Photographers…

Posted: February 3, 2010 | Author: lhasalhady | Filed under: Art and Photography, DRambles on Black Mountain | 1 Comment

Monday the coolest thing happened.

For several years, in an effort to take better photos and learn something new, I’ve been reading, looking at great photos, listening to podcasts and, yes, pushing that shutter button now and again. A favorite podcast is Camera Dojo, hosted by Kerry Garrison. The original focus was on wedding photography – think art photos. The podcast has grown and morphed into current conversations about technique. Several months ago Kerry interviewed Jamie Pflughoeft, Cowbelly Photography in Seattle. Her focus is pet photography, so I really enjoyed that particular conversation.

For the past year, every month or so, someone has come into my grooming shop, leaving issues of Mile High Dog Magazine. The cover is always a beautiful photo of, what else? Dogs. Said person picks up any left over magazines for recycling…which I thought was awesome.

A month or two back, an article featured Jaime Rowe Photography. Like some of the other photographers, I’ve ‘met’ via podcasts, I became a fan of Jaime’s on Facebook….which means I’m often treated to awesome photos…usually wedding photos and now dog photos.

Monday when a representative from Mile Hi Dog Magazine came into the shop, wanting the owner to know how an article in her magazine had enriched my life – added relish, as Cort would say – I inquired if she was the owner. No, she replied. I’m a photographer. Guess what?! It was Jaime! And guess what else?! Jamie Pflughoeft was her mentor! Talk about a small world!

Just this past weekend, via Facebook, Jaime introduced her updated blog, asking for input ‘pretty please with sugar on top’. The photos are stunning, including her photos from France. Be sure to scroll down if you hop over to her blog.

This world of photographers is unbelievable, really. So giving of time and knowledge. I’ve learned that often they help each other, assisting as a second shooter. I mentioned something about that to Jaime (not that I have the expertise to be a second shooter!). She said there’s a nice group of local photographers and made me feel welcome. How awesome is that?!

Scheduled Maintenance

Posted: January 6, 2010 | Author: lhasalhady | Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain | 6 Comments

Got a notice from my server regarding schedule maintenance over the weekend. Websites will be offline Saturday and Sunday. Wonder if scheduled maintenance for myself would take care of this flippin’ cold which has been one with my lungs for over a week! My ‘personal’ server is called Gandalf. I’m now going to visualize Gandalf battling my cold! Not sure the segway worked, but this image tells it!

Sing Them Home

Posted: January 4, 2010 | Author: lhasalhady | Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain | 2 Comments

Has anyone read this book by Stephanie Kallos?

From a review by Nancy Pearl/NPR online:

“Sing Them Home is simply wonderful. It’s a welcome tonic to those of us who look back with great longing to Anne Tyler’s early novels. . . . that is, those of us hungry for books with quirky, flawed, yet realistic and beloved characters who leap off the page into our arms and refuse to leave. I didn’t want Sing Them Home ever to end.”

I didn’t either! Sitting on a display table at my local library, I was drawn in by the cover and the librarian’s critique. Set in southeastern Nebraska, I couldn’t resist picking it up as my holiday read. Little did I know it would keep me company as the freakin’ creepin’ crud settled into my lungs Wednesday, making it difficult to sleep. With regret, I finished Sing Them Home.

Not feeling like doing much of anything , hoping to nurse this cold into oblivion, I’ve started another enthralling book..

Read anything good lately?

A New Year

Posted: January 3, 2010 | Author: lhasalhady | Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain | Leave a comment

Ready to fling off the cloak of Winter’s Embrace, I awoke to daylight this crisp morning in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Given it’s only January 3rd, the cloak hangs by the door, ready at a moment’s notice. With the winter solstice came the promise of more daylight with each passing day. Symbols of this ancient celebration are all around us.

On New Year’s Eve Jason inquired about resolutions. Resolutions? “But, Debby, you have a number of goals. They’re the same thing.” Goals. These are achievable, something I can work towards. Resolutions seem self-defeating. Perhaps because New Year’s resolutions generally last a short period of time. At least from my perspective.

Rick, Nate, Kelly and I, along with Chuck and Buckley, snug and cozy in Sleek Sue spent the holidays in Nebraska. No expectations. No pressure. No extreme gift giving. Just time, mellow time, with family. Plenty of food. Plenty of drink. Out maneuvering the weather was the only challenge. Arriving on Christmas Eve in Omaha, we spent a couple of days with Rick’s brothers. Chuck immediately made himself at home…