63 posts tagged “photography”
Tonight was Michael's band concert at school. As a part of the percussion section, Michael plays bass drum. He owns the required snare and bells. The band played about five songs before the Recorder Ensemble played a number of songs, followed by the Chorus who sang an exhausting seven songs. Maybe I'm biased because my kid was done, but it was really too long of a concert. I enjoyed watching Michael play and he did very well.
When I picked up the children from school, a brush fire was toasting up 776 in northern Port Charlotte. It had so much smoke that visible was reduced to zero and the sheriff deputies directed traffic in a U-turn at the Sports Complex, making El Jobean and Englewood inaccessible from Port Charlotte. After Michael's concert, we took a drive by the area and it was reduced to little piles that were burning themselves out. Smoke was still drifting over 776 but it was nowhere near what it was earlier. All these incidents keep happening when I have children with me and can't take the opportunity to photograph them.
This was a very wonderful Mother's Day! I was served breakfast in bed, complete with bloody mary, and then presented with presents! My favourite perfume, a dozen roses, a camera bag (it got returned but it was still wonderful that they thought of that), plus homemade presents from Bailey and Eddie. All the children signed their own names on the card.
Bailey had the idea of baking me a cake so Tom had to purchase all the necessary items and then help her make a chocolate cake and decorate it for me. She really got into giving me a wonderful day (breakfast in bed was her idea) and I owe a lot to both Tom and Bailey.
FireDailyNews.com has featured an article on the Punta Gorda Live Fire Training which was submitted with original photography by me.
I had to go to Fort Myers today for a legal/mediation thing because Bailey's father is incapable of adult discussion and would rather spend thousands on an attorney than act mature and (maybe) pay off some of those mounting child support arrears with his hard-earned part-time minimum wage Office Maxx money. So we had the obvious discussions that could've happened on their own for free if his head had not been lodged up his ass, changed the Agreement a little to compensate for any future incidents of his head/ass lodging, and moved on with our lives.
Anyway, I took some time to walk around downtown amidst the continued [re]construction. It brought back some memories.
This is where I used to work. Technically, I worked on the other side of this historical building, in a building that was built attached to it for the offices of the Clerk of Courts. As a minutes secretary, I would record the minutes of all Lee County Commissioner meetings, which would take place in this historical building.
The French Connection is a little restaurant where Tom and I had our first lunch date. It was also our first date that wasn't scheduled around the convenience of our evening college classes. We'd actually made time for each other. I didn't eat much because I was nervous. He ate fine. This is a popular spot for downtown employees to get a nice, sit-down lunch in a mid-range price that can offer a bit of quiet.
I parked in the Main Street Parking Garage "borrowing" Tom's city parking card and descended down this steep stairwell every morning. This is a couple blocks from the old Courthouse, where I worked, and is almost right across the street from the big antique shop that you can get lost in for hours at a time.
Tom and I had a lot of dinner dates, and a few lunches, at Ichibans Sushi Restaurant off of Dean St. They also deliver to the downtown area. As you walk down Dean Street, you're greeted by this open furnished courtyard. There's also a a bakery here.
The statues of Ford, Edison and Firestone engaged in casual conversation are at the entrance of Centennial Park along the Caloosahatchee River. It was around these gentlemen that Tom and I had our commitment discussion. We had scheduled to meet each other here for "a very important talk" and he arrived before me. I remember pulling into a front space and seeing him seated in one of the surrounding benches looking very nervous. Fortunately, our discussion was very different than what he had feared it would be.
The shelter area of this park is where the local drum circle meets every Saturday evening.
The Harborside Event Center is where Tom went on a lunch break during a wedding expo to find a vendor for my engagement ring... and did. I don't know if I'm supposed to know that or not, but I do.
I took more images than merely those that triggered memories, and you can see them in the Fort Myers, FL flickr set.
My weekend was rather subdued. Saturday was spent with some spring cleaning and laundry. I shuffled the pictures on the wall and cleared up the long livingroom wall so we can put the projector there. We put new locks on the refridgerator and cabinets to keep Tommy out. So far it's been working.
This morning, I replaced a cache in Myakkahatchee Creek Nature Park with Gary's wife, Linda, and shot a few portraits of C Shift and the Battalion Chief at CCFEMS Station 12. The chief gave me a good tour of the Technical Rescue. Station 12 is down the road from San Antonio Catholic Church and it looks like the church is done with their new sanctuary.
I had a lot of fun shooting PGFD Live Fire Training exercises and it was great experience. Everyone was very gracious and friendly. Afterwards, I made the stops I needed to make and got my final shots on the remainder of the firehouses. See 72 of the pictures on the PGFD Live Fire Training 4/30/08 set.
Artists run in my family.
Bailey's artwork has been chosen by her art teacher to be included in an art exhibit at the Charlotte County Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda! I'm so proud of her!!!
My birthday roses were yellow on the outside and red on the inside. I hadn't seen that before.
I got a lot of work done today and spent some time playing with custom filters in Photoshop:
It's a bit overexposed in spots but I like it. It has a vintage charm to it that's been difficult for me to achieve, so I'm a bit proud of myself for not using someone else's action to get this result. At the proper resolution, I'm confident that this would print beautifully.
I redesigned www.elleweemsphotography.com, but still need to put up the portfolio. I still hate doing web-design and really wish I could just have someone do it for me.
Tomorrow morning, I'm shooting PGFD live fire training at Station 2. I have correspondence to drop off at my attorney's office after that for the boys' summer visitation. Once I do the final shots of Stations 3 and 8 and I'll be ready to finalise this license CD for the hospital and deliver it Thursday.
The five is for "I Plead the Fifth".
I took test shots of CCFEMS 8, then did retakes of CCFEMS 2. I stopped by PGFD to discuss photographing Live Fire Training with Assistant Chief Matt Free before going to my attorney appointment. After that, I did the retake for CCFEMS 16 and then shot CCFEMS 9. I did more shots of PGFD 3, because I'm still not happy with what I have. I finished the day with NPFR 83. I don't have any raw shots to share because I'm still sorting through them.
When I got home, the diningroom had been decorated for my birthday and I was greeted with homemade cards and presents, and a beautiful bouquet of roses.
I was out in the sun too long at CCFEMS 16 and got burnt (I'd be upset if this was the first time I'd done it to myself) so I'm content to work on post-production edits today on my final station selections to sell license.
This week, I have to finish up the CD of the stations, get some legal formality junk done for visitations and financial disclosure, photograph Live Fire Training in Punta Gorda on Wednesday, and try to get a babysitter so we can actually go out like normal people do on Saturday.
Both my daughter and my husband are home so life can resume.
Tom now has an updated MCSE, the details of which he could explain more than I could. I'm very proud of him.
I retook station shots of CCFEMS 5, 6, and 7 and PGFD 2 and 3. Tomorrow, I have an attorney appointment after which I'll be able to redo CCFEMS 16, PGFD 1, and all the CCFEMS that are in El Jobean and over that bridge into Englewood. I also have to retake CCFEMS 2 because I just don't like what I have and I'm not selling something I can't put my name on.
At some point, I need to go to Myakkahatchee Creek Nature Park to repair a chewed up geocache that we'd adopted. Some animal gnawed on it a week or so after we adopted it to prevent it from getting archived. I'd scheduled that repair for this week but that was before the hospital gig came up.
I also need to remove some of my waymarks from the directory until I can update coordinates and photos. Many of the "Art About Town" exhibits that were scattered throughout downtown Punta Gorda have been relocated to a park across from Fisherman's Village. This effectively outdates all the information that I have for those waymarks.
This is Punta Gorda Fire Department Station 3. My photoshop skills have fallen short for this one. This was the shot I really wanted to sell for PGFD 3 but I cannot fix the hedges to their proper "PGFD" look. I'm really aggravated about it.
CCFEMS 7 always photographs beautifully. It is the station by the Punta Gorda Airport. This is the typical floorplan that's becoming the standard for all new CCFEMS stations, with very little variation from one to another; but, for some reason, Station 7 is always more photogenic. Lucky 7. Once I got done cleaning up the shot, I was very happy with it.
Tomorrow is, of course, my birthday. I am turning 29 (again).
For digital printing, I've been testing different vendors and I've decided on Snapfish by hp. Not only are they consistently prompt with delivery, in addition to providing local store pick-up options, but the product is consistently high quality, exceeding my expectations each and every time. Short of having the equipment to do everything in-office, I couldn't be happier.
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