From all of us here at Unbecoming Levity...
 

Please join me in wishing one of my best friends, James Burke, a pleasant birthday.  I met James about 22 years ago in college and haven't regretted a single day of knowing him since.

This past Saturday we attended a birthday gathering in honor of James turning 40.  We had a good time socializing and watching game 3 of the world series.  It was great to see all my friends again, especially James, who was as charming and witty as I remember him always being.

Happy Day James!  Don't work too hard.

Sometimes interesting packaging strikes me as good photo material.  I like these colorful tins and boxes, and the design of them.  But what strikes me as funny is the name "Tastefully Simple".  When I think of tastefully simple, I think of simple things like, oh, a fresh picked apple.  Or maybe a saltine with a little cream cheese on it, or a nice piece of pita bread.  A "key lime cheese ball" is not exactly the first thing that springs to mind.

"Wow I'm in the mood for a simple snack.  I don't need any fancy oreos or chocolate chip cookies or fritos.  Just something quick.  I know!  A delicious key lime cheese ball!  Just like Mom used to make."

Of course then again, what in the world would you possibly put on your key lime cheese ball? What goes with that, uhhh, flavor? (And it ain't Vanilla Bean Chiller, I'll tell you that right now.)  I mean a saltine or Ritz cracker you can put just about anything on.  But a key lime cheeseball?  What are you gonna put on that.... chives?  So in fact it is quite deceptively simple after all.

So maybe they should have called it Deceptively Simple Key Lime Cheese Ball mix.  I'll bet some marketeer is kicking himself in the Prickly Pear Cooler for not thinking that winner up first. What do you think?

EDIT: Well this article, intended as a joke, sure has gotten a lot of Tastefully Consultants to show up and talk up their product.  That's very nice but this isn't the "Tastefully Simple Blog".  Enough already.  Comments are closed on this article.

This occurred to me today when I took a few minutes after work to do some shooting at the local cemetery. I am loving every minute of this. I love being outside, smiling at passersby, and looking for that special rectangular region of what I see that will make people go "wow!" Even if as a photographer I never make a dime, it's been worth it to get some nice gear and get back into it.

That said, I have had one "gig" so far. I was asked to shoot a school book fair. I had difficulty because of the lighting, but I was reasonably satisfied with the results. Nobody has gotten back to me about the pictures though, so there is no guarantee that they liked them. But I handed out a crapload of business cards and enjoyed myself, and that's what counts.

I've been bitten by ticks, gotten cold, hot, sore, and exhausted while out shooting but I've loved it. And every now and then I bump into another photographer out looking for that "magical frame". One time I climbed a huge hill in a local cemetery to shoot the sun rising over Fitchburg, only to discover I was not alone... there was another photographer up there! We had a great time chatting and shooting, and yep, he got one of my business cards. A couple weeks later I was in the same cemetery, and while I was standing there lining something up with my excrutiatingly pricey gear, I suddenly found myself being approached by a man wearing a tie and a gun holster on his hip. That was pretty unnerving but I figured if he was a crook out to steal my camera he wouldn't be wearing a tie (isn't it bizarre that I should find the presence of a tie makes someone seem trustworthy?) Turned out he was a local police officer who wanted to know what I was doing in the cemetery. I thought it absurdly obvious, but seeing as how he had the gun, I explained I was taking pictures. He explained that someone had vandalized the revolutionary war cemetery in Fitchburg the day prior, so the locals were nervy about people hanging out in the graveyard. And yes, he got one of my business cards too!

After spending time experimenting with stage one of my pro kit, I came to the conclusion that the 24-70mm lens was plenty wide enough for my needs... 24mm on the full-frame EOS5D is wider than 18mm on the crop-sensor EOS400D, as peculiar as that seems. So I didn't see an immediate need for the EF 16-35mm 2.8L, and thusly excluded it from my plans. I replaced it with the amazing EF 85mm 1.2L portrait lens. Last week I reached a point where I could get Stage Two, and now that I have the 85mm I'm certain I've made the right choice. It takes beautiful portraits.

Planwise, I'm now on the long road to Stage Three. No expectations about getting there any time soon, but hopefully before November is out. In the meantime I *may* be getting a paying gig at a local school that wants some work done at a holiday event they are having. Gotta plan that one out.

Anyway, things have been busy, and yes I've not been blogging, but only because I am doing what I love. Which is what matters. I'm turning 40 this year... if I haven't figured that out yet, will I ever? Love to you all, hope you are well.

Please join me in wishing one of my best friends, Maggie Burke, a pleasant birthday.  I've known Maggie a long time, and I value her wisdom and insight, and enjoy her company.  Hope you have a great day Maggie!

BTW: I *have* been reading your blog btw, just not leaving comments.  Always a pleasure to hear your thoughts.

Definition of "undercutting":

Me:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120163294055
Starting time: Sep-27-07 19:45:00 PDT (scheduled, so as to begin after other auctions ended)
Starting bid: US $49.99
Duration: 7-day listing

The other guy:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170153862318
Starting time: Sep-27-07 20:27:48 PDT
Starting bid: US $0.89
Duration: 7-day listing