HUNKS VS. PUNKS IV

Tap. Tap.  Is this thing on?

Testing.  Testing, 1,2,3,4.

sccccrrreeeeccchhhhh.  Ouch.  Sorry.

Okay. 

Cue Music. 

And…GO!

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve paid my dues…

Time after time

I’ve done my sentence
But committed no crime.

 
And bad mistakes
I’ve made a few

  
I’ve had my share of sand kicked in my face,

But I’ve come through.

 

 
We are the champions, my friends.
And we’ll keep on fighting – till the end.

We are the champions! 

We are the champions!

 
No time for losers
‘Cause we are the champions…of the world. 

I’ve taken my bows

And my curtain calls

 
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it

I thank you all

But it’s been no bed of roses

No pleasure cruise

I consider it a challenge before the whole human race

And I ain’t gonna lose!

 

(Come on, Everyone! SING WITH ME!)

We are the champions – my friends
And we’ll keep on fighting – till the end -
We are the champions!
We are the champions!
No time for losers
‘Cause we are the champions…

…of the world.

E.

P.S. Please bear with me over the next week or so…this event has given me much to blog about….

Monday Photography Tip: Fill the Frame

Due to the Super Bowl and the Hunks vs. Punks Game, this past weekend, I am making this tip very brief; I want to spend a little more time on the pictures from the Hunks/Punks game.  (If you are new to this blog and have no clue what I’m talking about, scroll down to the previous post; it will explain it all.)

This tip continues in the same vein of composition. (Remember last week’s Rule of Thirds?)  This week, I want you to work on FILLING THE FRAME.  Simple as that.

Look at this picture of my little friend, Chris:

He played in the Pee-Wee Punks game that followed the Hunks vs. Punks game on Sunday.  As you can see, he’s concerned about some call the ref made…. 

The picture is fine.  But, it’s blah and boring.  That has nothing to do with sweet little Chris.  He’s great.  He’s cute.  He’s concerned and is trying to get everyone’s attention–he’s mid-sentence.  But, that’s beside the point.   Look at the picture as a whole.

As you can see, there’s a bunch of dead space surrounding him.  See the headless bodies behind him?   That meaningless clutter doesn’t help the picture tell the story.  In fact, it’s somewhat distracting.  (Also, notice how I composed the shot with Chris smackdab in the middle?  Ugh.)

Now, though,  look at how different and far more interesting the following picture of Chris is. 

God love it!  Snaggle-toothed little munchkin…He looks so tough!  So angry!  WAY better!  And, why?  Because I filled the frame. 

Now, this does not mean you have to cut everything out of your shot and take only closeups.  Sometimes you can’t get a shot without the extra surroundings.  Sometimes you need the extra surrounding objects to help explain where you are, or to expand the story you are telling with your pictures.  But, if you are going to take a wider-angled shot, you still should fill the frame.  

As you look through your viewfinder at the picture you’re composing, attempt to remove the unnecessary objects or people, if at all possible.  Look beyond your main subject and take note of the surroundings.  Then, use my tip:

Move in (or zoom in) for tighter shots; fill your frame.

I’ll do some more on this, with better examples, on a future Monday, but this will have to do for now.  I’ve got some Hunks/Punks pictures to work on!

Happy Shooting,

E.

SUPER BOWL, SCHMUPER BOWL…

Yeah, yeah, I know.  It’s considered the biggest game of the year.  I know, I know, it’s the Saints vs. the Colts.  Blah, blah, blah…

Boooorrrrrinnnnnggggg.

I’m just here to tell you, Sunday is not going to be all about the Colts and the Saints. 

There’s actually a far bigger, better, more competitive, more important game to be played:

The fourth-annual HUNKS VS. PUNKS Super Bowl Game.

It’s the Granddaddy of all football games. 

Two teams pitted against each other, both vying for the coveted title of WINNER, and the chance to rub the other team’s faces in it for a year following. 

This annual clash of the titans pitting neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend, father against son had been played one year previous to our move into this neighborhood…all in the name of friendly competition and fun…and we’ve not missed a game since.  And, it’s grown into a rather big deal, both in size and in boasting rights.

The teams, you ask? 

Well, there’s the HUNKS team: Old, out-of-shape men.  

 

Then, there’s the PUNKS team. 

They are young, spry,

virile, athletic, teenagers.

Every year, they meet on the gridiron of our neighborhood.

Hope against hope to walk away with the title.

Every year, the hopes and dreams of the young and old alike, are placed, vunerably and squarely, on the chalk yardlines of…of life.

This is no place for namby-pamby girly boys…

Only the toughest and most determined survive.

Every year, the old geezers have something to prove… 

…something to prove the young punks. 

…something to prove to each other. 

…something to prove to themselves.

(Mainly the HUNKS have to prove that they can rise and walk the next day…something the young whippersnapper-PUNKS have no problem, whatsoever, doing…)

And each year, so far, the HUNKS have risen to the occasion; they have been successful! 

 

(That’s my ThrillCam making the amazing final–winning– touchdown for the HUNKS!!!!  Be still my heart!)

 

(And, yes, I do believe it was as horribly painful as it looks….)

 

 

VICTORY! 

Last year, was a THREE-PEAT for the HUNKS!!!

Proving, once again, that the HUNKS are NOT DEAD YET!!!

The PUNKS left the field, once again, defeated, deflated and downtrodden…wondering, for the third year in a row, how those old guys could possibly muster the strength and energy to beat them. 

…wondering what, if anything, they could do to have a different outcome.

And the HUNKS?  

They do not leave the field whole, I’m sorry to say.  They are broken, beaten up, and feeling very, very old….

But, believe-you-me, all wounds, hurts and pains subside quickly with the sweet smell and taste of VICTORY!

Of course, Bengay, ice packs and the trip to the chiropractor will certainly help ease the pain.

I will post, next week, the final outcome of the 4th Annual HUNKS VS PUNKS Super Bowl Game.  It’s very exciting!!

Can the HUNKS pull out another victory and make it four in a row?  Or will the PUNKS finally get a winning game plan and finish on top?

Stayed tuned!

E.

P.S. Who are you pulling for this weekend?  The Saints?  The Colts?  The HUNKS?  The PUNKS?  Leave me a comment.

P.P.S.  (Oops!  I stand corrected.  ThrillCam did NOT make the winning touchdown for the HUNKS victory.  Our neighbor and friend, Scott M. made the winning touchdown and paid SEVERELY for it!…)

My first-ever book!

Yes, you read that correctly.  My book.  I’m published.

Well. Sort of.

Well, actually, technically, I am, but not in the usual sense. 

I created a book for my son’s high school football team and its coaches.  The book included many of my favorite photos from the winning season.

I had planned to make a photo book for the coaches as a way of saying thank you and to celebrate their winning season, but before I could complete it, I was approached by the football booster club to make one.  It was a great coincidence!  Perfect timing.

I used a company called Blurb.  They specialize in books, alone. 

Because the booster club had budgeted for a certain amount, I had to go with a soft cover; the soft covers are not fabric, but rather heavy cardstock–like a regular paperback book.  You can see that the cover is very flexible.  But, it’s sturdy and well-made.

I’ve fallen in love with the book.  Not because it has my pictures in it…well, that does make me feel good, but because I was able to create pages that highlighted my photos.  I was given many options to choose from.

If I wanted to add text, I could add text.

If I didn’t want any text, I didn’t have to use any.

It even has a header and footer or page number, which is a very nice touch.   So, on the pages where my photos don’t cover the entire page, there’s a header.  It’s small, but adds a nice detail.  (You can just barely see it in my photo below, upper right corner.)

I really hope the coaches like their momento.

So, after dipping my foot in the book-making water, I have plans for a real book, one day.  Hopefully, it will be a beautiful coffee table book that millions and millions, or 6, people will purchase one day! 

By the way, I realize there are some great companies out there, like Shutterfly, Snapfish, etc., that make photo books, as well.  Those companies do a great job.  I know.  I created a photo book for my niece through Snapfish once.  But, I love that Blurb specializes in books, alone.  Nothing else. 

(Oh. Blurb has no idea who I am or that I’m even writing about them, so unfortunately, I’m not getting a kickback.  Would someone please tell them who I am?!)

You can get another, better, sneak peek at my book–heck! you can even order one, if you’d like–at www.blurb.com  Go to the Bookstore tab and click.  In the search bar, type in Elizabeth Simmons Photography.  My book will magically appear!  Click on Preview to look at a few of the pages.

If you have it, spend some time in the bookstore, looking at other folks’ books.  There are a trillion–cookbooks, travel journals, photography of  just about any topic you can think of…you name it, there’s probably a book.  And, yes, you can purchase any and all of them.

Go forth and be creative, today!

E.

Monday Photography Tip: Rule of Thirds

Better late than never on the post today (tonight)!  I apologize for my tardiness in getting this posted!

Tonight’s photography tip deals with composition.   Composition is how and where you place the subject you are photographing.  The composition can make or break a picture.

Look at this picture of a Senior I photographed last year, named Marc.  (Marc was a fantastic subject to photograph.  He was very relaxed and very photogenic.)While it wasn’t a favorite photograph of his or mine, I picked the photo below to illustrate today’s tip.

As you can see, Marc is almost smack-dab in the middle of the picture.  His expression is fine (although, you can tell the sun was still a little harsh when we first started shooting that day) and, in fact, the picture is okay.  But it’s not much more than okay…it’s sort of blah.  Nothing to write home about.

So, how do you improve a shot like that?  Well, you use the Rule of Thirds, that’s how!   Heard of it?

Basically, you divide a picture into thirds.  (You can see very vague lines running through the picture of Marc, above.)

When looking through your viewfinder on your camera, divide your subject by thirds, mentally.  Placing your subject in the very middle of the picture is fine, but sort of boring (unless you are completely filling your frame with the subject, but that’s another tip for another day). 

Recomposing–or, moving the subject and/or camera–ever so slightly makes a world of difference. 

Here’s the same picture, but cropped.  I cropped off some of the photo on the right.  It created a completely different photo, by “moving” Marc from dead center, to the right third of the picture.  I do believe the crop improves the shot considerably.

(The crop also brought Marc in a little closer, which happens to be a good thing.  But, the point is to show how much more appealing a photo looks when you follow the Rule of Thirds.)  I like to apply the Rule of Thirds when actually taking the picture, but sometimes, like in the case shown above, the changes need to be made in post-production.

I’ve used the Rule of Thirds in a number photos I’ve posted on this blog in the past:

Remember those?  You can see the main objects, the blades on these cotton strippers, are resting in the bottom third of the picture. 

Or, below.  Remember when I posted this shot of our local high school’s head coach? 

I focused on his head/headset, but composed the shot so I could get the football players in the background.  They are out of focus, on purpose.  But, consider the picture had I taken the photo of  just the back of his head without the football players in the background.  Borrrinnnng.  All you would have seen was the back of a slightly bald head (sorry Coach!) with a headset on it.  (Place your hand over the right third of the picture to see what I mean. )

By positioning him to the left third of the frame and allowing the camera to capture the players in the background it tells a completely different story.  It’s more interesting, if you ask me.

Or, this:

(You don’t see bluebonnets and snow very often, do you?  I took that picture on a very bizarre weather day in Spring 2007….)  The bluebonnet picture has a little more interest because of the composition.  It would have been fine to have a shot of just the single bluebonnet, straight on, but the shot above creates a little more visual interest.

Notice below that the flowers are nearly in the center, but not quite.  They fill more of the left two-thirds of the picture. 

You get the idea.

BUT, please remember this:  you can break this rule at any time.  Honestly.  Its just a great guideline or suggestion to keep in mind as you take pictures. 

So, get out there and practice using the Rule of Thirds when composing your shots.  Get used to using the rule; train your brain and eye to see it.  Then, once you’ve gotten used to it, break the rule and try something completely different!

Happy shooting!

E.

Public Service Announcement

As if snot jokes weren’t bad enough….  I figure that as long as I’m going with the gross stuff this week, I might as well show you a little gift that has come in handy in my household.

Please remember:  I live with three males. 

A little bottle of pure bliss was given to us last Christmas by our good friends, Brad and Rhonda.

You’ve met Brad before:

And, Rhonda, too:

Rhonda is the stabilizing factor in this marriage.  She keeps Brad rooted, grounded, in check.  Because, if Rhonda was not there to keep an eye on Mr. Brad, well…things like this would happen more often:

Poo-pourri.

Ever heard of it?

Can you read the bottom of the bottle?

Spritz the bowl before you go and no one else will ever know.

How quaint.

You should read the back:

There once was a young lad from Rhone

whose odor he’d rather disown

now he’s taming his poo

by anointing the loo

and now happily sits on his throne!

 

 

I apologize…especially to my mother is hanging her head in shame.  (It’s no wonder she’s told no one of my blog….I’ll never gain World Wide Web Domination at this rate….)

This is real stuff, I promise.  And, because I live in a house full of testosterone and unusual smells, I know this stuff works! 

Brad bought this for us as a joke, but bully for me, it works magically!

So, go to your local boutique and ask for some Poo-pourri, you’ll be glad you did.  Especially, if you live in a house with boys.  (If the boutique doesn’t carry it, ask them to, then go home and go to Poo-pourri’s website: www.poopourri.com)

This Public Service Announcement was brought to you by Poo-pourri, “a blend of Natural Essential Oils that create a barrier to embarrassing bathroom odors.”  (The people at Poo-pourri have no clue that I’m stumping for their product, nor do they know who I am. Otherwise, I’d be asking for a lifetime supply of this stuff!)

Gotta go,

E.

Important message about cold and flu season.

I don’t know the exact date on the calendar, but Sick season is approaching!  I can feel it in the air!

You know what I’m talking about.  There’s Summer, Fall, Winter, Sick, Spring.

How could it not be Sick season?!  I mean, the last couple of days have been hovering somewhere between the 65 to 80 degree mark, or darn near close. 

Seriously….  Wasn’t it just a week ago that all my plants DIED because of a week of below freezing temperatures?!?? 

This is the time of year I shake my fist in the air, jump up and down, and yell at Mother Nature, “Why, oh why must you be so tempermental…so indecisive…so, so crazy like a loon?!”

And, so, to show me, Mother Nature has decided that today the weather will return to nasty, wet, and downright chilly.  This up-and- down-temperature-business is an obvious warning that Sick is quickly approaching, if not already here.

Another tip-off that Winter is gone and Sick has sprung: the presence of cold, wet noses…

Cold, wet noses do not lie.

Or, what about the gunky eyes?

Crusty, goopy eyes are a sure sign of impending illness.

But, this.  This is a real give-away that cold and flu season is still hanging around:

Eeuuuwwww….  Gross!!

When you’re neckin’ with yer honey
And your nose is kinda runny
You might think it’s funny…
But it’snot.

How immature and juvenile.

How do you get a tissue to dance?

Put a little boogie in it.

So childish.  So sophomoric.

Okay.  I’m sorry.  I’ll stop.  It snot funny. 

No. Wait, wait, one more.

Where does your nose go when it gets hungry?

Booger King! 

Pathetically and unsophisticatedly yours,

E.

Make someone smile today, even it takes deplorable jokes to do it.

Instrument of torture winner!!

Remember my little, silly, meaningless “quiz” from the other day?

Well, the response to my quiz was absolutely overwhelming!!  It took me days, I tell you, days to count the entrants and weed out the incorrect guesses.  I actually had to call on my youngest hooligan to help me with the sorting and adding and subtracting….

So, without further ado, here are the results to my first-ever quiz/contest:

I had a whopping SIX, count ‘em, SIX folks who were brave enough to take a guess as to what that thing was/is! 

Unfortunately, one guess was incorrect (sorry, Kris!).  Although, her response won points for her sense of humor. 

Two entrants were disqualified.  My sister-in-law knew the answer because, as she mentioned, she was there when the pictured item being was used. 

The other disqualified contestant was my mother.  Two reasons: she didn’t actually leave an answer in her comment, just a statement that she, too, owned a kitchen tool similar to my mother-in-law’s, and, two, because she’s my mother.  Family members are automatically disqualified from winning.  (Sorry Mom!)  She and my sister-in-law obviously did not read the fine print when entering the contest.

So, that left me with THREE correct answers! 

Heather, Chriss, and Carlybee were correct when they answered: a can opener.  (ThrillCam wanted to cheat and just give the prize to Carlybee because of her reference to Dublin Dr. Peppers, by the way!  I swatted his bottom and chided him with “Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater!”  Then I sent him to his room.)

My mother-in-law’s electric can opener was not working properly, so she opened a kitchen drawer and pulled out that crazy, scary-looking object.  She set it on the counter and said to me, “Try this.” 

I had absolutely no idea what it was or how to use it!  She then said, “Move over, Whippersnapper and watch a pro.”  (Or something along those lines, I’m sure.)  After she schooled me in the proper way to open a can, we called my oldest hooligan into the kitchen.  We wanted him to finish the job for us.  We spanked him and yelled, “Get crackin’ Boy!!”  I yelled, “Use those muscles you’ve built up using your high school’s expensive weights that my good tax dollars have paid for!!”  He immediately said, “Yes, Ma’am,” and started opening cans.  I yelled, “Hurry up!!  Your mama needs some Baked Beans, and she needs them NOW!” 

My big, strapping boy opened those cans in a flash and Nana made some yummy Baked Beans for dinner.  The end.  (Such a heart-warming story.)

No….not really.   

Okay…enough of that dribble.  I guess you want to know who the winner is.  

First, though, let me show you the very advanced and technical process used in choosing the winner:

Step One:  Collect names of entrants with correct names.

Step Two:  Separate names.

Step Three:  Place names in odd rooster receptacle.

(I told you this was highly advanced and technical!)

Step Four:  Have a disinterested party (i.e. your oldest child who is sitting idly by, watching ESPN and eating Nacho Cheese Doritos) do the official counting and drawing of winning name–you can rest assured there was no cheating going on here; he could have cared less who won.)  Ignore exasperated sighs and groans by said disinterested party.

Step Five:  Have annoyed and disinterested child pose numerous times while holding bizarre rooster bowl with names in it.  Draw winning name.  (I love my rooster bowl, even if no one else does.)

Step Six:  Announce winner!!

And the winner is…

HEATHER!!!

Woohooo!!! 

Heather, since I know where you live (wink, wink) I will personally bring your prize to you.  What’s your prize, you ask?  Well, because the kitchen tool I referenced was so simple and backwoods-like, and because I am just enough red-neck, your prize will be a $10 GIFT CARD FROM WALMART!!!!  Woohoooo!!!!  (Yours will not be covered in dust and dog hair, though.  I promise.)

Alright, simmer down now.

Thanks to everyone, all six of you, who participated!!  I’ll have another contest coming up in the very near future, so stay tuned kids!

Find someone who needs a hug and give it to ‘em!

XOXO,

E.

Monday Photography Tip–Removing Lens Glare

Until I actually get my act together and make a plan, the tips will be a little spastic, much like their author.   Which means, there will be no rhyme or reason to why I choose one tip over another.

Sorry.

So, today, I’ll tell you a very simple tip for removing the glare that sometimes appears in your photos, when you are shooting toward the sun. 

I was playing around shooting a sunset one day and I could see that I was getting the flare.  I liked it and hoped it would add a little something to the picture, but, obviously, this photo is not all that great; the sun is far too over-exposed.  It’s just a huge mass of yellow with no definition.  Plus, it’s just plain boring, composition-wise.  But it was the first photo I came acress with a flare, so I’m going with it.

Here’s another example of a lens flare:

See the little circles running through the picture?  That’s a lens flare.  They appear because there is too much light going into the lens.

My friend, Chase, took this picture of me a while back, and I actually ADDED the flare in Photoshop.  (I have no logical explanation for why I put one in the above photo.  Maybe it was the high altitude and lack of oxygen affecting my brain, or maybe I needed a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks, or maybe I just hoped the lens flare would distract from my freakishly tall head…who knows?  I just felt like it.  Okay?)  (And, no I do not live in the mountains.  In fact, I’m pretty darn close to being below sea level….) 

Anyway, here’s your simple solution to lens flares:  You need to find some shade–for your lens.    Some of you may have a digital SLR camera with interchangeable lens that have lens hoods.  Use your hoods.

But, for those of you who don’t have lens hoods, or you own a point and shoot camera, there are a few things you can do.

1. Take a piece of paper and a couple rubber bands to create a makeshift hood for your lens.  Just roll the paper around the end of the lens and use the rubber bands to secure it.  (This will not work well if you are shooting with a real wide lens, though, because you’ll see the paper in your viewfinder.)  Make sure your paper is proportional to your lens–if you have a point and shoot camera, then you can’t, obviously, use an 8×11 piece of paper.
2. If you don’t have paper and rubber bands handy, you can simply use one hand to shade the end of your lens.
3. If you can’t reach the end of your lens and still hold the camera securely, ask someone else who is hanging around to help.  They will need to stand to your side  and simply create an umbrella for your lens (or they can stand between the sun and your subject–assuming they aren’t being seen in the picture).
4. If you are completely alone and cannot ask for a helping hand, you could set your camera on a tripod, or a table, or some other sturdy object, get your picture in focus, and set your self-timer for 2 seconds, while you stand next to your camera and shade the lens yourself.
5. Another handy item to have on hand when out taking pictures, is a simple car reflector/shade.  You know, the thing you put on your dashboard on those hot summer days, in an attempt to keep your car cool?  Grab that!  It not only can be used to shade your camera and prevent lens flare, it can also be used to shade your subject, if they are in harsh sunlight.  (Or, you can use it to reflect light up into your subject’s face when added light is needed.)

I know that’s really, really simple.  But, I hope you’ll keep it in mind next time you are attempting a sunset/sunrise photo, or any other situation with direct sunlight (or stage lights) creating lens flare.

Happy shooting!

E.

Instrument of torture & a little quiz

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to post, this week!   I will try to do much better in the future, I promise!

So, without further ado…

Have you ever, in your whole life, seen this instrument of torture?

It lives in my mother-in-law’s house.  Do you know what it is?

It’s kind of scary looking, isn’t it?   I mean, look at it, again:

Know what it is?  Know what it does, or what its purpose is?

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think it is.  

There might be a little prize for a randomly chosen winner…. I’m just sayin’…

Good luck!

E.