times in areas with no air conditioning and  equipment that goes down because of the heat and humidity.

So, today, (I'm thinking I may do a couple of posts about "Picture Day") let me help you understand a little about what goes on on picture day.

 #1. Your school decides the dates and times that they want pictures taken. It does not matter if it is a registration day or an in school photo day, the goal is to get every student's picture taken at that time. That means at a registration ( 4-12 hours) or a school day (6 hours), I may have to take 300- 600 pictures. For me, the goal is to get that great smile in 1 or 2 pictures of your child.
#2. Your school picks the program or picture packages that are offered. But don't worry, you  are not locked in to buying a picture package. There are other options where you can purchase single pictures or a CD.
#3. You do not need to purchase a photo, however, you child does need to have their picture taken. Many schools now use student ID's for things such as lunch programs, library programs, and sporting events. These pictures are also used for yearbooks and classroom pictures and any files that your school may have on your child.
#4. If for some reason, your child misses the first photo day, your school will have a retake day. The retake day is sometime between the 4th week of school and the middle of November. Your school should have the retake day noted on the school calendar.

So that this is not an overwhelmingly long post . . . look for the next post "Registration Day".

Welcome to the new school year!

Good Monday Morning!

How was your week-end? Did it fly by like mine did? I'm not even working and the days seem to pass by in a blink of an eye. Did you have projects going on or was it a time for family and fun?

Mine was a day of working and a day of relaxing. Saturday I started cleaning our side porch. I say started because it's only half way done. Usually every Spring I clean it, but it's been almost 3 years since it was last done. Two years ago there was so much going on with family and work. Last years I had surgery and then my Spring, Summer, and Fall were tied up with chemo treatments. I an grateful that my energy level has increased and I am able to do more things . . . just at a slower pace. I will be happy to sit out there in the early mornings, enjoying my coffee and hopefully some wildlife.

Sunday, hubby and I spent the afternoon watching movies on Amazon. Before I tell you what they were, let me stress, I enjoy movies of ALL kinds. I look at movies as entertainment, not as literal things that could happen. Of course, there are movies that are fashioned after "real life" experiences. I just feel for me, I try to take things with a grain of salt and enjoy the moment, with not too much thought put into it.

Movie #1
The first "MAD MAX"
It came out in 1979, produced by Warner Brothers
What were they thinking?? I have seen "Road Warrior" and "Thunder Dome", but I was in my early 20's then. I am in total awe that after the first movie, any more would be produced. And based on that movie, the lack of  . . . so many things . . . I would have not believed that Mel Gibson would have made a career out of acting.

Movie #2 "A Walk in the Woods"
This movie was released in the summer of last year. Robert Redford and Nick Nolte are 2 older men who attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, some 2,000 miles long. It's lighthearted and you'll get a few chuckles out of it, but most of all the scenery is breathtaking.

Movie #3 "Terminator  Genisys"
This movie was also released last summer. I have not seen all the "Terminator" movies, but I'm sure this one lived up to all the action of the previous ones. And YES, I'm sure Arnold will be back.

I hope you leave a comment and share a part of your week-end. Have a good week!

We have twins!

We have lived in our home for a little over 12 years. It was a big change, moving from the Chicago suburbs to a rural setting in Wisconsin. Over the years we have enjoyed watching the wildlife that passes through our yard.

When we first moved here, we had dozens of deer walk through our yard daily. Then for some reason, for several years, there were no sightings at all. We would see evidence of a few passing through, footprints in snow and mud and occasionally tops missing from plants. But we never actually saw a deer.

Last year, we started seeing them again on a regular basis. A few times a week we would see them in the early evening, passing through the back corner of our lot. This year, we see them almost daily. We have several female yearlings, one who walks up my drive way several evenings during the week. And we have a mamma with one little fawn.

This morning when I went to make my coffee I looked out the window and thought I saw a mamma with twins. The babies were just inside the tree line and close together, so I wasn't sure if it was 1 or 2. I grabbed my camera and went quietly out the front door. I can get to the edge of the house without the deer seeing me and then I can step out behind some trees to get a little closer to them.

When I was able to get a good look at the area I could only see an adult deer. Since I was there, I might as well take a picture. As I went to lift up my camera, the doe, who was chewing on a bush stopped and looked my way.

I thought, awe great, she's going to take off! But instead, she started walking back towards me.

I was afraid she would take off running if she got a good look at me, so I just stood still until she started off into the woods. As, I go to snap a photo, she looks my way again.                                 

Then off into the woods she goes. I go into the house and look out my kitchen window. Her she comes, out of the woods and back down my neighbors fence line.                                              

About an hour later, my husband and I are in the kitchen. I am telling him that I thought I saw a deer with twins out in the yard this morning. We glance out the window and guess who is there. Two little fawns. Again I grab my camera. 

I didn't see a mamma with them, hopefully she's somewhere close.

                                                                                                                                                       

Returning back to normal . . .

Over the past couple of months I have wanted to post things, but life keeps getting in the way.
Finally, at least for awhile, things might calm down a bit and I can concentrate on making posts
a habit.
For the last month, our sweet little "Biggie" has been visiting. He is our youngest grandchild, 3 almost 4 yeas old. He lives on the west coast. We live in the mid-west.

                                             
 He and his Mother lived with us his first year of life and then lived again with us for several months
just before he turned 2. His Father is in the Army and had been stationed out of the country. As a result, he is very attached to his "Poppy Pop Pop" (hubby). This past year "Biggie" has been here 3 times, a month at a time. And, that whole month is all about him.
Only the basic necessities get done. Laundry, meals, grass mowed, (because he likes to ride the mower) and almost everything else is what he wants to do. At this time (3 years old) that really isn't much. Just being out doors, picking berries, eating berries, playing with a foam airplane, taking walks and shooting "stomp rockets" are high on the list.  

                                               
Our hearts break a little when he leaves and the house is pretty much silent, but the memories are wonderful and we plan for the next visit.

Thematic Photographic 374 - Lightbulbs

In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.  ~Aaron Rose

Virginia Beach - Hampton underwater tunnel.

Joining Cari @ Written Inc with this weeks Thematic Photographic theme on Lightbulbs.

An "old dog" learns new tricks.

 You know, as we get older, we get set more and more in our ways. Of course, this is pretty much true of everyone. Oh sure, there are those people who decide that on their 80th birthday, they want to jump out of a plane or go white water rafting, but for the most part; they are not the norm.
  Take my husband for example. He knows a lot about technology. He has built his own computer, several times. He has built his own car engine. He tinkers with everything. Things like "Geocaching" intrigue him. However, he HATES his cell phone! Yes . . . HATES!
   Several years ago we got rid of our "land line". Why have a home phone when the important people in your life call you on your cell phone? Until recently, my husband's cell phone had been one of those old text and call flip phones. Then, the battery was not staying charged and I was changing carriers, so he decided to upgrade his phone. ( I think the bigger reason to upgrade was to receive pictures of our grandson, but who am I to question things. . .) Welcome to the 21st century!
   I'm sure you know how it is when you get a new phone. You have to learn things all over again. ( Let me insert here that he hated his old phone too.)  It's been a couple of months, and to be honest, he really doesn't use his phone that much  . . . so how could he possibly be learning how it works? He's not! He doesn't even really know how to answer it.
   BUT . . . probably, to continue to evade using his cell phone, hubby has discovered the convenient process of restaurant  online ordering. In the past, I have always been the person to call or order food online. Hubby would go and pick it up. That all changed when I went out of town in February. When I got home hubby was excited and eager to tell me that while I was gone, he got online and ordered food. Almost every week since then he has order food.
    The "new trick " may not be astounding to others, but to the "old dog " it's a major accomplishment.
   
   

Wishing for Spring

Over the past few days I have jealously peeked in on your blogs. I am jealous of the sunshine and beautiful flowers that you are showing. The part of the country that I live in has yet to show that side of Spring. We have had high Spring winds and grey, rainy cloud coverage for days. Yesterday, we started out with sunshine, but alas, it was soon taken over by those puffy grey blue clouds.

Today was sunny, minus the Spring warmth. However, I took a quick trip to my local plant nursery. Only the green house and store front are open. There are very few plants, but what is there is full of color.

There were many green plants, that in the coming weeks will mature and establish flowers. And there were loads and loads of garden decorations and garden tools in amazing colors. So, for now, I am satisfied with my flower fix. Now I can wait for my tulips and daffodils to emerge. At least I'm trying to.

Good Monday morning!

When I awoke this morning the sun was shinning brightly. Now, it's kind of cloudy. The thermometer says it's about 55 degrees f. out. Last Thursday and Friday nights it snowed. Not much, just enough to cover the ground.  The snow is almost all gone now. There are just a few piles where it was shoveled and not in direct sunlight. Tomorrow and Wednesday we are suppose to have rain.

As I sit looking out over my front yard, I'm enjoying my morning coffee. I'm so grateful to be able to drink coffee again. It's strange that we may not realize how much we enjoy something until we can't have it. For about 5 months , while going through chemotherapy, I couldn't drink coffee. One reason was because I had to watch my caffeine intake. The other reason was because it made everything I ate or drank run right through me. I still have to be careful of how much caffeine I have, but at least for now, I still get to enjoy my coffee.

My new blog is about my journey with cancer. You can find it here.

Enjoy your Monday! 

Starting a new blog

Today I started a new blog. It's some insight on what I have been going through. I decided to put everything together in one place to make it easier to find and read. Take a look here.
Vicki

Thematic Photographic 367 - Data

I have been away from blogging for a couple of years. Several things played into this happening and over the next few weeks I will be posting things that will give you some insight as to why. Being able to return to my blog took some work. I tried to get back several times over the past couple of years and always had a problems viewing my blog. Finally, I was able to see my blog long enough to realize that a WIDGET, which used a barcode was outdated.  Thus my "theme" for my THEMATIC PHOTOGRAPHIC post on DATA hosted by Carmi Levy at "Written Inc".

This week's the theme is ~DATA~

 My view right now is, many others had the same thought that I had when I saw that theme was DATA. To tell the truth, it wasn't a very good thought. Not that it was a bad thought , but more a "What??" "Data??" hmmmm. I was looking forward to posting.

After really thinking about it, I realized that we are so use to all the data in our lives, that we really don't think about it. Yes, I said ALL . . . we use data everyday, several times a day.

We use these cute little things called "barcodes" on almost everything we purchase. A barcode is  an optical machine-readable representation of data relating to the object to which it is attached. 

For us, it scans the price of a product we are buying. For the retailer, it provides so much more data. Things like, how many of these items are bought (is this a popular item for the retailer to provide?)and how many are still in inventory.

It track's items that we send to others at a convenient low price. And allows us to know when the item has reached it destination..

They can also help us save money. No more wadded up coupons in your purse or pocket.

Of course, barcodes are used on so many more things, Driver's licenses, credit cards, library cards, employment and school identification cards, medical wrist bands as well as entertainment wrist bands and much , much more. Yes, it's true! We live in a world FULL of data.

Don't forget to visit "Written Inc" to see more posts on Data.

Time marches on . . .

It has been such a long time!

It's hard to believe that my last post was almost 3 years ago. I have viewed several other blogs and see that it is the same for some others. As life is slowing down for me, I am trying to get back into a blogging frame of mind. Hope to see and hear from you!

Vicki