Never Center the Subject of Your Photo

California Stars

I am sitting in Starbucks in Fullerton CA writing a report for work. How I came to be in Fullerton is a story in and of itself. It involved my family being down here and me being in Utah, a crushing case of burnout, and a song I couldn’t get out of my head. It ended in a spur-of-the-moment 90 mph drive to California.

I really enjoy my job, but it is mentally exhausting. A couple of quotes from websites describing being a usability specialist:

Observing well is hard and exhausting…

The tester’s job requires an intense and exhausting level of concentration…

I was exhausted.

A couple days ago I woke up at 4am replacing the back of my alarm clock. I had been dreaming that I had to evaluate its interface and make recommendations to improve it by morning. I later noticed that I had managed to move the time forward by four hours and 15 minutes.

I don’t know how to explain how burnt out I felt. It wasn’t like I was going to go postal, more like I was going to crawl under my desk and start sobbing.

Adrienne and I had planned to go to California, but I couldn’t go. There was too much work and too few workers. Two babies born to two of my team members within a week, and another team member was in Mexico, leaving just me and my boss.

I sent Adrienne and Reese off to play in California for eleven days while I focused on work. By Saturday morning, day nine, I was completely and totally fried. I was sitting on the couch writing a report for work and listening to music, when California Stars came on.

California Stars

I’d like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I’d like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d love to feel your hand touching mine
And tell me why I must keep working on
Yes, I’d give my life to lay my head tonight
On a bed of California stars

I’d like to dream my troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my starbed and make another day
Underneath my California stars

They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lovers glass like friendly wine
So, I’d give this world
just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars

– Woody Guthrie

That was it. I was taking a break. I had to. I was going to lay my head on a bed of California stars, and I was going to do it that night. I IMed my boss and said, “I am going to California.” To his great credit, especially since it meant him holding down the fort at work all by himself, he just replied, “Have fun.” I quickly packed and jumped in the car. I only stopped to get gas.

As I got off the freeway in Fullerton the air was cool and moist and smelled like orange blossoms, and out of the 4,000 songs on my ipod, California Stars began to play.

Adrienne and Reese were rather surprised to see me 750 miles from home.

But vacation has to wait. Right now I am paying $10 for high speed wireless internet in Starbucks and hammering out a report for work. Even though I am still working, just being here is such a relief, I feel like my brain works again. I can think clearly again, and I feel physically lighter. I am going to finish this report tonight and not think about work at all for a few days.

—

I am done with the report now, and the California stars are calling.

God of Thunder

Last night as we were getting Reese (not quite two-years-old) ready for bed a thunderstorm rolled in. Lightning flashed and thunder shook the windows. Reese got excited and wanted to go outside. I decided we should drive up a hill that overlooks the valley and watch the lightning.

As we drove, and the thunder boomed, Reese was shouting from the back seat, “Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh Daddy, thunder! Thunder Daddy!” He made me excited about it too. As we drove up the hill he shrieked, “Daddy, thunder, again! Again, 1, 2, 3..again daddy!”

So I played along, “OK Reese, here we go, 1,2,3 [sometimes up to 10]”. BOOM!

“Oh my gosh Daddy! Again!”

So here’s my question: If the kid thinks that I control the weather, why doesn’t he always listen to me!?“

PS–If you try to take a picture of lightning, even if you are smart and use 15 second exposures, you will end up so frustrated that you will want to throw your camera off the hill. You will find that after taking a couple dozen photos, only ONE will even have lightning in it. That photo may look like this:

Hot Tweet Tweet

If you can’t get excited about a big fireworks display there are two options:

You are trying way too hard to be cool.
You are dead inside.

PS: My little boy Reese called the fireworks “Hot tweet tweets!” I think he should have been less excited if he really thought they were flaming birds.

He also kept reaching towards them and saying, “Reach it! Reach it!”

Family

My Boy

The Grass Is Greener

Summer seems to have arrived.

My little boy watches out the window as I mow the lawn yelling, âDaddy, Daddy, non newew!â(that somehow means lawnmower).

So we bought him a toy lawnmower. When I got back from work we âmowed the lawnâ (My lawnmower was off, so no parenting advice thanks).

Adrienne and I took some photos and I used the âDooce/Blurbomat Methodâ to make them ‘dreamy'(as in dream-like, not 1950’s girl-talk for cool).

I am normally a little uncomfortable manipulating photos in Photoshop in ways I couldn’t do in the darkroom. I guess I worry that it is somehow âcheatingâ.

This arbitrary line really only leaves me dodging, burning, cropping (I almost never crop for some reason), and upping the saturation a little bit. Since I can’t defend this former photographic position in any way I am going to get a little more experimental I think.

If you know how to do this in the darkroom please tell me.