Fully Completely

It’s been a long time since I last took and posted a few shots of Cole. How long? A few hair styles ago…

Finally, she couldn’t take any more…

I am an idiot. While trying to update Wordpress and clean up a few old, expired domains, I accidentally nuked this site. Oops.

Luckily, I had most of the posts shuffled away… all but a few of the recent ones. So, other than losing ALL comments, formatting, actual post dates, etc. I can get the basics restored.

Excuse my mess while I try to get the rest of it back up…

-L

…was some snow. He got it. And then some. How about these snow stats for Whistler:

New: 12 cm (5 in)
24 hours: 18 cm (7 in)
48 hours: 47 cm (19 in)
7 days: 87 cm (34 in)
Total cumulative snowfall: 684 cm!!!

He’s now 5 for 5 days skiing this trip and already racked up 9 days total this year. Not a bad start to the season. I’ve taken it a bit easier this year, but am already in for 4 days… which I think is how much I skiied in total last year.

Cam, Cole & I went out for a few turns on Christmas morning and got our fair share of freshies. Cole was making gorgeous linked turns all the way down the upper Dave Murray with a huge grin on her face.

In these photos, I was playing around with my tilt-shift lens to get the miniaturized effect. Soon, I’ll be throwing on my new Lensbaby to take some shots.

Also, photos from our Cat Ski trip coming soon.

Technorati Tags: Photography, Travel, Whistler

I got mail from John Cusack. I think he was telling me how wonderfully talented I am, but it’s kind of hard to tell from that crazy Hollywood slang they use:

John Cusack wrote:
nails well frame book doorv… lets bookv rise show wood,
hated soul wood foot fills
Poor John. I hate to break it to him that I am married. He will clearly be crushed.

This week, my photography is focused not on my usual sweets and savories. A foodster friend of mine recently needed a head shot for an article he wrote, and asked me to give it a shot. I happily agreed (hey, a publishing credit is a publishing credit), and then proceeded to freak out a little… photographing people is much different than photographing food. For one thing, when you shoot food, you want to see detail… every little nook and cranny in the crispest detail. You want shiny. You want pink and red tones. For a portrait, you want crisp but no one wants to see every little pore and skin imperfection. Skin should glow without a hint of shine. Blush should be the palest pinks and peaches without blotchy reds creeping in.

Luckily, I had a very willing guinea pig to help me practice. Cole was more than happy to have a photo shoot, and I managed to get some good portraits (which was also convenient, because I needed some updated photos of her).

Here are a my favorites from the morning:

Technorati Tags: Photography

Technorati Tags: Photography

Woo hoo. Technically, I am now a professional writer and photographer. Last night I got my first paycheck for the blogging that I’ve done on WellFed. Of course, it’s a frighteningly small amount… just enough to buy a couple of celebratory margaritas somewhere that has cheap margaritas… but, it’s pay none the less.

I’d love to frame my first $, but since it was a check that’s going to be hard.

-L
Technorati Tags: About Me

Technorati Tags: About Me

When I came back from Africa, I was all fired up about figuring out how to do something, anything, to help out, and to share some of what I have with those with less opportunities. Then, daily life kicked in, and that went to the back burner, with the exception of trying to do a little to cut back on some of the frivolous spending that I do. And even that didn’t necessarily go so well. Better than nothing, but not what I had aspired to.

A few months ago, I stumbled on a site called Kiva, which allows people to make micro-loans to small businesses in 3rd world countries. Loans range from $25 to $900, and can make a huge difference in success and failure of individuals in places like Uganda, Honduras and Kenya. I poked around the site, intent on helping out, but there were so few business at the time and most of them had already been helped, that I ended up, once again, putting it on the back burner of my todo list. Last week, I checked in again to find many businesses that I could help with. With just $200, I’m helping:

Bahar Hasanova Smailova and his wife in Bulgaria raise money to expand their small cafe
Sokrorn Kam in Cambodia support her 3 children by expanding her fruits & vegetable stand
Margaret Wambui Mugambi in Kenya grow her steer ranch and support her family
Aketch Esther in Uganda help send her 5 siblings through secondary school by growing her bookshop

Loan terms are typically about a year, and all have a guaranteeing partner. If you are looking for a way to contribute, this looks like a great way to make a difference!