I'm back

Self-Portrait 2012

Yep. I haven't posted since June, and the more I wait the more monumental getting back to the blog feels. I tell myself  that maybe I need to do some really great post to get back into things. Some killer tutorial to feed the hungry masses (because there are those of you who actually follow the blog and then there are the thousands who drop in to find out how to change the background color in Photoshop and then leave). Finally, I decide that if I don't just post something, then I may never post. So here's what barely qualifies as "something."

Back from the dead
Well, not really. Spring/summer was going great: Various scholarly activities, Paris, London, a couple of weeks in Hawaii (You'd think I had money, but trust me, I don't. It's all grants and generous relatives)...and then...double hernia surgery. It hurt like hell for the first week, and then we all piled in the van and took a road trip to Oceanside where I convalesced and watched a whole lot of stupid shows on Netflix. My productivity screeched to a halt. But now I'm back.

The perpetual blog crisis
I don't have a monomaniacal drive to achieve any particular goal with my blog. At best, there's an overarching yearly goal (this year is commerciality), but even then it's a mixed bag. I think a certain degree of uncertainty can be useful. Wasn't it Mary Poppins who said "a spoonful of crisis sweetens the monotony of routine"? No? Must have been the Percocet talking.

Anyway, my current dilemma deals with just how much of the commercial stuff to share. For instance, if I give a tutorial on a current product that retailers have bought by thousands, will it harm sales? If I talk candidly about the business stuff, am I asking for trouble? I'm not sure, but my impulse always tends toward disclosure. I'll deal with that issue in a future post.

The draw of the pin
While my break from blogging has lasted a couple of months, my break from Pinterest only lasted two weeks. Pinning is easy, inspiring, and has been gratifying in terms of followers. Creating content, on the other hand, can be laborious. My immediate plan is to have more interaction between my pinboards and my posts. So expect some posts inspired by pinning.

A bientôt
Now that I've gotten that first re-launch post out of the way, I can resume. See you soon.

Rainy Day in London

I've been neglecting my blog while in Hawaii for the past two weeks. I'm not really much of a beach person. I don't tan, surf, or drink fancy cocktails. If it weren't for some very generous family members I would have been in Cincinnati grading AP French exams instead of snorkeling and eating ridiculously huge cups of shave ice with my wife and kids. I don't think I took more than 20 photos and I have yet to upload them. All productivity slowed to a crawl and then died somewhere in a lagoon, as it should during that kind of vacation. A far cry from last month, in London...

Boots in late May

A schoolgirl helps her grandma stay dry in Chelsea

The patterns that develop when you're willing to stand in the rain and wait

Snapseed is free in Apple App store this week

Snapseed by NIK software is free this week in the Apple app store. If you have an iPhone or an iPad, you'd be crazy not to get it. I mean, I thought it was a good deal when it was $5.

From Street Photography to Postcard

Across from the Pompidou center in Paris

"Unabashed commerciality. Shameless optimism." That was my goal for 2012. So when I walked by a shop around Les Halles on my way to a movie and saw my photos on the postcard rack, I was pretty excited. I heard back in February that a German company wanted to use two of my dog photos for their postcard line, but I didn't really think they'd be out so soon.

2.50 (and that's euros!) for one card! yikes! And to think that I earn a whopping 4 centimes per card. So maybe I'd be able to buy a baguette if someone bought the whole rack? I guess we'll see over time. I was very impressed with the quality of the cards (nice printing, very heavy matte stock) and I had to buy one of each to commemorate the occasion.

Although someone might think that the photos are staged, they are not, which makes it more (dare I use the term "authentic"?), um, real. In the one of the sheepdog sticking out the back of a smart car, I obviously photoshopped the licence plate (I also changed "smart" to "art"), but the scene is from everyday life. The one with the dog holding a baguette (it's actually a campaillette, if you want to be picky) comes from one morning when I was specifically out looking to take photos of Parisian dogs. It was early in the morning and I followed an old lady to the boulangerie (does that sound creepy?). When she came out with the bread, she let the dog carry it home. It was too perfect! It's part of her daily routine. I asked if I could take a photo (I had to get down at dog level right in front of the dog, so this isn't exactly stealth photography) and she was apologetic about the dog's mangy fur, but happy to oblige. My favorite detail is the hint of the woman's sensible shoes and the ruffle of her dress. It's fun to see a moment I still remember so vividly now sitting in racks of postcards waiting for tourists buy them.