My life...just not on the road I expected (but it's still dang good).

The Plan.

Still answering more questions (in red) here:

-  Student who have taken the One Day Photographers' Workshop (the 9 hour workshop I teach in stores) would still need to either participate fully in the online version of The Photographers' Workshop photographers workshop ($395) or would need to register as a first time auditor ($245) in order to qualify as a 'student', able to purchase the Making the Shot lessons, telephone consulting and/or the $55 auditing.

- Yes, I will provide a description for each Making the Shot lesson so students will know in advance what the lesson is about.  And yes Pam, I can devote part of a lesson to testing lens accuracy.

- I will be limiting the maximum number of fully participating students in each class.  I will not be setting a limit on auditing students though.

- I think it would be a really, really (really) great idea for auditing students to set up a Yahoo, Facebook or Flickr group so that they could interact with other auditing students - so I'd be totally in support of that.

- The next registration date was originally scheduled for Feb. 15th.  However, I had to move that date up to Feb. 1st at 6pm Pacific time for various reasons.  Registration will be for a March and a June 2010 class, whether you plan to take the class OR audit the class.  I'll be sending out an email to past and current students along with everyone on the wait list with more details.

- Yes Helen, I'll be happy to include the Christmas tree lighting photo in a future Making the Shot lesson.  In fact, I am planning on offering a few lessons where students get to specifically pick which photos (from my blog) that they'd like me to discuss along with any questions they have about that specific photo.  I'll email details on all this to past students in the next month or so.

- First time auditing students ($245 fee) WILL receive a class binder.  Past students who are auditing a class ($55 fee) will NOT receive a binder since they already received one when they originally took the class.

- The Making the Shot lessons and telephone consulting will only be available to past/current students of The Photographers' Workshop (or students who have audited The Photographers' Workshop.)

- The auditing fee or students who have NOT previously taken The Photographers' Workshop will be $245.  The auditing fee for any student who has previously taken The Photographers' Workshop will be $55 per class.

- Also, once you have taken The Photographers' Workshop OR have audited The Photographers' Workshop, you are considered a "student" and will be able to take participate in #4-6 listed below.

- If you would prefer to audit a class rather than participate in a class, there will be no wait.  You can simply choose the class date that works best for your schedule.  (I teach the class four times per year.)

I'll continue checking for questions and will post the answers here.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

When I first designed The Photographers' Workshop (my online photography class), I figured I'd teach it once or twice; maybe even four or five times if I got lucky and there was enough interest.

But I'm actually getting ready to start my 10th class on Jan. 4th (my birthday).

And I've got all my past students to thank.  I haven't done any marketing whatsoever - it's just been referral based.

Thank you all for that.

Having too many people wanting to take the class was never a problem I had envisioned.  But once the wait list grew to 1000+ students (it's at about 1,316 right now), I realized that I was going to have to change my original business plan because realistically, it would take several years for all 1,316 people to make it into the class...and if the wait list keeps growing at the pace it has been growing, I'll never be able to reach everyone.

I racked my brain thinking of solutions.  Bounced ideas off of anyone who would listen (Josh, my mom, my best friend, my sister, Ross, my students, etc.) and changed my mind at least a dozen times. 

But alas...I have a plan.

1. I am going to start taking fewer students in each of my classes.  In the past, I have continued to increase my class size out of guilt (because the wait list is so long) to the point where I'm working 50-60 hours per week.  I love work (and I love what I do) but I'm finally at the point in my life where I realize that working 60 hours per week isn't benefiting anyone in my life (including me) so I'm ready for a 40 hour work week. 

2. Starting with the March 2010 class, in addition to my regular students, I am going to allow the option for students to audit classes.  By 'audit', I mean that auditing students will have access to everything in the class (written lessons, audio lessons, assignments, the Q&A board, the Photo Critiques board, etc.)  The only difference being that auditing students will not be able to actively participate in the class (asking questions, posting comments, posting assignments, posting photo critiques, email correspondence with me, etc.)  Basically, auditors will have full visual access to everything without active participation.  The fee for regular students in 2010 will be $395.  The fee for first-time auditing students in 2010 will be $245.

3. As I've mentioned in the past, registration for classes will only be offered to students who are on the wait list.  You can add yourself tot he wait list at by going to the website, selecting 'photography classes' and 'register for a class'.  I will be sending out additional registration info. to everyone on the wait list in the next week or two.

And...

My current and past students my biggest priority in my career and all of you been asking for more lessons, more classes, more info.  I don't currently have any plans for advanced classes, however I do have a few things that will be available very soon (for past and current students only):

4. Starting with the March 2010 class, past students will also be able to audit as many of my classes as they'd like.  (The definition of 'auditing is listed above in #2).  The auditing fee for past students will be $55 per class.

5. I am going to start releasing a series of additional, downloadable lessons (in PDF and audio formats) called Making the Shot.  Basically, these lessons will dive into the details of how I made specific images; the gear I used, my settings, my SOOC shots along with my edits, the lighting, my thought process, etc.

The first lesson is already done (and will be available for purchase very soon - I'll email all of you when it's on the site).  This first issue is 28 pages, all related to a portrait shoot I did a few months back ($20).

I can't commit to how frequently I'll release new lessons, but know that I will be looking for your input, suggestions, questions, etc. in regards to what you'd like me to include in future lessons.  I want to gear these lessons specifically to what all of you (my past and current students) are wanting to learn so your input is going to be extremely important to me.  In fact, I'll be emailing all of you in the coming weeks with some questions.

6. I am going to start offering telephone consulting to past and current students only.  I have done a bit of this in the past but never really publicized it because I wasn't ready to do it on a regular basis.  The fee will be $145 per hour.  I kind of cringe in writing that price, but I'll let you all know that I have paid between $250 and $400 an hour to consult with other photographers in the past and am trying to keep that price reasonable.  Basically, once you sign up for the consult, I will contact you to set up a date and will call you at our scheduled time.  I will ask that you write up a general outline for our discussion (although you don't have to stick to it) and will ask that you upload any photos you want to review in advance.  We can talk about things you need help with, things you are unsure of, new things you want to try, photos you want me to critique, etc.

7. All classes (starting with my Sept. 2009 class) will remain open for 12+ months after the class ends.  This means that you will be able continue interacting with your classmates in your own class forum (instead of having to start a Yahoo, Facebook or Flickr group to keep in touch with your classmates).  In the past, after a class ended, the forum continued to be visible, but was inactive (meaning that you could view all of the information for the class but were unable to post questions, comments, upload pictures, etc.)  Please note that I will not be present on class forums once the class has ended though (because I'll have a new class that needs me).

I will keep you posted as all of these things become available.  As always, your input is really important to me so feel free to leave any comments/questions/suggestion.

Looking forward to all these new things in 2010 (and I hope you are too)!

And one from Christmas.

Every year, I find myself so overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of Christmas photos I take, that I don't end up editing/posting any.

I was hoping this year would be different but it's not panning out for me so far.

Rare.

A rare day around here with everyone getting along wonderfully.  (That's Josh Downs in the background, asleep in Annie's bed.)

Josh has the kids down at the school right now flying Coley's new remote control airplane, I'm running a hot tub and then we're taking everyone to see the new Chipmunks movie.

Hope your weekend was great.

Santa in Jacksonville.

Spent Sunday afternoon in Jacksonville with Josh, the kids, my sister and my mom.

Seriously, one of the best days ever.  (I don't know what got into my kids but they were perfect.)

That's my mom, Ross & Cole.  (Ross and Coley actually have arguments over who loves their Grandma more.)

Everyone on a covered-wagon ride.

 

 

Petting the horses that pull the wagon.

 

Waiting outside to see Santa.

Peeking through the window at Santa.

She asked for a puppy.  (Good thing Santa allows me to approve all gifts.)

She just asked for a hug.  (A sure-fire way of scoring brownie points with Santa.)

And I don't have a clue what he asked for. 

We had a long talk about Santa the other night.  He had actually decided Santa wasn't real after his Dad made a comment about the Erector set he bought Cole last year (which was actually a gift from Santa).  But I reminded Coley that his Dad doesn't have a clue which toys he purchased and which toys were actually brought by Santa, Grandmas & Grandpas, Aunties, etc.

So Coley agreed to continue believing but said he was going to be paying attention and if he saw or heard five more things that convinced him otherwise, he was going to have no choice but to quit believing.

 

 

Not the best shot in the world but there's something I love about it anyhow.

 

My mom took that one.  (Nice face Ross.)

Lunch at Bella Union.

And then my mom, sister and Ross headed home.

 

And the rest of us went to the park.

We played freeze tag.  (But I don't have any pictures because I was busy running.)

And we played Red Light, Green Light.  (That's Courtney Lee thinking of games to play.)

 

And did all that other stuff you do at the park.

Seriously...a perfect day.

Which was inevitably followed up with a very imperfect day.  (We took the kids out for a drive to look at Christmas lights last night and promptly turned the car around and went home because Coley was complaining, Annie was crying and Courtney was whining...which is what each of them do best.)

Nothing puts you in the Christmas spirit quite like a a car full of crying, whining, complaining kids.

And here's the last few years of visiting Santa...2008, 2007 and 2006.

Probably won't be around much (if any) until after Christmas. 

Hope yours is great.

Mommy's-Sissy.

My sister and her pups are here all week. 

She hasn't been able to come home for Christmas in a couple of years so it's a really big deal.

Annie's been talking about it for months now, asking almost daily, "When's Mommy's-Sissy' going to come stay the night with me?"  (All the other kids call her 'Aunt Lee Lee'; a name Ross coined when he was little...but Annie somehow came up with 'Mommy's-Sissy awhile back and has no plans of giving it up.)

Unfortunately, Mommy's-Sissy hasn't even started her Christmas shopping yet...so that's what we're doing all day today.

Vegas Baby.

Thankfully, I have a best friend (Jill) who is also lacking the 'choose your attitude' gene (that I mentioned yesterday).  We don't live close, but we talk on the phone almost every day in hopes of regaining the sanity (that our children have sucked out of us) by cracking jokes about running away with the circus, running away with gypsies; basically running away with any group that will have us.

A few weeks back, we decided to plan a trip for my birthday in January.  (I'll be 37.)  Just a short little vacation with just the two of us.  Somewhere where there's no kids and no laundry.  In the past, we've planned the location of our getaways based on scrapbook stores and antique stores.  This time however, we wanted to do something totally different but couldn't come up with a location that sounded both different & fun without requiring a ton of flying and/or a huge expense.

So she called me the other day and said, "Ok, I know you're going to hate my suggestion at first, but once it settles, I think you'll like it."

"Vegas!" 

To which I replied, "I hate Vegas" (and I do).  I don't like big crowds of people, I don't enjoy gambling and I get a nasty hangover anytime I have more than two drinks.

So what does Vegas have to offer me?

I've been to Vegas for dental conventions and scrapbooking conventions (and that one time back in 1998 when I got married.)  But other than that, I avoid Vegas.

But once it settled, it did sound like a good idea.

So we booked our flights yesterday.  Our dilemma now is what to do while we're there.  We want to do something totally different.  We want to do something kind of crazy (so long as it doesn't involve drugs, brothels or anything else illegal for that matter.)

We already saw The Thunder Down Under back in 1998 (and see no need in repeating that wholesome experience).

We were looking at doing a ride-along tour at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway (you get to ride along in a car going 160mph) but it includes a long tour of the speedway and quite honestly, neither one of us have a whole lot of interest in NASCAR type stuff.  (We just want to ride in a car going 160mph).

So we're kind of stumped but we're totally open to (legal & morally-sound) ideas if anyone's got any.

And my bachelorette party in Vegas (no, I wasn't joking)...and please let me apologize in advance for the phallic-shaped straws.

 

That's Dawn (our best friend from college), Jill (my best friend since grade school), me and my sister.

Me & Jill.

 

Me and Jill and my sister.

 

That's Jill trying to take a picture of me and Dawn and my sister.  (Apparently, the drink and straw were getting in her way.)

I have no idea who those guys are or why they're holding drinks over my head.

At some point in the night, things started to go downhill for Jill.  (I think it was after we stood on the bar and beer bonged...although I'm not exactly sure.)

Still going downhill (rapidly.)

 

At the bottom of the hill.

That had to have been taken post beer-bonging.  (I honestly think that may have been the last time I ever beer bonged...and I can't say that I miss it.)

And that was definitely the last time I ever danced with Austin Power look-alikes.

And it may have even been the last time I stood on the toilet to take a picture of one of my friends in the next stall (one of my favorite things to do back in the day).

That was more than 10 years ago now so most of my memories from the night are pretty faint.  I just know it was fun.  (Fun enough that Jill couldn't even make it to my wedding the next day.)

So again, we're open to suggestions so long as it doesn't involve beer-bonging, phallic-shaped straws or getting married.

And I'm still working on all that laundry.

Sometimes.

Sometimes, being put in a straight jacket and being hauled off to the funny farm sounds more appealing than spending the entire day sorting laundry, doing laundry, folding laundry and putting away laundry.

And sometimes, I feel like my head might literally explode into a million pieces if I hear the words, 'mom', 'mommy' or 'momma' one more time.

And sometimes I feel like I could actually cry because of all the toothpaste on the sink, the light switch, the mirror, the drawer pull, the door knob and everyone's clothing.  (And find myself quite riddled with the question, "How are their teeth still dirty if they used that much toothpaste?")

And sometimes I feel like pulling the car over and dropping them all off along the side of the road because of the fighting, whining and complaining coming from the back seat.  

And sometimes, I want to scream at the top of my lungs when they start complaining about having to practice their spelling words every single morning on the way to school.  (Do they really think that I'm practicing spelling words for the sheer pleasure I derive from it?)

And sometimes, I wait in anticipation for them to come home from school only to feel utterly exhausted and defeated within five minutes of their arrival.

And sometimes, I dream of the day when they're all grown up and I can walk through the house without stepping on all of the Legos, babies, color crayons, lunch boxes, crumbs and dirty socks that they leave behind for me to pick up.  (And then I quickly guilt the crap out of myself for wishing away the next 15 years of my life.)

And quite honestly, most of that has nothing to do with my kids (they're just normal kids...in fact, they're actually pretty well-behaved kids) and everything to do with me.

I've known the source of my problems for awhile, but I feel like I have a better understanding of them now than I used to (so bare with me and/or ignore me if you've heard some of this before):

The #1 source of my problem:  I have kids.

The #2 source of my problem:  I have these constant Norman Rockwell-ish visions circling around in my head of what things will/should look like.  I have expectations.  And it's those expectations that get me in trouble because real life rarely unfolds the way I had envisioned it would.  Recently, I heard someone say that 'expectations reduce joy' and that is certainly ringing true in my life.

Like when I talk to the kids on the phone and I have this expectation that they should be as excited to talk to me as I am to talk to them.  And if they're not, I feel disappointed.  Or when we go somewhere like the zoo or the park or out of town and I expect them to be on their best behavior because we're trying to do something special for them, and when they start bickering or complaining, I feel disappointed (and frustrated.)

And I know that they're just kids and that I shouldn't have all these expectations of things.  The problem is that what I know and what I feel are two totally different things.

The #3 source of my problem:  I allow my entire existence to revolve around my kids.  If they're down, I'm down.  If they're cranky, I'm cranky.  If they misbehave, I assume it must be a direct reflection upon my parenting.  I'm always stressing over how I handled something in the past and I'm always worried about what's going to happen with them in the future...so much so that at times, it makes me an ineffective parent in the present moment.

Josh has a much healthier outlook.  He says that he just wakes up every day and does the very best he can.  When he screws up, he learns from it, moves on and does it better next time.  And if the kids turn out, they turn out.  And if they don't, he still knows that he did his very best each and every day.

If one of these kids doesn't turn out, I'm sure I will hold myself solely responsible for it my entire life.

Last night when we were out shopping with the kids (we decided to buy presents for two local family's who are struggling financially) I ended up getting all bent out of shape because the kids were arguing.  (I had a Norman Rockwell vision in my head of what a magical night we'd have, how appreciative my kids would be for all they have, the lessons they'd all learn from helping others, etc., etc., etc.)  In my own defense, I wasn't freaking out or yelling or anything (ok, I did holler once), I was just quiet and easily irritated. 

After we dropped off the presents, we went to dinner and while we were ordering, Josh said, "The kids are actually being pretty good, you should just take a chill-pill."  (A term I'm quite sure I haven't heard since High School.)

Funny how being told to take a 'chill-pill' actually has the exact opposite effect on a person's mood.

He has since apologized (twice) for that statement...and though he might have thought of a better choice of words, I know he had good intentions.  He just wants me to be happy.  But my point is that if I could 'take a chill-pill', believe me, I would.  I'd O.D. on chill-pills if given the option.

I just don't have that 'choose your attitude' gene that Josh has.

And I don't really know where I'm going with all of this...I feel like I'm just kind of rambling now.  (Perhaps I'm trying to avoid that pile of laundry?)

Just one of those days I guess.

The stuff that never made it.

It's always around December when I start looking through all of my old photos from the past year, feeling sad that I never shared some of them.  Most of them are nothing amazing (otherwise I'd have already posted them) but they're still important to me, so I'm going to try to post some of them before the new year.

First up is a day back in June...

 

Back when I got a new, white comforter for our bed and Annie couldn't wait to get in it. 

A few months later, she threw up on it after eating blueberries.  (The stains never fully came out.)

 

Back when Annie still had her cat-eye glasses and wore princess costumes almost every day.

And Josh was (re)teaching Courtney Lee how to ride a bike.  (She rode without training wheels for the first time when she was five, but after a few good falls, she gave up on it.)

I don't remember a whole lot about this day. 

I do however remember suggesting to Josh that they stop practicing long enough for Courtney to run inside and grab some long pants and a long-sleeved shirt (just in case she fell.)

And of course, he didn't listen.

And of course, she took a nasty spill just a few minutes later (and hasn't been on her bike since.)

And to answer a few more questions...

1. Right now, I use Origins products (face stuff).  My favorite is their 'Make a Difference' face lotion.

2. I do get a lot of comments when I shoot with the 70-200mm.  It's huge and it draws a lot of attention.  Every now & then, I feel self-conscious shooting with it but in general, I worry more about missing a good shot than what other people think of me.

3. Registration for my online classes is on a first-come, first-served basis for students who are on the wait list.  That means, you have an equal chance of getting in whether you're #1 on the wait list or #1201.  I had to do it this way because it's nearly impossible to contact each person individually on the wait list starting at the top and then waiting for their response before contacting the next person on the list.  In addition to that, there's a lot of people at the top of the wait list who are just wanted to stay at the top of the wait list until their schedules are lighter, their finances are better, etc.

4. Yes, I think Josh had banned me from 'robe photos' last year...but that kind of thing never stops me.

5. A 'brodie' is another term for 'spinning circles'.  (Josh was spinning the truck around in circles on the ice in the Toys-R-Us parking lot the other day.)  It's something kids from small towns all learn to do for entertainment.

6. Carrie, thanks for the tip on adding lemon extract to cream cheese frosting.

7. We didn't trim the branches on our Christmas tree to thin it out (I actually prefer more full trees) that's just what all the trees look like out in the woods where we cut our tree down every year. 

8. One of the things that I'm going to be offering next year is additional 'lessons' for past/current students that explains how I got specific shots (like the Christmas tree decorating shots that a lot of people had questions about).  They'll be downloadable PDF's.

9. Let me know if I still managed to miss any questions!

Annie playing a lone game of Twister the other day.

And some shop talk:

1. I'm teaching the One Day Photographers' Workshop locally in Grants Pass, OR at Krop, Paper, Scissors on Jan. 30th, 2010.  541 476 9300.

2. And it's looking like I may be back in Florida teaching in August (the last weekend in August 2010) - will post about that when I have more specific details.

3. Just a reminder that you have to be on the wait list in order to sign up for the online Photographers' Workshop.  The next registration is on Feb. 15th (for March and a June 2010 classes) at 6pm Pacific time.  The wait list is really long right now (1200+) but registration is on a first-come, first-served basis so you just have to type quickly.  You can add yourself to the wait list here.  This class is an online, 10 week course.

4. I've got lots of things I'm working on for 2010 both for past/current students and also for those of you who have been stuck on the wait list for too long.  Will post about all of those things in early Jan.

5. I didn't use a flash at Annie's concert the other night.  (I haven't used flash in probably 5+ years.)  How to shoot without flash is something I teach in the workshop.

6. Yes, those dresses I photoshopped our heads onto the other day were indeed made out of candy.

7. Let me know if I missed any questions.

Christmas Shopping.

Josh and I spent the weekend up in Portland doing our Christmas shopping.

I had visions of taking tons of wonderful, Christmasy photos to document our trip, but that didn't happen.  Instead, I have three photos:

I took an almost identical picture of him last year.

In our hotel.

 

And leaving our hotel.  (Josh rarely does things the normal/easy way which is why we didn't take the elevator.)

And a bunch of things I don't want to forget (since I have no pictures of them):

- Leaving Friday at noon because we were so excited to get on the road.

- Driving 5mph between Eugene and Salem because of all the ice on the roads and wondering if we were ever going to make it to Portland.

- Stopping in Albany.

- Getting an upgrade on our room for $15 (top floor, corner room at the Embassy Suites on Pine St.)

- Dinner at Ruth Chris's Steakhouse.  (I ate an entire side of Spinach Au Grautin by myself.)

- Talking over dinner.

- The cranberry mojito I got from the bar.

- How magical Portland feels at Christmastime (especially at night).

- The view from our room.

- Me accidentally bringing only one pair of pants, no socks and no face soap for the entire weekend.

- Getting 2/3 of or Christmas shopping done at one store. 

- Losing and rewriting our Christmas list four times.

- Trying to find the OSU Beaver store in Portland based on directions for the Corvallis store. (No wonder we couldn't find it.)

- Harvey's Comedy club.

- Eating spinach Au Grautin (for the second time) and sweet potato casserole at 10:00 o'clock at night while watching TV back at the hotel.

- Doing brodies out in the Toys R Us parking lot.

- Arguing at the mall.

- Making up at the mall.

- Watching the ice-skaters at Lloyd Center while eating Cinnabons.  (They actually sell a cup full of nothing but the middles of their cinnamon rolls with tons of frosting - delicious.)

- Talking and taking turns sleeping the whole drive home.

Annie & Tate's Christmas Program.

Annie and Tate were in their very first Christmas program last night.

 

That's them in their classroom before the program (coincidentally in similar dresses.)

 

Annie is third from the left and Tate is third from the right.

They were singing a little song that goes, "What did the cow in the manger say, baby Jesus in the hay, moo, moo, moo, moo, Baby Jesus we love you."

 

That's her right before she hollered, "Hi Brother!"...which was several minutes after she hollered, "Hi Mom!" and "Hi Dad!" (when she spotted me with my camera and Josh with his video recorder up in the balcony.)

Tate didn't last much longer than this.  She spotted her mom, started crying and hid behind the other kids until a teacher came and saved her.

 

We could actually hear Annie singing over the entire crowd.  (You have to be loud when you're the youngest of four.)

 

 

Past her bedtime, hence the yawn.

Shot everything with a 70-200mm f2.8. 

The Christmas tree pictures that I posted the other day were all shot with the Nikon 50mm f1.4G.  (The last two shots from the Christmas tree photos were shot at f1.4, 1/125th of a second, ISO 3200.)

Josh & I are heading out today for a weekend of Christmas Shopping up in Portland.  Normally, I'd be all over the idea of getting a few days without any kiddos but after being gone all of last week, I'm feeling kind of guilty for leaving again.

Guessing I'll get over it though.

Have a great weekend.