The Plural of Moose

(Trust me; you're gonna get a kick out of this when you find out!)

I've been to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, ME, twice now. (Hmm... Lobster Bisque for lunch sounds good right about now, but I digress.) I went on my first visit to Maine late last Spring shortly before I was scheduled for surgery. I'd never been, and if something happened on the operating table, I didn't want my last thought to be when my husband came to get me, "you know, I never made it up Maine." Believe me, not that that would have kept me from crossing over, but really - why have regrets?

I got the feeling that it had been a particularly long winter when I got up there. The people on the island were lovely and (very) friendly, but I did get the sense of , "THANK GOD IT'S SOMEBODY WHO DOESN'T LIVE ON THE ISLAND!!" I went off season and timed my trip so that I was there shortly before Memorial Day when the rates were cheaper.

I have to tell you, if Acadia National Park isn't on the list of place to see before you buy the farm, it should be.  I can't tell you how beautiful it is, so I'm hoping my pictures will give you some idea:

Oh, and here's the payoff for the title of this post. The plural of moose is (wait for it!) MOOSE! I discovered this on my second visit in the Fall. (Yes, I already knew that!) There is a moose sightseeing tour in Bar Harbor that felt it was important for everybody to know that. That had me tickled for days.

Catching The Light

Another retro-post, I first posted this one September 21, 2009. Enjoy!
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A friend of mine told me once that photography is all about capturing light. If you don't capture the light, you don't have a picture. Lighting is also important in Theatre; without proper lighting, nobody can see you or the set. Never a good thing; just trust me on this. One of the first things I learned about lighting and photography is that the best light (the "sweet light" as I've heard it called) is found early in the morning at sunrise to about ten a.m. and from mid-afternoon to sunset. As a result (another photographer told me), you are always either skipping breakfast or dinner and not getting anywhere near enough sleep.

Great! I do this already; have been since my husband died. This is perfect. People were already after me to be productive and "get over it" three minutes after we left the Crematorium, and now I can make them happy. She shoots, she scores !

I went this weekend on a spur-of-the-moment shoot to Great Falls National Park near McLean, VA and to Shenandoah National Park in Front Royal, VA. I had planned on leaving early in the morning and making it a day trip, but decided it would be better to drive down Friday night instead. I was able to catch a great deal on a hotel, so I packed my bags and equipment and hit the road.

So comes the dawn on Saturday.

I bolt out of bed and look at the clock. It's 7 am. OK; it's not sunrise, but that's OK because I can't get into the park until 7 am anyway; right? Right. I don't know! Is it 7 am, or could I have actually been therre at sunrise...?!

Never mind. 7:01 am; I'm loosing the light. Hurry up, hurry up, HURRY UP!

Take a shower - yes? No. Yes? No.  OK. Maybe I better. Yes. Did I wash my face? WHy is my body wet, and my face dry?! Hurry up, hurry up, HURRY UP!

OK. OKOKOK. OK. Put on a clean shirt. Is it clean? I packed two clean shirts - why doesn't this smell clean?! I know I did laundry...

(Here's where I break for the following tip: if you find yourself wearing the same color all the time - say, Black, for example - it's a good idea to devise a method to determine and separate clean clothes from not-so-clean ones so you won't find yourself doing what I did next.)

...*SNIFF!*

UGH! But I pulled this out of the clean pile! What the..?!

OK. 7:30 am. I'm loosing the light! Hurry up, hurry up, HURRY UP! Extra deoderant!

OK. Grab equipment and car keys. Wait; where's the room key?! OK. Got it. Check check check check CHECK! Everything's here. Money, fanny pack, driver's license, keys, keys. Hurry up, Hurry up, HURRY UP!

Get in the elevator; go downstairs. Get in the elevator; go downstairs. Get in the... Whyisthistakingsolong?!

OK. GETTHESTUFFINTHECAR!!!! Put the magnetic door panels back on the doors - advertise, advertise, advertise! Car keys. WHERE ARE THE CAR KEYS?! OK. Pocket. Got 'em. OK. Getinthecargetinthecar GET IN THE CAR!!!

OK.

OK.

In the car, and on my way. Look for exit 44 and... There it is. O....K... Almost there.

*SIGH!*

Good.

*SIGH!*

Wait.

Did I take the Do Not Disturb door hanger off the door...?

*SIGH!!*

Call the hotel. Callthehotelcallthehotel CALL THE HOTEL!!!

"HellothisisMrsSHRImagesandPhotographyandI..."

"WHAT?!"

"Hello...This...Is Mrs. SHR Images and Photography... (LONG PAUSE)..."  

(Once again, my husband was right. He'd always say, "Suzette, time is a constraint, not a variable," and I would reply, "yes it is; you just go faster!" I'm sure he was laughing his head off.)


OK. Yes, the room will be cleaned. Thank you. Good.

*SIGH!*

And here's the park. Good. Good.

Gettothefalsgettothefalls GET TO THE FALLS!

OK. I'm here.


*CLICK!*

And now I get to wait for the light to change....

The Rise (And Frustration!) Of The Machines

Ah , Blogging! Thy name is frustration sometimes!

Since I've switched out my blog to this site, I have had to re-enter (read: re-type) my favorite blog entries. I have to admit that I haven't been a very good blogger because I feel it's more productive for me business-wise to do things like, oh, I don't know, TAKING PICTURES. That and prospecting for business by putting shoe leather to pavement. But it is a brand new world we all live in, and I realize there's some importance in social media marketing. So I realize that I have to do better at blogging and Tweeting (didn't realize I was a bird!) and Facebooking.

*SIGH!* We all know how I feel about busywork.

Today I fought with my printer. I have two: an Epson Stylus Photo 1400 that I use to print the occasional 8 x 10 and my marketing kits (Pictage handles my mass photo print orders and they are fabulous!), and a Brother MFC 440CN that I use for my everyday print needs. Both have stood me in good stead. This isn't to say that they're not without their quirks, but on the whole they have been great.

Today the smaller printer decided to flex it's muscles just to remind me who was in charge, and ate something I had the unmitigated gall to want printed.

I guess I haven't recited the following enough times:

"I, for one, welcome our Robot Overlords!"

Do I want to stick my finger in there and clear out that paper jam? Hmmm....



2010-01-05
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