Shabbat Shalom dear friends. May your weekend be peaceful and productive.
Monthly Archives: September 2017
The Artist’s Corner – Cooking With Priscilla Smith
I’ve mentioned before that I have a tendency to feed the characters in my stories. In fact my novel, The Secrets of Dr. John Welles, is replete with the mention of food prompting the sharing of recipes. So when I began The Artist’s Corner, it made sense to feature someone who enjoys the art of cooking as much as I do. I don’t believe Priscilla has ever cooked for a fictional person, but if she did, they would enjoy her talent as much as the real people for whom she cooks.
Hello and welcome to the Artist’s Corner. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Well, I’ve been married for fifty-one years, and I have two children and two grandchildren. I have enjoyed being a homemaker for the better part of my marriage. I was heavily involved in raising my family and my children’s schooling, but I also worked in the banking and legal industry as well as a volunteer at the fire department.
How/when did your love of cooking develop?
I learned to cook under my mother’s instruction, but growing up in West Virginia didn’t expose me to a variety of foods. My basic cooking skills didn’t develop until my high school home economics class in Ohio. My final project was to collect recipes, and I gathered some good ones, but they were basic.
I honed my skills through my relationship with my oldest brother’s wife. Inta is Latvian, and she introduced me to other foods and methods of preparation. I fell in love with cooking and realized I could do this, too.
Do you consider the food you prepare art?
All of it. From the first steps of preparation to the finished meal is the creation process resulting in edible art. That’s why I take pictures of it and put it on Facebook! At first I thought just the fancy stuff and my baking was art, but I realized it all is. The quality of the food contributes to the finished product. Homemade food is art with love infused. In fact, something as simple as fried green tomatoes when made with good ingredients and love are impressive.
And don’t forget that the table setting is part of it. Presentation plays an important role. You eat first with your eyes, then your sense of smell, and finally with your mouth. Sure, it’s the same food when you hastily prepare it and eat right out of the pans, but beautiful dishes, large platters, place mats, candlelight, napkins, silver, and crystal: all this enhances the food. You make it worthy of being presented in a magazine.
Do you put yourself into your cooking?
Absolutely. How I season, what I choose to cook for a particular meal, how I approach the preparation process: this is me infusing myself into the food. I love to cook what I enjoy eating for other people. It’s a small expression of my personality that I can share with others. And you really can’t go wrong when you’re cooking something you like to eat; it’s like giving a present of yourself to someone.
My accent is on good, solid food. Not necessarily fancy, but I’m not afraid to try something new. Thai food has been of interest to me lately. But if asked to prepare something that I’m not particularly fond of or have never made, I’ll still make every effort to please whoever I’m feeding.
I don’t consider myself a chef by any means, but I consider myself a cook, and a good one. I have training in life experience with cooking. My education comes from searching through cookbooks, vintage recipes, online, and word of mouth which usually provides the best recipes. And I can never leave a recipe alone; I always tweak it! Sometimes my recipes are never the same twice, but they’re always good.
What other cooking experience have you had?
On a whim, I took a cake decorating class with women from a craft club I attended years ago when my children were young. A bunch of us went. I fell in love with the art of cake decorating and started making my kids’ cakes, cakes for neighbors, cakes for family functions. I realized I could channel my talent into a small business. With a lot of practice, I worked my way up to wedding cakes and was quite successful.
Did your non-cooking work experience lead to the pursuit of cooking?
Not exactly, but cooking for my family fed my interest. I’ve never even been a waitress, but I’ve been involved with hosting tea parties (in my home, at church, and in other people’s homes), guests breakfasts for Pastor Appreciation, luncheons honoring staff or administrators at schools, catered wedding receptions, wedding showers, baby showers, conference luncheons for two hundred people at churches, a week’s worth of meals for an equestrian group with special dietary requests, and company Christmas parties. In each instance, I worked with my client(s) to create a full menu that would be visually pleasing and delicious, and then I prepared the food.
What or who is your inspiration for cooking?
Julia Child, Ina Garten, and Martha Stewart—they cause me to rise up to their standard of cooking. I love watching them and reading their cookbooks. Factor in Graham Kerr and Justin Wilson.
What do you enjoy cooking?
It would be a lot quicker to say what I don’t enjoy. My favorite things to cook are my childhood comfort foods which are brown beans and cornbread, meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Simple desserts like Crazy Cake and fudge. Really, it’s hard to say any one thing since I like to make big meals and serve people. I love to make pasta, beef roasts, chicken in many forms, roasted vegetables. I love baking pies, breads, cookies, and cakes in that order.
Do you still cook for others as a business?
No, now it’s all for pure pleasure. Well, actually, I’d take small jobs for close friends or family. I’ve done everything I want to do business-wise with cooking. I could turn all my handwritten recipes into a cookbook. I could see a market for it based on people’s positive reaction to The Pioneer Woman and Paula Deen. People like well-prepared, basic food that tastes good and isn’t difficult. Food you already have in your cupboards.
Have you ever competed in a cooking contest or bake off? If so, how did you do?
I baked for competition once. When I was a young mother, I made candy apple pie for a local grocery store’s competition. I took second place and received a ribbon! I love watching the competitions on television and thinking, I could beat Bobby Flay, but cooking shouldn’t be under pressure or about throwing food around. I’m not going to cook octopus, but if Bobby and I competed at potato soup or chili, I know I could take him down in a heartbeat.
How have you shared your cooking skills?
Lately, I’ve been teaching a young girl how to cook because she’s homeschooled. Her mother asked me if I’d teach her to bake cupcakes and cookies because she’d tasted my stuff. We slowly progressed into pies (double crust and with meringue), and she’s made palmiers, pudding, and angel food cake. Next she’s going to make cheesecake. We keep progressing with more and more difficult techniques.
What’s your opinion on the removal of Home Economics from school, specifically cooking?
It’s sad because young people don’t know how to cook. They come home from work and buy something frozen or already prepared. And I’m not talking about just girls. Boys need to know how to cook, too. My one grandson is prime example that boys can learn how to cook. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but they need to learn how to feed themselves. Breakfast and dinner are essentials because that’s usually when they’re home. Lunch is often eaten out, so they need to learn how to choose wisely.
How is what you cook for yourself different from what you cook for other people?
If I’m making a grilled cheese for myself, I’m going to grab a couple slices of bread from the fridge, use American cheese, and the fanciest thing I’d include would be a slice of tomato. But if I’m making grilled cheese for someone else, I’m going to use seven-grain or homemade sourdough bread, gruyere, fontina, or a combination of exceptional melting cheeses, spread one side with Dijon mustard, and put a slice of roasted red pepper on that baby. Still grilled cheese, but see the difference!
No doubt you’d work presentation into this simple fare?
Absolutely! And it’s not just dressing up ill-prepared or tasteless food. Make no mistake; it all starts with delicious food, quality ingredients. Even how you refer to it is important. Simple things like cutting the crust off toast or sprinkling chopped green onions over an omelet and serving it on pretty dishes can go a long way to turning the eggs and toast you always have for breakfast into something special.
What’s your favorite meal to cook?
Passover. I love cooking for Passover. When I’m cooking the Passover meal, the whole experience becomes holy. Of course the Seder is beautiful; it’s for Adonai. It can be quite long, so people are getting hungry. You’d better serve them your best, and I do. What I hope they know is that I’ve given my best to them because of my love for Adonai.
What’s your dream meal?
To have lunch with Martha Stewart, but I prepare the food. There’d be a salad involved, probably a soup and sandwich combination. The time of year, whether spring or fall, would influence the menu. And I’d make homemade pie, probably lemon meringue because my crust is excellent.
What’s your biggest complaint with cooking?
The cost of good ingredients can be prohibitive. One meal could be outrageous. I’ll buy organic when it’s feasible. My concern isn’t just for myself, it’s for everyone. We live in a country that wastes too much food. The GMOs bother me, too. Whole foods and organics should be available at reasonable prices to everyone.
So do you have a recipe to share with us?
You know I do!
Homemade Potato Dumpling Soup
6 – 8 Redskin or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
3 – 4 ribs of celery, sliced
Medium sweet onion, chopped
4 eggs, beaten
1 ½ c flour
½ t salt
Stick of butter
4 – 6 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned (enough to cover, depends on the size of your potatoes)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 quart half-n-half
Place the potatoes, celery, and onions in a large pot and cover with the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cover while you’re making the dumplings.
Combined the eggs, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir thoroughly to make a thick batter for dumplings. Take a large spoonful of dumpling mixture and cut off pieces with a butter knife, dropping them into the hot soup. Add a stick of butter. Cover and let the dumplings cook for 5 – 8 minutes.
Turn the heat off and add the half-and-half until there is plenty of liquid around the ingredients and the soup looks creamy. Taste to see if you need more salt, then season further with salt and pepper.
My family likes to top the soup with small chunks of Havarti, let it soften ever so slightly, and then eat it!
Share this:
Genius Indeed
Anyone who knows me knows that I read more than I watch movies. It’s not that I have anything against movies, there are some excellent ones out there, but I love the place reading takes me. A little prose to tantalize the senses, characters with whom I can relate or debate, description that draws me in: I lose myself in the writing to the exclusion of everything around me. But when a fellow book-snob recommends a movie, I seriously consider watching it. Such was the case with Genius starring Colin Firth, Jude Law, Laura Linney, and Nicole Kidman. The movie chronicles Scribner’s editor, Max Perkins, as he oversees the careers of Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway with the emphasis on Wolfe.
The first three actors immediately caught my attention because they are among my favorites. Turns out Nicole Kidman portrayed Aline Bernstein, Thomas Wolfe’s unofficial patron and jilted lover, with an incredible amount of skill. She’s matured quite nicely as an actress beyond being a pretty foil for Tom Cruise’s macho-man roles. When she asks Jude Law as Thomas Wolfe if he knows how hard she’s worked to look at him and feel nothing, her strength radiates from the screen.
As for Laura Linney, who never fails to please, I thought she was underused in this film in her role of Max Perkins’s wife, Louise. Her character was strong when she stood up to her husband, demanding he spend more time with his five daughters and less with his author, Thomas Wolfe, but she seemed a titch on the peripheral. I understand the movie focused on the relationship between Perkins and Wolfe, but why waste Linney’s talent on one impassioned plea and nothing more?
Colin Firth as Max Perkins appealed to me as a writer. Firth’s portrayal was solid, marching steadily on as an editor, drawing lines with his red pencil through a writer’s work with the precision of a scalpel. I thrilled and cringed all at once watching those scenes. But the one that delighted me the most was when Firth/Perkins sat on a train reading Wolfe’s manuscript that would become Look Homeward, Angel and realized it was worthy of publication. Again, I was drawn into the movie by Firth’s slight smile, drawn into his head to the point I could see the wheels turning because he knew he’d hit upon literary genius. Ah, to be a writer in those days when the relationship between editor and author meant hashing out the chapters line by line while secluded in an office.
The first thing about the movie that caught my attention was the cinematography in the opening scenes depicting the 1920s. Usually pictures or films from this era are shades of gray or sepia. Such was the case with the movie until it slowly faded to color past the opening credits. Only the coloring didn’t change all that much because the streets of 1920s New York were rather gray and brown anyhow.
Now think beyond the splash of color implied by jazz and flappers and you’ll realize this was a great technique to employ in a movie about writers. You’ll see it throughout the movie from Max Perkins’s cigarette smoke-clouded office slanted with rays of sunshine, to Perkins’s white home against a plain background, to scenes of men in breadlines during the Depression. This may sound rather boring, but I believe it was a skillful attempt to capture black words on a white page, i.e. writing. In fact, the whole movie was so brilliantly black and white, that I must give high praise to whoever thought of transitioning the written word to the viewed image in such a way.
Make no mistake, however; the movie was anything but colorless. Jude Law as the larger-than-life Thomas Wolfe was so over the top with his portrayal. Clearly Wolfe was a genius, but I flinched every time he opened his mouth, romping around scenes like a Great Dane puppy, and baying his slightly crazy, writerly musings. I could see why Wolfe needed reigning in and taming by Max Perkins. Law was at his most unsophisticated, un-Jude-like self; I forgot that he was acting and not truly Thomas Wolfe.
Guy Pearce as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Dominic West as Ernest Hemingway provide two nice cameos of the authors. More exciting was the camera panning what looked to be first edition novels by said authors on the shelves in Max Perkins’s office. Even if they weren’t, I’m sure I wasn’t the only writer salivating at the dream of getting my hands on a first edition of any of their works.
One small sidebar to the Perkins/Wolfe drama was the tiny restoration of my faith toward F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with F. Scott and banged him up pretty bad on my blog. (F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Short Stories, Dear Scott, Sincerely HL, Under the Influence). The viewer is given a small glimpse of F. Scott as the tender caretaker of his mad wife, Zelda. For me, this persona never came out in Fitzgerald’s writing. To see him as something other than the money-grubbing, mad-for-fame author in pursuit of the “top girl” was refreshing.
I’ll not spoil the ending of the movie as it delivers more emotionally impactive word-to-image scenes, but I’ll close by saying it was the best movie I ever read.
Share this:
Old Literature, New Words
Nothing like a great classic to bring up some words you may know, but weren’t aware had interesting multiple definitions, and a few you may not know. I’m sure you’ll want to add these to your vocabulary, work them into your writing, and use them to win a round of Jeopardy.
First is beetling. When I came across it in a sentence, I thought I knew the definition of the word, but its usage didn’t make sense where it had been written. So, I went in search of the definition that would fit the sentence.
As a verb, beetling can mean:
Make one’s way hurriedly or with short, quick steps.
To use a beetle on; drive, ram, beat, or crush with a beetle.
To project or overhang threateningly.
As a noun:
A heavy hammering or ramming instrument, usually of wood, used to drive wedges, force down paving stones, compress loose earth, etc.
Any of various wooden instruments for beating linen, mashing potatoes, etc.
Any insect of the order Coleoptera, having biting mouthparts and forewings modified to form shell-like protective elytra (two-wing casing of a beetle).
As an adjective:
Projecting, overhanging.
That’s quite a few definitions for a word that sounds rather cute when you say it. Try it this way:
But just then the moon, sailing through the black clouds, appeared behind the jagged crest of a beetling, pine-clad rock, and by its light I saw around us a ring of wolves, with white teeth, lolling red tongues, with long sinewy limbs and shaggy hair.
Now it doesn’t sound so innocent, does it? Clearly the adjective of beetle was the one the author had in mind.
Let’s move on to prosecuting. I don’t know about you, but I instantly think all things legal when I hear the word. A verb all around, drop the –ing and head straight for prosecute to discover what it means:
Institute legal proceedings against (a person or organization), institute legal proceedings in respect of (a claim or offense), and (of a lawyer) conduct the case against the party being accused or sued in a lawsuit.
See what I mean about the legal thing. But press on a titch to find:
Continue with (a course of action) with a view to it completion.
And the archaic:
Carry on (a trade or pursuit).
Consider the sentence:
I think had there been any alternative I should have taken it, instead of prosecuting that unknown night journey.
Our character is fearful of his surroundings and the strange goings-on, so no doubt the second definition of prosecute applies here.
The last word is a fun one and needs to be worked into conversation at every opportunity not unlike the word huzzah. Try faugh on for size. The exclamation is used to express disgust, and I came across it in the sentence:
I am alone in the castle with those awful women. Faugh! Mina is a woman, and there is nought in common. They are devils of the Pit!
You might believe the author is writing about the Kardashians, but he’s not. The women in question are vampires, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
I wasn’t going to mention this word, but lest anyone think I’ve misspelled it, nought in the sentence above is not spelled incorrectly; it’s a variation of naught. But you, brilliant follower, already knew that.
Share this:
Quotation Station
Shabbat Shalom to all my friends and followers. Have a peaceful and productive weekend!
Share this:
Where Are We Going With This?
The other day I banged out a sentence on the ole laptop and paused when my son interrupted my thought process to ask a question. When I returned my attention to the sentence, one word in particular caught my attention. My head tilted as I assessed the word, questioned the spelling. Strangely enough, the obnoxious red squiggles Microsoft Word is so found of hadn’t appeared, so I assumed I’d spelled it correctly. Still, something didn’t look quite right. Or perhaps I should say spot-on.
Perhaps you’ve guessed by now that I spelled the word in question, travelling/traveling, as if I was writing for our friends across the pond. I mentioned before in How Reading Taught Me to Misspell Words that I’ve been tripped up by the British spelling preferences. Usually, Word catches them. Not so this time.
I’ll cut to the chase and tell you that travelling and traveling are both verbs meaning to go from one place to another, as on a trip or journey. This isn’t a case of a second or third definition. In fact, the two spellings can be used interchangeably. What’s more, what I’m about to tell you applies to travelled/traveled and traveller/traveler.
So what’s the difference, you ask? There isn’t one. Today’s The Weight of Words is another example of British versus American spelling preferences. British writers employ the double L version of the word and American writers go for the single L spelling. No big deal if you’re jotting off a note to someone or a private letter. But if you’re writing a larger work for a particular audience or about Brits or Americans specifically, it might be wise to use a spelling your intended readers will not think is a mistake.
A tidbit of research uncovered the reason behind the differences in spellings:
Each word has its own unique history, but the primary mover and shaker in this transatlantic drama is the nineteenth century American lexicographer Noah Webster, he of dictionary fame. According to “A History of English Spelling” (Manchester University, 2011) by D.G. Scragg, Webster’s dictionary of 1828 is largely responsible for standardizing the accepted spelling of American English.
Before 1828, many words, such as humor (or humour), defense (or defence) and fiber (or fibre), had two acceptable spellings on both sides of the pond, because they were introduced in England via both Latin and French, which used different spellings. Webster picked his preferred forms (the former ones in each example above), justifying his choices in various ways, but partly on nationalist grounds: he wanted American spelling to be distinct from, and (in his opinion) superior to, British spelling.
I can appreciate Mr. Webster’s patriotism, but sometimes I wish he’d chosen another way to express it rather than in different spellings.
~~~~~
Wolchover, Natalie. “Why Do Brits and Americans Spell Words Differently?” LiveScience, Purch, 17 Apr. 2012, http://www.livescience.com/33844-british-american-word-spelling.html.
Share this:
Baring My Writer’s Soul – Part 23
Recently, at my writer’s group, a fellow writer who is beginning her chosen art form told me that she was advised to not write above an eighth-grade level. I remember several seconds of stunned silence between us before I asked, “Who told you that?” Based on her troubled countenance, I don’t doubt that the horror of this suggestion came through in my tone. I’ve also been told that my facial expressions convey exactly what I’m thinking, so I hope I didn’t overwhelm the poor woman with my response. I wanted her to run screaming, just not from me. If I didn’t scare her off, I’ll make sure I soften my reactions when discussing such matters in the future.
Still, I am shocked that this type of bad advice is floating around writer’s groups. The last time I checked, there were still twelve grades a student in America needed to complete. Somebody please tell me if the progression of education stopped at grade eight. That would mean my child, currently a senior, has read nothing beyond an eighth-grade level for the past four years. That’s insane. Then again, I recall the small heart attack I experienced when I saw Stephenie Meyer’s The Host on the high school reading list. Which piece of classic literature found itself guillotined at the inclusion of that piece of tripe?
I have suspected for a long time that the art form of writing was under attack. My fellow writer’s comment confirmed this. So when did the dumbing down of American literature begin? I don’t know if I can actually pinpoint the precise moment it occurred, but I can tell you the moment I became aware of it. (And shame on me for not being more vigilant if it took place sooner.)
Dumbing down is the deliberate oversimplification of intellectual content within education, literature, cinema, news, video games, and culture in order to relate to those unable to assimilate more sophisticated information.
I remember the day I saw a t-shirt printed with the statement “underachiever and proud of it.” I had another moment, not quite as intense as that with my fellow writer, but one in which I was completely baffled. I could not fathom a person or society comprised of people who willingly settled for mediocrity in anything and a world in which one did the bare minimum to get by. There is no hope of success when one functions under such a principle.
And yet, this is exactly where we, as a society, have fallen twenty-five years later. It’s as if those who bullied the smart kids for hanging out at the library weren’t content to just harass their fellow students. They wouldn’t stop until the smart kids not only condoned but encouraged this stagnation of the intellect. If you don’t get on board—don’t hold yourself back from seeking knowledge or temper your drive and ambitions—you’ll be labeled a snob in the least and intolerant at the worst.
So again I ask: why this attack on art? Because art is dangerous. Art tells the truth. Artists are freethinkers who challenge the status quo. It was a novelist and playwright who said, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” A gold star to anyone who can tell me who said this. Here’s where the problem of proud underachiever comes in. The generation in which this concept became acceptable doesn’t care enough to find out who said the above-mentioned quote or what the quote even means. They are too lazy to want this information for themselves and are disdainful toward anyone who does. If it isn’t required of them in school, and based on the poor quality of curriculum in American schools I doubt that it is, they won’t reach out and grasp the knowledge.
That’s pathetic when you consider that we live in an era where knowledge is readily accessible. No more searching through the card catalog or plowing through large volumes of encyclopedias. You don’t even have to go to the library. Just ask Alexa, Cortana, or Google what you need to know from the comfort of your couch. Be sure to wait until the commercial or you’ll miss the best part of your favorite recorded TV show.
What troubles me about his indolent attitude is that it’s creeping backward and contaminating older generations. Hopefully it won’t pollute the writing of those already established and feeling pressured to churn out more or older writers just beginning to pursue their passion. As for me, I am personally committed to fighting this process of dumbing down by writing the best literature I can and by seeking to improve myself in every way. I am not afraid to compete, to go for the gold. After all, why run the race if I don’t intend to win?
I’ll most likely be among the first to die if America ever succumbs to an oppressive regime because we all know how much tyrants fear artists. But If I can leave behind a written work that the next generation, possibly the survivors, smuggle from home to home and hold up as an example of what they should strive for, then my art—my writing—will not have been in vain.
Share this:
The Artist’s Corner – Michelle Smith, Photographer
When I seriously started to hone my chosen craft of writing, one of the first things I noticed was how closely related the approach is too many other forms of art. Whether it’s cooking, painting, composing, dancing, or taking pictures, we all start with desire and ability. Where it goes from there depends on our level of commitment, how we respond to mistakes, rejection, and criticism, and how we allow ourselves to grow. The great artists press on and realize that their success isn’t measured by fame or fortune.
In A Snapshot of Writing, I detailed one of my favorite crossover art forms, photography. After re-reading the post, the idea came to me to feature other artists and discuss their approach to their chosen art form. I decided to start with brilliant, budding photographer Michelle Smith.
Welcome to The Artist’s Corner. Tell me a little bit about yourself.
I’m a survivor. My strength is my compassion. I’m a pet person with a rescue cat addiction. I’m destined to be the crazy cat lady, but my husband and son won’t let me.
Do you put yourself into your photography?
I do. I’ve had some rough spots in my life, so I’m trying to tell a story through what I’m taking pictures of. They reflect who I am and how I’m trying to find myself. I want to be seen, and although it’s who I am now, it’s not where I want to stay, it’s not who I want to be.
Ankle deep in commitment.
What has your experience been?
I was a stay-at-home mom for ten years before I started my career at thirty-four as an EMT and then progressed to paramedic. I worked for a private ambulance company for eight and a half years, three and a half years of that was in training and education. I currently work in the ER Department of a hospital as an active paramedic. I love it!
Did your work experience lead to the pursuit of photography?
No, actually it didn’t. My husband’s job did. He’s a detective who trained in taking crime scene photos. His experience piqued my interest in photography.
How did you develop your passion for photography?
I started going with him to take picture outside of the crime scenes. He shot landscapes, objects, places, and eventually senior class pictures. I found myself telling him what to take pictures of, and I started taking the camera from him. He’d just chuckle at me. Then he started explaining what I was looking for and how to work the settings, but I didn’t pay attention at first because it wasn’t my camera. I let him move the settings, and I took the picture.
That lasted for about six months until he gave me a camera for Christmas. We were going on vacation, and he knew I’d want my camera for the trip, so I got it in November. It was either give me my own camera or lose his!
What’s your inspiration?
Spending time with my husband because it’s something we have in common. Listening to him patiently tell me how to use my camera. Taking long car rides to where we’re going to go take pictures and chatting about it on the way.
What do you enjoy photographing?
I enjoy taking pictures of abandoned places because I feel sad for them. I think of all the things that took place there. I don’t have memories of these places so I think what happened here? I wonder about the families that were displaced, the moms who raised their kids there, and the people who lost their jobs. Where are these people now? Time has forgotten these places and no one wants to hear the stories, so I take pictures of the abandoned places and tell their story through my photography.
Where can someone find you online? Do you have a website?
I have some of my pictures posted on ViewBug under the name Just4FunPhotography. You can find them on the home page newest to oldest.
In which contests have you competed? What awards have you won?
On ViewBug, I participated in peer-created challenges and received the People’s Choice award in the categories of Lanterns, Save the Rain Forest, and Toy Planes. I also received the ViewBug Member Selection Award and Staff Winter Selection for 2015. I took first place in Nature and also in Architecture at the Portage County Randolph Fair. At the Lake Community Branch of the Stark County District Library’s Annual Photo Contest, I took first place in Nature and second place in Architecture.
Do you take photos for people? How does a client contact you?
I haven’t yet for major events such as weddings, graduations, but I’m willing to learn. I think I’m afraid to because you can’t have that moment back like you can with a landscape or object.
What is your process for photographing people?
Well, actually, my focus is on landscapes or objects. I’m not a big fan of people pictures, so all the movement in my photographs is natural: waterfalls, wind through the trees. Right now, I don’t incorporate people.
How is what you shoot for yourself different from what you do for people?
When I shoot for myself, I look at the picture with a more critical eye because I am the photographer. I’m harder on myself than when I’m shooting for others. That’s not to say that I don’t put all my effort into shooting for other people. I take their requests very seriously.
It’s a great satisfaction for me to be able to take a photo for someone and capture it exactly as they wanted. Recently, I took pictures of pigs at a fair for a friend who grew up raising pigs for 4-H. I wasn’t sure I got exactly what she wanted because I couldn’t get past the fences to take the pictures. She loved them because that’s what she remembered: looking at pigs up close through the fence. It was a successful shoot because I made her happy.
Has your work ever been used for commercial purposes?
No, but I’d definitely consider it. For National Geographic; I want that shot! It’s the dream. I’d also like to see my picture of a baseball player on a card or the electronic billboard at the game. Or maybe a hockey player because of their facial expressions. If you have patience, and capture the right moment, they have some intense expressions. But then I’d have to photograph people!
What’s your favorite photograph that you’ve taken?
I have to choose one? I have two! I captured it on my first day out with my own camera. Picture this: With butterflies all around, capturing just one was difficult. I turned to notice the curls of a flower vine hanging just above my head. As I admired its beauty, this butterfly fluttered right down onto the dangling vine. I was filled with excitement and literally shook! I slowly raised my camera into position, took a deep breath, and then snapped the picture. Then I recalled my lessons; even though I took the picture, the settings may not have been correct for this situation. I reined in my excitement and slowly changed the settings to capture the picture as you see it. I smiled, thinking to myself, Wow that’s going to be amazing. This photograph has no post-process editing. I named it Curly Q.
My second favorite is of the 1792 distillery rickhouse in Kentucky. It’s called Master Distiller Approved. I applied the rule of thirds and vanishing points to the picture, but when I snapped it, it came out with too much backlight from the windows. I closed the aperture, and it was perfect. Plus the smell of bourbon in there was heavenly!
What’s your dream photograph?
Are you really ready? People are going to think I’m freakin’ crazy. I want to capture what was left behind after Chernobyl. After viewing other photographers’ work, I became inspired and decided that’s one of my dream shots. It’s part of the abandoned place thing. So many lives were lost, these people had no time to pack, they were evacuated in forty-eight hours, and told they were leaving for just a short time.
The other, I’m claustrophobic so it’s never going to happen, is to photograph the abandoned hulls of underwater shipwrecks. I’d like to do war ships, but you can’t get close. Talk about stories to tell!
What’s your biggest beef with photography?
Photoshopping! Lightroom, a program that fixes the picture and makes it more than it was to begin with. It’s not real, and photographers are getting awards for this type of work. The pictures are over processed, over edited. There’s a minimum of allowable tinkering. All I’ll do is sharpen, define, and noise reduction which fixes shaking. If the picture is already good, it’s not even noticeable. There is some post-processing no matter who you are (National Geographic, Victoria’s Secret, or Sports Illustrated), but you can’t make a bad photo good. Well, you can, but that’s cheating.
My other complaint is photographers who steal other people’s work.
Would you like to work full-time as a photographer? If so, how do you see your business growing?
Absolutely! To enjoy your hobby as a career could be more relaxing than the grind of an everyday job that is so-so. Not that my job is so-so. Remember, I love being a paramedic. Breaking in to the world of photography to make your name takes time and commitment. There’s the investment in equipment unless you get hired in somewhere that supplies equipment. So, I’d work for someone commercially to get started.
Then there’s the investment in your craft. I’m still learning and growing my confidence. I need to work at handling variables such as people (they’re so unpredictable!) and not putting a picture in my head and trying to make it happen.
Do you work alone or with a partner?
I prefer going with someone else. I enjoy going with other people whether they’re photographers or not because when they see something they want a picture of, I can give it to them. I don’t have to guess at what they’ll like. It’s quite confidence building to deliver a picture right then and have them be pleased. Plus I like to chat with people!
Share this:
Quotation Station
How about a most accurate definition of a writer for today’s Quotation Station? Shabbat Shalom to all my friends and followers. May your weekend be peaceful and productive.
Share this:
To Praise with Admiration
For far too long those crazy Latin-speaking people have influenced English to the detriment of high school students everywhere. Until we can stop them, here’s some information on compliment versus complement. No doubt the confusion started with the fact that they are pronounced alike and used to have similar meanings. Fortunately, they evolved into separate words.
The older of the two words, complement with an E derived from the Latin complementum. As a noun, complement means “a thing that completes or brings to perfection” and “a number or quantity of something required to make a group complete.” As a verb, it means “to add to (something) in a way that enhances or improves it; make perfect.”
Noun 1: The lyrics provided the perfect complement to the music.
Noun 2: As of today, we have a full complement of employees.
Verb: The navy blazer complements the tan slacks for a classic look.
If something complements something else, it completes it or enhances it. A handbag can complement an outfit, and a throw pillow can complement a sofa. Remember the color wheel from grade school art class? Complementary colors were those that were directly across from each other. The contrast between them enhanced their relationship: orange and blue, yellow and purple, red and green.
Remember: if something complements something, it completes it.
Compliment with an I also derives from the Latin root completmentum, which explains some of the early overlap of meaning. It was introduced to English by way of the Spanish cumplimiento, via the route of Italian and French. You can pay someone a compliment, or compliment someone for a job well done.
As a noun, compliment means “a polite expression of praise or admiration.” As a verb, it means “to politely congratulate or praise (someone) for something.”
Noun: George paid me an enormous compliment.
Verb: Marcia complimented Darren on his academic achievements.
Hopefully, today’s The Weight of Words helps with the compliment versus complement confusion. If not, blame those pesky Latin-speaking folks.
hl gibson, author 