Another Therapy Session

Well, someone once said "you can't have it all".  Isn't that the truth?  Now that our jeep is running, the laws of you-can't-have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too come into play.  We must trade something else in exchange for a running Jeep.  Fate decided that the exchange would be our running water.

It's been almost a week of water on/water off/water on/water off/water on/water off/water on/water off/. 
We got to the point that the kitchen faucet was always pulled up so that we could hear when the water was suddenly running through the pipes. Then the mad dash to use the bathroom, or whatever else would suddenly commence. I took the fastest shower of my life today! ha ha! So it's mostly a NO WATER zone over here, except for those short moments when the water magically flows and then disappears again.


But even when the water is flowing, we have been hesitant to use it. It stinks really bad of pipe glue and other random chemicals. I WON'T wash the dishes with that and you better believe I ain't brushing my teeth with it!!!!

I'm trying to joke about it since this is a public blog, but the situation really isn't that funny.  I got so frustrated that I started to cry this afternoon.  You can only be so patient for so long. The utility company has a bunch of locals busting up concrete, sawing pipes, reglue-ing pipes, pouring more concrete, and they just play with the water supply ALL. DAY. LONG.

Then they come back the next day and do the same stuff all over again. And when they aren't doing that, they are loitering for hours on end, and harass me as I walk by, demanding that I share my food with them, or hollering at me for who knows why...........I just quickly walk past and try to ignore them. It's actually kind of scary. 

This is insanity!   The insanity MUST END!

Well, what does one do when they are about to lose it? They put themselves in time out! Or in this case, they go for a walk. Robert and I walked over to the edge of the Mullet cliffs. We just happened to spy an iguana, so Robert yanked a bunch of flowers off nearby trees and fed them to the little creature.Unfortunately for me, I didn't have my camera. Unfortunately for him, he tried to pet the iguana, and then got the crap bitten out of his finger! ha ha! He should have known. I was so mad for not bringing my camera, though. Robert hiked down the edge and washed off his finger in the salty ocean. But not until he had fed that silly iguana at least a dozen more flowers. Robert is always a sucker for animals and kids.

Eventually, we went back home to grab the camera, but, by then, Senor Iguana was long gone.  So, I tried to make life interesting and take pictures of the scenery instead.

(I spied another iguana, but he was on a lower ledge and completely unreachable for anyone other than Iron Man.............or Superman.)

 Today was overcast. It matched my mood. I took a lot of pictures of weird crap. Dead trees, grass being blown in the wind, barren branches; it almost reminded me of Autumn.......almost.

St.Maarten Welcomes Back The Amazing AKERS!

Today was a very serendipitous moment: we had the pleasure of Meeting Josh and Laura Akers!  They, along with their son, Earl, had returned to St.Maarten because Josh was graduating from AUC....lucky!!!

Not only that, but I had read Laura's blog before we ever moved down here. I was impressed with her positive attitude and can-do courage.  She was one of those people I thought about when I considered moving here.

Not only that, but they are the original owners of our jeep!! How funny is that?  I really hope that mechanic is able to keep his word and get it all fixed up this Saturday.  If so, we're going to loan it out to the AKes so they can take a trip down memory lane. Laura told me that her and Josh had their first date in that Jeep.  That is so cool! I better tidy it all up before they borrow it.   :)

We met up at the gates of Rainbow Beach Club right at 5:30. It was somewhat surreal to see the Aker family in REAL LIFE since I have only read blog posts and conversed over facebook.

They are super relaxed and friendly.

Now if only the weather had been so congenial!!!! Somethings I've learned since living here are:
1. mosquitoes hang out by your front door, waiting for you to open it and let them inside.
2. The biggest gang on the island is a bunch of old, white guys driving harleys
3. YOU CAN'T TRUST THE WEATHER REPORTS.
This afternoon was supposed to be sunny. I was pretty irritated to see a full out overcast at 5:30.  The problem with a cloud blanket is that it does really weird things to pictures. Instead of a picturesque back ground of sun, sea and vibrant colors, you get the white-wash effect. Everything is WHITE, WHITE WHITE.
Sometimes I just want to go home and crawl under a rock after doing pictures with an overcast sky........sigh.  I find that my camera has an even harder time focusing on subjects when there is so much brightness in the back ground.......and the foreground........and on the subjects. 
I also have to do A LOT more editing on EVERYTHING. Shirts tend to blend into the nothingness, and even skin and limbs can lose their definition!
You have to darken up colors, and then desaturate  so that they don't appear too orange.

I really like Earl.....too bad I called him Carl half of the time.  (must be that early Dementia kicking in again)
He is such a cutie! Although he wasn't too fond of the sand and waves, he hung in there like a trooper!

I was super excited that I had time to do an "ART" picture tonight.  I hope Laura doesn't mind, but when I see freckles, it reminds me of how much I love photographing red heads. I get a big kick out of journalistic headshots........and a little texture layered on top is extra fun!

Since Josh and Laura both have deep brown eyes, it is entertaining that Earl came into this world sporting some blue irises.  I decided to isolate the color in this shot.

And this mug shot of Earl has become my all time favorite shot from today.  I don't know why, but I LOVE IT!!!!!  I think it's because his eyes are so reflective...........and he's got a toothy smile coming on. It is so CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, Josh, Laura and Earl. It was an honor to meet you in person, and fun to help make some memories of your return to the island!

50mm Milestones.

Today is May the 16th.  That's not a huge deal. No major catastrophes, nuclear bombs, terrorist events or sinkholes. But May 16th is IMPORTANT!
Exactly 1 year ago, I bought my 50mm lens. I can't believe its been a whole year!

Here is the first picture I ever took with my trusty little 50mm.
Rudimentary? Yes.
Primitive? Obviously.
But I have learned quite a bit in 1 year's time.

Happy Birthday, 50mm! You have become one of my greatest coworkers ever!

The Great Number Eight!!!..also known as the "SELFIE" Extravaganza!

**warning, if you don't like mushy kissing pictures or other annoying PDA, turn back now!** (you were warned....)
*************************************************** Traditions are fun, but sometimes tricky to maintain!
Every year, Robert and I get all dolled up and do some pictures for our anniversary.  It was an idea I started after having such a busy and stressful wedding day. Let's flashback to eight years ago:

Coming from a low income family, my wedding preparation wasn't the typical situation you might see on some glitz and glam reality show.
I did nearly all the wedding planning myself, and pulled every favor I could for some  reception decor. Even though it was the end of the semester, (and I was taking 18 credits) I spent hours making invites, addressing envelopes, hunting for coupons to craft stores and looking for the best deals on flowers,vases, tablecloths,etc,etc..

Not only that, but unusual circumstances pushed us into changing the date and getting married the same week I was taking all my final exams....yeah, I ended up having an anxiety attack in the middle of my own wedding ceremony.....not my favorite day. (Seriously jealous of all those girls who have everything done for them, and are able to relax and enjoy the most important day of their lives.)


So, I thought that I would just put my dress back on after hitting the momentous 1 year mark, and take pictures. Why not? If something costs that much, you might as well get some use out of it! Why not have a re-do/I-can't-believe-it's-been-a-year-already moment on a day when the world isn't spinning around you like some overzealous dust devil ?

Well, the idea took hold, and we've been doing it ever since. (Lately, I have been trying out different dresses the past few years because:
1. I'm too thin to properly fit my original gown anymore. 
2. Variety makes it more interesting................for me.
This year's Anniversary had us in a tight spot, though, because we didn't have any other photographers that could take our pictures.............................  What if I took them myself?  Yeah right! That would be a total disaster!!!..................or would it??
I spent a lot of time researching remote controls, and ended up getting a cheap one on Amazon. It was up to me to get this tradition completed for 2013!  But when? How?
Being realistic with Robert's school schedule, my lousy health, and the lack of experience with new equipment, I knew we weren't going to be able to do it all in one day. Its hard enough to get good pictures of subjects even when my eye IS actually staring through the viewfinder.  I bet the usable picture crop would be even smaller when a radio signal was our main control point.

Through a series of miscommunication, I ended up accidentally getting two different dresses on ebay. Chinese dressmakers are pretty sketchy, and the dresses I got stuck with were definitely not as described. Oh well. You get what you pay for. A white t-shirt can cover a multitude of immodesty! ha ha ha ha!

Since flip flops always cut into my skin (and hurt like crazy)  this year I went for  the "Barefoot Sandals" fad.  Oh why not.  At least they don't tear my flesh off!

Hiding that silly remote ended up being harder than I anticipated.  Sometimes a picture would be totally clear and awesome, except for Robert's arm being twisted in an unnatural direction while he fussed with the radio signal.



But worse than that was the fact that we could take 1,100 shots in one outing, and have maybe 3 turn out usably clear. Not tack sharp. I gave that up. Just usably clear.. And that's right. I said 3.

I read on another photographer's facebook page that he had forgotten to turn his Image Stabilization off while using a tripod, and it had messed up his shots to make them slightly fuzzy...um what????  Is that what I've been doing wrong this whole time and blaming it on the remote control?  After researching the idea, I found out there is something to that concept. A stable tripod will cause the  lens' IS to constantly search for movement and adjust for it. This can turn a sharp picture into a less-than-sharp picture. AH HA!!!  But, I also found out that my 50mm doesn't come with IS.  Therefore, I have no excuse, and will fall back on my blame-the-remote theory.

I'm of the opinion that some islanders LOVE a good show. They love it so much that they will literally FLOCK around you if they think you are doing something interesting. Even if they are hundreds of yards away on the outskirts of a beach! If you bring a camera, they will come.
They will get up, pack their beach accessories, and migrate towards you.
They will stand right behind you in a shot. They will not keep walking past.

I have since learned to accept this fact, and not get all frustrated about it. Things like this can sometimes be fixed in post processing. I have photoshopped out more photo bombers from beach shots than Dolly Parton has wigs.

The hand shot was pretty rough to organize. I had to set the tripod about 15 inches off of the ground, and then squint through the view finder to tell Robert where to stand and where to put his hand.  Normally (on other people) I like the arms to be straight, but I practically have to be lying on my stomach and pointing straight up to get that shot. It just wasn't possible with a tripod. This is a good alternative pose, though.  (IMO)

I did catch a few nice sun/cloud displays while out and about.

I was really excited that the "Pirate Ship" was out just in time for this shot.  The Pirate ship is this boat with brown sails comes around at 6pm EVERY NIGHT OF THE YEAR.  THere are actually THREE things that you can count on in this life:
1. death
2. taxes
3. The pirate ship at 6pm

Okay there is an interesting story behind this shot of us sitting with our backs together.  Robert almost got into a FIGHT with a guy right before we took this picture. 
So, Robert is sitting on the sand, in the same position you see in this picture.
Here I was staring through the view finder, just trying to get the camera's focal point to line up, when all of a sudden. Robert starts barking at me...no wait, it wasn't me. It was some weirdo standing behind me.  The creeper and Robert start arguing. Robert asks him what the heck he is doing.  The creeper matches Robert's volume and demands to know if Robert has a problem with him...What the heck!!!!
Robert tells him he doesn't like him staring. Creep-a-la-crepe is a french accented bully.
The creeper isn't small and neither is his pal who is standing nearby. There is also some random chick that is part of the bizarre trio of "unexpected beach antagonists".
Creeper starts coming at Robert and saying in a rather threatening tone that he can "Enjoy the nice view if he wants to" and other strange crap.
I start freaking out and tell everyone "hey, it's okay. Let's not worry about anything."  What the heck was Robert getting so angry about. People stare at us all the time when we take pictures. Clearly Robert was over reacting! And clearly I had no idea what was REALLY going on.
After the tempers calmed and the frenchy trio stood down, Robert told me what had happened. Apparently creep-a-la-crepe had come straight at me from the side.  I didn't even see him since I was busy with the camera.  He was very obviously staring at me in places you shouldn't be stared at.  Robert saw all of this and was getting very defensive since it was all happening 10 feet in front of him. Crepe-a-la-crepe wasn't trying to hide his intentions from Robert.  Than Creep-a-al-crepe came up behind me, oogling my backside, and was so close that Robert said "he was practically breathing on your hair" Um that's when I realized this situation was a lot freakier than I had known! 
Why would a someone do that
1. at the beach
2. to a total stranger
3.in front of a total stranger's husband, no less.
I'm glad that Robert was looking out for me! Good grief!!!! What is wrong with people?

I tried to do one of those hand print photos. Let me tell you,  this is harder than it looks! The sand doesn't always cooperate. It has to be just the right balance of dry vs wet.

This hairdo seemed like a really good idea at the time........................but now I actually hate it.  From a side shot like this, it looks an awful lot like a RAT TAIL, and that is totally not cool.  oh well. You live, you learn.

Robert did this to me a lot: clicked the shutter as I was running back and forth. This was his way of getting entertainment out of the situation. I can't really blame him.  We had 11 different outings for this!  11!  The typical husband would have gone into full rebellion at this point. Luckily, Robert isn't your typical husband.

Then there is always that one. You know, the one where it is so perfect.......... except that the actual subject of the shot is totally blurred...sigh. This one is my favorite "Should-Have-Been" shot.

As you can see, I love playing with texture layers:

We tried the heart silhouette.  It would probably look better with two people who are relatively the same size...oh well! ha ha ha ha!

I also tried to do a SERIOUS face shot, which, as a photographer, I totally love............... and Robert completely hates. He put up with it anyway.

*****************************************Bloopers******************************************
I'm only putting a few of the sillier ones. Heaven knows there were millions more bloopers than usable shots!

Nothing is more awkward than a shot right after you jump in the air. (or right before, for that matter)  It's hilarious, though. We look like we're on drugs. ha ha ha ha ha! I seriously have 500 hundred of these on my hard drive.

*******************************************************************************************************
Specs
Locations:
March 20th Mullet Beach 5:30-6pm feet pictures
April 1st Mullet Beach  7-7:30am long dress, straight hair
April 1st Plum Bay 4:45-5:30pm updo
April 8th Mullet Beach 5:45-6:15 ring pictures
April 16th Mullet Beach 7-7:25am short dress
April 16th Mullet Beach 5:45-6:15pm sunglasses
April 24th Plum Bay 5:45-6:20pm long dress braided updo
April 25th Baie Longue 5:20-6:30pm long dress half do
May 1st Baie Longue  11:00-noon  short dress, kite
May 1st Mullet Beach 5-5:40pm  hearts
May 3rd Mullet Beach 5:30-6:15pm cliff silhouettes and on tummy shots

And that's all folks! The "Do-It-Yourself Anniversary picture Project" is DONE!!!! 

p.s. Special thanks to Patrick Hawks for loaning us his kite, and to Casey Crookston for granting us unlimited use of his amazing tripod! We couldn't have done it without you!   :D