I got my inspiration here.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
PICTURE OF THE DAY 11/26/11: SALT LAKE TEMPLE
We spent Thanksgiving break in Utah at my parents house. On our way home, we took the kids to see the Salt Lake Temple, and the beautiful display of lights they have at the temple grounds every Christmas season.
Some interesting facts about the Salt Lake Temple:
- The temple was begun on February 14, 1843. It wasn't finished until April 6, 1893. It took 40 years to complete.
- The excavation for the basement required trenches twenty feet wide and sixteen feet deep, much of it through solid gravel. Just digging for the foundation alone required nine thousand man days of labor.
- The granite selected for the construction material was twenty miles away in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Oxen proved to be the only viable means of transportation.
- The precise design and dimensions of every one of the thousands of stones to be used in the temple had to be marked out individually in the architect's office and shaped accordingly. To put one layer of the six hundred hand-sketched, individually squared, and precisely cut stones around the building took nearly three years.
And my favorite story.....
John Rowe Moyle was a master of stonework who came west with the earliest Mormon handcart companies in 1846. He settled in Alpine Utah, which was nearly 22 miles away from downtown Salt Lake City. He was called to work as a stone mason on the Salt Lake Temple. To be to work by 8:00 in the morning, every Monday John Moyle would wake up at 2:00 a.m. and walk to Salt Lake.
He would spend the week in Salt Lake, working on the temple, and then on Friday, at 5:00 p.m., he would start the long walk home, where he would tend to the duties of his farm over the weekend.
One weekend, he was kicked by one of his cows, resulting in a compound fracture to his leg. With the lack of sophisticated medical help at the time, the only available solution for his injury was amputation. His family and friends removed a door from its hinges, strapped him onto it, and then removed his leg with a hacksaw.
When he was able to sit up in bed, he took a piece of wood and using his carving skills, he carved an artificial limb for himself. As soon as he was able to stand the pain from walking on his stub leg, he again began walking to the temple to do his work, which he did for many years to come.
Amongst other stone work, John Moyle was responsible for carving the “Holiness to the Lord” stone upon the east side of the temple. You can see the words he carved in the photo, near the top of the center section.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
PICTURE OF THE DAY 11/22/11: BIRD FEEDERS
I saw this idea for birdfeeders on Pinterest and figured my kids would love it. Just take your old toilet paper tubes, cover them in peanut butter, roll them in birdseed, and slip them over the branch of a tree.
Our yard was full of birds today.
It's like he's saying, "What's that? A toilet paper tube covered in birdseed? Interesting."
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Picture of the Day 11/22/11 |
"But tasty."
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY
I really enjoyed this week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday prompts. So without further ado.....
{Mainly One Color}
{Around the Home}
{Reflection}
{Writing}
{Water}
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
PICTURE OF THE DAY 11/16/11: ELF ON THE SHELF
Have you heard of the elf on the shelf? There's a popular book explaining how it works, that comes with a toy elf. The idea is that this elf keeps an eye on your children's behavior during the month of December. Every night, he goes back and reports to Santa. You never know where he'll turn up in your house when he comes back the next day.
While I've always wanted to try this tradition, I've never really been sold on the $30 book and elf boxed set. Then I found this little fellow at a local home decore store for $2.99. I think he'll work quite nicely as our elf on the shelf. My seven year old is already worried about what he's going to tell Santa. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
PICTURE OF THE DAY 11/15/11: UNBREAKABLE
For years I've been tying bunches of Christmas bulbs and greenery to my bannister. And every year, without fail, my boys send at least 7 bulbs to their demise when they walk down the stairs. And I use the term "walk" loosely. So this year I decided to go with something new.....something unbreakable.
Is there such a thing as "unbreakable" in a house full of boys?
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
I have a feeling between now and the end of the year, you'll be seeing a lot more food photography around here. Because I'll be cooking and baking (and probably eating) a lot more food. 'Tis the season!
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| Picture of the Day 11/12/11 |
On Saturday, I worked on my neighbor Christmas gifts. Jalepeno Pepper Jelly. This stuff is so good! I am not a canning expert. In fact this is the only thing I ever canned with success.
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| Picture of the Day 11/13/11 |
And the Oreo cupcakes were just for fun!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
PICTURE OF THE DAY 11/9/11: PAINTED PIANO
This is one of the painted pianos my city places around town for everyone to play. Sometimes people sing too. You can't see it in this shot, but this piano has Beethoven and John Lennon painted on it.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
5 PHOTOGRAPHY FACTS: SELLING YOUR NON-PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
I've had several people ask me about making money with their photography, outside of the realm of portrait photography. I've been thinking about this for a while now, and here's what I've come up with.....
{You Probably Won't Make Much}
Unless you really work at it like it's a full time job, you're not going to make much with your photography outside of the portrait business. You'll probably have to venture into selling more than just prints, and consider all of the other things you can create with your photos--calendars, photobooks, notecards, jewelry, etc. Creating these things takes time, and in some cases, money. Still, creating things with your pictures can be very rewarding, and if you sell something from time to time, that's just icing on the cake.
{Sell Photography That Will Appeal to the Locals}
This is my #1 selling print. By which I mean I've sold three whole copies. Which is three more copies than I've sold of any other print.
Find something with local interest, some place the people in your community or state are proud of, and photograph that. People are more likely to buy a print (or a photobook or calendar) if it has some kind of meaning to them. Find a local niche and then figure out how to show your work off in the community.
You could try this.....
{Give a Few Things Away}
You'll often hear people say that you should never work for free. And for the most part, I agree. Unless it's for a good cause. I'm often asked to make a donation to a school auction or other local charity. Whenever I can, I donate my "best selling" Old Town print. In fact, my first sale came after I'd donated the print to the PTA auction at my son's school. Soon after, the woman who bought it called to order another for a friend who was moving away. Give photography gifts too! Photo books, notecards and calendars make great personalized gifts for teachers, co-workers and neighbors. If they love your work, they might just show it off to others!
{Give Stock Photography a Try}
A lot of people will tell you this is an impossible way to make money. But I'm including it because after some trial and error, I've actually been fairly successful at it. I started out submitting to about 5 different agencies. Be prepared, this is time consuming. You'll also be rejected. A lot. It became clear very quickly that several of the stock agencies were not a good match for me.
After about 6 months, I realized that one agency, Dreamstime, accepted more of my photos than the other agencies did. And they had some great incentives for selling exclusively with them. A few important things to remember about stock photography. Your photos have to be sharp and clean. No textures or funky actions or filters. Honestly, stock photography is kind of boring. Really. These are my top 3 selling images.
Okay, I kind of like the Nutcracker, but really, these are pretty bland photographs. It's taken me 18 months to build up a library of just over 200 online images. In that time I've made exactly $397.63. Not enough to live on, but enough for some new photography equipment! Here's a link to my profile on Dreamstime, if you want to see more examples of the kinds of photos I've had success with. Other agencies to try are BigStockPhoto, Fotolia, iStockPhoto, and ShutterStock.
After about 6 months, I realized that one agency, Dreamstime, accepted more of my photos than the other agencies did. And they had some great incentives for selling exclusively with them. A few important things to remember about stock photography. Your photos have to be sharp and clean. No textures or funky actions or filters. Honestly, stock photography is kind of boring. Really. These are my top 3 selling images.
Okay, I kind of like the Nutcracker, but really, these are pretty bland photographs. It's taken me 18 months to build up a library of just over 200 online images. In that time I've made exactly $397.63. Not enough to live on, but enough for some new photography equipment! Here's a link to my profile on Dreamstime, if you want to see more examples of the kinds of photos I've had success with. Other agencies to try are BigStockPhoto, Fotolia, iStockPhoto, and ShutterStock.
{Trade your Photography}
This is sort of along the lines of giving things away, except you're being paid for your work, in products and services instead of cold, hard cash. I love trading, and I've "earned" dental work, art, and farmer's market produce, among other things. Trading is especially helpful if you're interested in commercial photography. Again, think locally. Small business owners are always in need of photography for websites and marketing, but often can't afford the expense. But many of them are happy to trade. It's a great way to get your work visible in the community and still get something for your efforts.
I can't say I've made a lot of money with my photography outside of the portrait industry, but I've thoroughly enjoyed my efforts!
This is sort of along the lines of giving things away, except you're being paid for your work, in products and services instead of cold, hard cash. I love trading, and I've "earned" dental work, art, and farmer's market produce, among other things. Trading is especially helpful if you're interested in commercial photography. Again, think locally. Small business owners are always in need of photography for websites and marketing, but often can't afford the expense. But many of them are happy to trade. It's a great way to get your work visible in the community and still get something for your efforts.
I can't say I've made a lot of money with my photography outside of the portrait industry, but I've thoroughly enjoyed my efforts!
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