Alternative Lighting Assignment

I know I've been a bit behind with my blog. I had some drama with a server crash that got me behind and then I got pretty sick over the last couple of weeks. During this time I still had to keep up with my photography assignments. This time my assignment was alternative lighting based.

I was not able to use any daylight for these photos. So I took photos of my family with one continuous light and a black backdrop in my garage. Here are the photos I turned in for my assignment.

I know that my class for my critique will probably hate these photos for being "cliche" but I like them and think they are funny. Plus how can I not like photos of my family? I had never shot photos in such low light this way so it's all a learning process for me but I'm happy with the outcome.

I also made sure that we took a family holiday photo that we can send out with Christmas cards. Here is that photo. We all gathered around my grandmother in the photo. I think I should have put my oldest son on a stool or something because he is just so tall that he practically gets cut out of the top of the photo.

My younger son and I were so sick during this shoot and had a really tough time getting through it but we did. My older son is a real ham though and wanted to make sure I took lots of other photos of him where I was able to experiment with my shutter speed and lighting. He also did some light painting but the photos didn't turn out very good.

I'm looking for a female model for my next project. Email me or comment on my blog if you are interested.

Cemetery Photo Shoot

I've been thinking about the "And I Quote..." photography assignment I have for a couple of weeks. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to do until recently.

I had found a verse written by Emily Dickinson that inspired my shoot. It also worked out since it's close to Halloween.

My life closed twice before its close;
            It yet remains to see
    If Immortality unveil
            A third event to me,
    So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
           As these that twice befell.
    Parting is all we know of heaven,
           And all we need of hell.

I had decided to use some of my friends (Karen, Lee Lee, and Veronica) as models for my assignment and we shot photos at a local cemetery. I did all the makeup and hair myself for the day. Karen is the model you are viewing first. I really love how she came out in these images. 

The look I was going for in these images has a dark inspiration so all the models are in black with dark eye makeup, crazy lashes, and bright red lips. I also did this crazy style on their hair with a subtle finger wave on top and crazy teased out gatherings of hair around the base of the head.

To me the models turned out like sexy and dark, almost like vampires. Shooting images around all the graves did help to inspire the models as well. I wish we could have taken these same images on a more overcast day. It would have given a different feel to them without so much post production.

Later in the day my friends Lee Lee and Veronica came over to shoot more cemetery photos. I had some ideas for images that I really wanted to capture and these two lovely ladies really pulled them off for me! In this first image I really feel like Veronica is about to attack Lee Lee and she won't even see it coming.

I did some special effects to give this photo an older more ominious feel to it. The sun was very bright in the background during this shot so I wanted it to see darker. I think the effect came out nicely.

This second image of them is probably one of my favorite photos. They are both bringing some serious power in their faces right here. Both of their eyes are piercing and Lee Lee's light eyes seared their way through the lens.

I think being able to see the grave stones also gives this image a more sorrowful feeling to it. I loved this image so much in color that I didn't change much.

There are so many other great images from this shoot that I'm sure I'll pick some more to share with all of you. I'm working on a lot of projects right now so I only had time to run a few images through post production.

My next photography project is for Alternative Lighting. I have to take photos without the use of sunlight. If you're interested in working wth me on a project, please feel free to contact me at LyndaRay@LyndaRayDesigns.com. If there are any makeup artists or hair stylists that want to collaborate on some trade shoots (TFCD) let me know. You'll get images for your portfolio.

My 360 Air Helicopter Experience

I woke up yesterday a bit nervous for the day's photo shoot I had booked. I had already chewed my cuticles down until they were practically bleeding. The foreboding weather conditions seemed ominous to me at the very best. Since it was going to rain, I couldn't really do anything to my hair or put on too much makeup. All this stress over my impending helicopter ride ... or should I say rides?

As I drove down to the Chino Airport, crossing my fingers that I wouldn't get lost trying to find the 360 Air hanger. I did end up making a few wrong turns, but I got there in time. Seeing the elevated terror alert threat sign posted nice and promantly at the gate just made me feel great. I just knew I was going to have an interesting day.

So I finally arrived and met my new 360 Air client. They specialize in security, protection, and transportation for their clients. I'm currently redeveloping their web presence and I got to take some pretty cool photographs that we are going to feature on their new website.

My Pilot for the day was Andre and his Co-Pilot was Chuck. We were preparing to fly off in this cherry red Bell 206B3 helicopter. Did I mention that I'm afraid of heights and have NEVER been on a helicopter before in my life? I've only been on a plane a few times and hated that experience, so I didn't know what to expect.

Andre and Chuck really made me feel at ease and more comfortable by explaining everything that was going to happen and showed me around the helicopter, so that did help a lot.

Even though I was scared, I was not going to let that fear control me at all. My motion sickness problem, was going to be a totally different story.

While Andre and Chuck got everything ready for the flight, I was busy taking photographs. I was able to get this image that I just love of the pilot's helmets.

It was a motion blur mistake that turned out to be a happy accident. To me this motion blur looks like the helmets have halo's. To me it's like someone is always looking out for the pilots. They always need an angel looking out for them doing such a dangerous job.

Another photo that I really loved how it came out was of the flight suits that were hanging up next to the helmets. It was very low light in the office so the effect is pretty cool. I turned it into a black and white image. To me it gives  it an older feel.

This photograph also has a little bit of a blur to it. I was hand holding my camera and given the low light, I had to lower my shutter speed to allow light to expose my image for a longer amount of time. I can't hold totally still so it has a little blur.

I'm happy with this image though. Even with the blur, the imperfection in the photograph is probably what I like about it. I think the black and white also helps with that effect.

After getting to know my pilots and taking some behind the scenes photos in their hanger, it was getting very close to our take off time. I don't know if they could feel my anxiety or not, I tend to crack a whole lot of jokes when I'm nervous.

At least I was making them laugh. I didn't want to stress them out just because I was scared. They both new I was a helicopter virgin and applauded the fact that I was overcoming my fear of heights.

The time had finally come. Take off time. Chuck took a quick photo of me in front of the helicopter before I got all strapped in. I joked that this was my proof I was actually there.

Too bad I was having an overall bad look day, now I have a photo to prove it!

I don't know very many people that get to go up in helicopters so I didn't really care how I looked, just that I actually did it.

Into Andre and Chucks hands I went and got all strapped into the back seat of the helicopter. I even got to wear those cool head sets so I could talk to the pilots and not go even more deaf at the sounds of the blades spinning over head.

We took off and headed out towards the Fullerton airport. They had a lot of different image ideas that they wanted to capture for their website. I don't think I fully understood what exactly was in store for me quite yet.

Even though I was nervous, the flight to Fullerton wasn't bad at all. I didn't get sick or very scared. It was a pretty smooth ride. Andre and Chuck made sure I was comfortable and informed and they made me feel safe. The flight to Fullerton was pretty quick.

I even had to snap this quick shot of myself flying high over Orange County. I really wish I would have made some better wardrobe choices that day. It's always pretty difficult to take these type of self portraits with my camera since it's too big for  only one hand to hold, well at least for my little hand.

When we arrived at the airport we met up with the other pilots. I quickly found out that I was going to ride on the same helicopter model that was used for Magnum PI. I loved that show and everything but I never thought I'd be taking a ride in this copter.

It was a lot smaller then the last helicopter and this pilot told me that at one point in our flight, he'd be dropping me off on a remote hilltop so I can take approach and take off photos of the two birds. He also told me that they would also remove the door on my side so I could hang out and take photos of the other helicopter while we were both in the air.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, no door. I guess this is the ultimate scared of heights test right? No matter what I promised myself I wasn't going to let them see me sweat. I was going to do my job and do it to the best of my ability. I just hoped I would survive.

I was then traded off to the "Magnum PI" helicopter for my next series of photos. This was more of a training flight for these pilots that I was hitching a ride on. I wasn't expecting for this ride to be so bumpy and woozy. The bad weather coming in didn't help matters either.

This helicopter is much more maneuverable so it can turn and bank and go up and down and all kinds of ways. I can't ever do anything in a moving vehicle besides look at the road without getting motion sick, so I don't know what made me think riding in a helicopter and taking photos at the same time would be any different. This ride really made me want to lose my waffles.

It took everything I had not to use my barf bag on this flight, and it seemed like we were up there forever before we got to that hilltop they were going to drop me off at. I couldn't wait to get on that hilltop. Anything to stop the world from spinning and making my stomach do flip flops. I really should have taken a motion sickness pill or something.

One of the pilots took his daughter up for her first ride with us and I know she was hoping I wasn't going to spew all over the place while we were up there. I know that's what I would be thinking. I'm proud to say, I did not up chuck!

So now I'm standing alone on a hilltop taking photos of these two helicopters coming in and going. I was really looking forward to this part because I thought it would help settle my stomach, but it didn't. I actually stayed nauseous for the rest of the day.  

Once I got some images of them doing that, it was time for the big moment. They landed and took the door off the helicopter and strapped me in. I swear, my ass was like hanging over the edge and I could look straight down at the ground.

I think this either makes me really cool or totally crazy, but I did it. I rode on a helicopter with no door and had my upper body and head with my camera out the door to take these images of the other helicopter flying around us.

I personally think it makes me more cool than crazy. But that's just my opinion. I was so happy that we didn't spend a whole lot of time with this whole "no door" on the copter idea. We were quickly done and I was once again taken to the hilltop wear I waited for Andre and Chuck to land and pick me up for our return flight to Chino airport.

I was able to get this cool image of them as they were landing. I still think it's pretty cool to have the shutter spead on my camera so fast that I can freeze helicopter blades in mid flight. It was a little dark from the approaching storm, but I think the clouds look really nice in the backgound.

The flight back to Chino was another quick one. I made some jokes about not losing my breakfast and we were back home in no time. I took some final images for my new client before I went home to get some rest after this amazing experience.

Even with the motion sickness, I had a lot of fun. Andre and Chuck are excellent pilots and great guys. They are true professionals. This day didn't feel like work at all, except for the working not to lose my breakfast part.

I got to experience something that most people will never get to experience in their lives. I don't get to do that every day, so this is one day to remember. Thanks guys!

Interested Models Inquire Here!

I'll be working on my next photography assignment on Oct 10th, 11th, 17th, and 18th in Upland California. If there are any models and/or MUA's interested in colabrating please email me at LyndaRay@LyndaRayDesigns.com with your info.

I'm working on a concept of tears are the summer showers to the soul. I'll be doing beauty shots with tears streaming down the face and other sad scenes of crying alone in an alley and different things like that. Some of the shots will be done with lights and a backdrop in my garage studio and some will be outside.

I'm hoping to get one model for each concept with 4 concepts in total. If you're interested and available on any of those dates, please contact me and we will both get photos for our portfolio. I'll even retouch 4 photos for each model that they can use for their portfolio.

Getting Lost Photo Assignment

I want to send out a special that you to Wendy, Veronica, and Ajia for helping me with my "Getting Lost" photography project today. Here are some photos from today's shoot!

This first photo on the left really get the feeling of the entire shoot in it. My assignment was to get lost and shoot the type of photos that I love to shoot so that's what I did. This photo really cracks me up. The ladies did a great job.

Ajia Nay is the model featured in this next set of photos. She really came through at the last minute for this photo shoot. I got her in hair and makeup in record time!

It does get a little stressful when models are running late and the sun is quickly setting, but we were able to pull it off and get some hot shots of this young stunner. I can't wait to work with her again when we have more time to shoot.

Sometimes it really does amaze me to see what you can get when you only have about 20 minutes to shoot each model! I know it's only better when you have more time. Especially if you haven't worked with that person before. I know I'll get better shots next time, but this time, it wasn't too shabby!

Veronica was up next and I was so very lucky and happy to have found some graffiti that really matched each of the girls looks so well. I put her in some electric blue eye shadow and a bright red lip.

I was pleasantly surprised to see how the photo changed so much when it was put into a black and white format. Her bright blue eye shadow turned to dark black and she looked like she was straight out of 1960!

Since I need to submit this assignment in black and white, I was very happy to see so many of these brightly colored photographs translate very well into black and white.

I have had the pleasure of photographing Veronica before and it just get more fun every time! I'm already making sure I book her for the next set of assignments I have for class.

After I was done shooting Veronica I had to rush to get some photos of Wendy before the sun went all the way down. Wendy was a champ as usual and with a great attitude and enthusiasm rushed in and delivered some great photos for the assignment.

I have worked with Wendy on other shoots and we are working to develop her portfolio. I recommend her to any photographer. She is a pleasure to work with and makes even difficult shoots fun!

We actually did run out of daylight and that's when I decided to experiment with a type of shot I've been curious about for some time now. I wanted to leave my shutter open for a longer amount of time, not only to expose the shot enough for the dim light, but to also make the car lights in the back ground look like they are streaming by.

It was very difficult to get this shot and keep the camera and the model very still but we were able to get some cool images.

I couldn't have gotten this shoot done without the hardwork of my models and my assistant Victor (my son).

Let me know what you think of my new photos!

Still Looking for a Couple Models

I have one model so far and I'm probably going to take some photos of my oldest son, since he will be my assistant. I'm still hoping to find one or two more people that want to shoot.

A new friend of mine pointed me to some cool spots in Pomona I'd like to shoot at. I'm looking for a real rock 'n' roll feeling to the photos. If your interested, send me an email at lyndaray@lyndaraydesigns.com for more details.

Looking for Female Models for Photography Project

I have a couple of photography projects that I really need models for. The first project is the "Getting Lost" Project.

I need 2 or 3 girls that can look really great in a rock 'n' roll look maybe even a little punk. My plan is to get lost somewhere near Los Angeles to take advantage of the more urban look out there.

This would be a free shoot and I would help with the makeup and hair.

If there are any makeup artists, stylists, or Hair stylists out there that want to collaborate that would be great as well. We would all get some great photos that way. I'm going for a very editorial look for this shoot.

I'm looking to do this shoot on October 10th and/or 11th.

The next shoot I need models for is:

"And I Quote..."

One of the most difficult things in making imagery is deciding what is interesting enough to spend the time, effort and money on. Because ideas can sometimes be elusive, many artists have used writing as a way of jump-starting their visual aesthetics. It is common to see art that is inspired by, or that illustrates, particular writings, novels, plays, sayings, songs, poetry, language, stories, myths, etc.

Your assignment is to choose a piece of writing and make imagery from it. This means you can directly recreate a scene or place or character to illustrate the idea, or you can take the feelings (or general emotions) of the work and make something entirely different.

As always, it is up to you the artist to interpret the assignment and to find a way to make imagery you want to make within the boundaries set by the criteria of the assignment.

The written piece can be anything from a single word to a series of novel, just make sure you don’t loose focus on your idea.

You should write the intent of your idea down to maintain focus.

There are a few quotes that I will try to capture with these images for this assignment:

1. It's the things I might have said that fester.
2. Tears are the summer showers to the soul.
3. Laughter is the closet thing to the grace of god.
4. Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

I'm looking to shoot for this assignment October 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th. This shoot will be in and around Upland California. I'm also open to male models for this one.

The models that work with me on these projects will get 4 retouched images from their shoot for their portfolio. Any makeup artist, hair stylist, or clothing stylist will get 4 retouched images for each model they worked on from the shoot.

Full copies of all original un-retouched images will be available for purchase.

Go Upland Highlanders JV Football!

I am just so happy that my son's football team finally won a game. The whole team has just been so depressed that they started out their season 0-3 that we were getting worried it would effect their entire season.

Well the coaches decided to make some changes, one of them being that my son is now a starting defensive linemen. With a whole new lineup, they met the Eastside Lancaster team this past Thursday. Even in 104 degree temperatures, the Upland Highlanders were able to defeat the Eastsiders 29-0! Not only did they win but they shut the other team out.

It was an amazing game and I'm very proud of my son for doing such a great job. Here are some photos I took from the game. He is number 78.

Here is a photo of the scoreboard before the game was even over. We ended up getting another touchdown right before the end of the game.

And here is a photo of my son right as he was walking off the field all hot and sweaty!

Some Other Cool Photos

Here are some other cool photos I took for my first photography assignment. I used these to turn in. Right now all our photos must be submitted in black and white. I put the color image next to the black and white one that I actually submitted.

My instructor really like the one of my dog and son because I shot it at a very slow shutter speed with a large aperture and long exposure because it was dark. My son was still because he was sleeping so he is crisp and the dog was moving so she is blurred in the photo. I think it makes for a more interesting photo.

I just think my son looks really melancholy in this photo so I used this one as well. I think it looks better in color but we can only use black and white right now. Which one do you think looks better?

He also seems very guarded and like hiding behind his bass guitar.

 

This last image I just thought looked cool. I didn't submit it but I still wanted to share it with you. I love taking photos of nature and of natural things that have interesting shapes and lines. Let me know what you think.

My Next Photography Assignment

Last week my instructor announced our next photography assignment. This time we have to get lost.

Get Lost

Derive
Webster’s New World Dictionary Definition:
1. to turn a stream from its channel
2. to get or receive (as from a source)
3. to get by reasoning; deduce or infer
4. to originate (used reflexively).

In this project you are to utilize the classic method of the derive as it applies to the making of art and imagery. This method means that you must journey forth without any destination in mind; just get in your car, bicycle, bus, skateboard, motorboat, big wheel, or whatever and head out. Your journey must last a minimum of two hours, but can go longer if you wish (sometimes being lost you don’t have a choice). During this time, you are to use the experience to make imagery.

Your imagery can take the form as a pictorial record of your experience (a la photojournalism), or iconographic representation, or it can be completely re-fabricated through alternate photography after the fact. The main focus of this assignment is to let the experience inform the art, and to look for photographic opportunities in unknown surroundings. You may do this alone, with a friend or with a group.

Restrictions:
You can not know where you are going ahead of time, therefore if you are familiar with your surroundings, you may need to develop some kind of system to keep the experience fresh. For example; every time you see something (vw bug, man with facial hair, etc) you will turn left...

Technical:
Concentrate on utilizing your settings in your camera to optimize depth of field or motion blur. Remember to calculate your minimum shutter speed to avoid “camera shake” (1 over the focal length is the slowest shutter speed you can use).

Notes:
Give yourself lots of time … Stop the car and get out of it (freeway shots are very boring)…Be prepared (Take lighting, reflectors, actors, props, whatever with you…you never know when you will need them)…Take everything in (even bad experiences can make great work)…Take the road less traveled (a sense of adventure is required)…
Have fun.

The assignment is always the springboard for your creativity. Your job as the photographer is to shoot what you like to shoot within the constraints of the assignment.

I'm pretty excited and at the same time nervous about this assignment. I had this idea of the roaming gnome for this shoot, but with a more editorial glammed up twist. I want to dress up a model in a sexy gnome outfit and take photos along the way of us getting lost. My version of the roaming gnome visiting all the places along our lost way.

I usually have one of my sons assist me when I need reflectors and props so they will most likely be getting lost with us as well. But I'm torn with the concept. I might just fix up my friend Wendy and another friend that wanted to get some porfolio images and just take some hot picks along the way.

I just keep thinking that the gnome outfit might seem too "comicbooky", yeah I know it's not an actual word but you get what I'm saying. I could probably even use my son as a model and an assistant. I need to use everything at my disposal for my projects. I just hate getting lost. I better remember to keep my AAA card and cell phone handy!

NEVER Use the RedBox to Rent Movies!

That's right everyone! I'm saying it now! NEVER use the RedBox to rent movies! I used to rent from them all the time and never had a problem, but when a problem happens, they are of no help at all!

I rented Fast and Furious last month, kept the movie for 1 night, and returned it the following day. Magically, a month later $26.10 comes out of my checking account. I was like what the hell is this charge for? I called their crappy customer service department and they insist that I still have the movie so they charged me nearly thirty dollars for it.

If I really wanted that damn movie I would have went to Best Buy and got it for less than $20. I'm just so mad right now. I don't have that movie but I had to pay for it. Then the guy on the phone tries to tell me the machine must not have returned the movie properly and would have vended it back out and a passer by must have taken it if I don't have it, because they don't have it.

If that's what happened, that person is an asshole. Now they have this movie and I'm out nearly thirty dollars. I wish thirty bucks was no big deal to me, but I'm broke and this was money to feed my kids this week.

The lesson to be learned here about renting movies from a machine is ... no one is there to make sure shit is working right so when it messes up you're the one that pays for it in the end. I guess a $1 rental really is just a fantasy!

NEVER RENT FROM THE REDBOX! Pass along this info!

Some Cool Pics from my Project

Okay... so I shot at least 5 photos every hour for 12 hours today, and let me tell you, it was a lot harder than I had thought. I know just starting to get over the flu wasn't the best of days to do this project, but I had to have something to work on tomorrow in class.

I'm trying to look at it as a learning experience.

I had so many ideas and places I was going to go and things I was going to photograph...and then I got the flu. Oh well, I only need 3 final images from the bunch anyway so I hope I have a few diamonds in the rough.

Here are a couple of the photos I liked from today.

The first was was taken at 7am this morning of my dog Tigger. She was not happy at all. She hates taking pictures. The next one was when we went to PetSmart just leaving the parking lot. I just stopped the car and took the photo of how empty the shopping center was around 2pm. The third one is of my dog and my youngest son around 5pm.

You can really see how different the light is at these various times of day. I know they are not the greatest images, but I like them. I'm surprised I got anything decent with how terrible and weak I still feel today.

Well it's time for bed now. I have class early tomorrow and it lasts for 6 hours. I'll leave you with this cool pic I took during our last photography lecture. We get to work on the best computers there it's pretty cool.

Getting over the Flu

Wow...so the flu really sucks. Today is the first day I've had without a fever in the last 4 days! I'm still pretty sick but just not having that fever really makes a world of difference. I haven't quite gotten my appetite back, or my strength, but I know I'll start feeling better as each day goes by.

I know my darling son had to have brought this monster of a bug into our home because he was the first one who was sick. I just thought he was getting a cough because of all the fires we've had around here lately and the ash has been pretty harsh, but no we couldn't have been that lucky! He just got worse every day and I soon followed.

My older son and my grandmother have been spared for the most part. We stayed away from granny so she wouldn't get sick and my older son just seems to be fighting it much better. He never got a fever and just had a mild cough and still insisted he went to school. He saw the school nurse even just to make sure and she seemed fine with him being there as long as he didn't have a fever.

I, on the other hand, seemed to have gotten the full brunt of the fever part of this nasty thing. The whole fever, chills, fatigue thing just isn't fun at all. I ate only small amounts of chicken soup and lots of water for 4 days.

At least I lost 10 pounds!

I Got the Flu!

Talk about bad luck! I started feeling really crappy a couple of days ago and today I feel like I'm practically dying. I have a really bad cough, with my bad asthma my breathing isn't the best, I have body aches all over and a fever. I just know I'm going to be worse tomorrow.

I made homemade chicken soup for dinner and it was such a struggle to cook it. I'm really fatigued and I feel like everything is taking so much of an effort. Right now I'm just hoping I don't have the swine flu.

My boys are also sick. The youngest felt really sick over the weekend but today he says he feels much better and he just has a little cough but I can see he isn't much better. My oldest is trying to fight it like I am. However, I think I'm losing that battle.

Anyone have any remedies or suggestions?

Photography Assignment

So I have this photography assignment for a class. I need to take 5 photos an hour for 12 consecutive hours and it can't be of the same thing. I mean who would really want to take 60 photos over 12 hours of the same thing.

I can take more then 5 for each hour but I need to choose 5 photos for each of the 12 hours to make a contact sheet for review. After that I need to narrow my selection down to the best 3 photos in the bunch. Those will get printed out for classroom critique.

I have two weeks left to work on this project, but I think I'm going to get it done tomorrow. I figure if I don't like what I end up shooting tomorrow I can always redo it before I get to that point. I guess I'm just stuck over thinking what I'm actually going to photograph.

The point of the assignment is to get used to shooting manually and using the light meter in the camera. I get that. My teacher also wants us to see how it is to shoot in different types of light throughout the day.

I guess I'm just a little intimidated after seeing some of the work my classmates are producing. There are some really great talents in my class and I just hope that I can compare. I'm going to try my best and really just take photos of every day things in the city I live in from my perspective.

Maybe I'll catch something amazing. If anyone has any suggestions on what you think I should photograph, I'm open to suggestions!

First Football Game of the Season

My son plays football for Upland High School. He is a Defensive Lineman for the JV team. Today was their first game and it was away at AB Miller High in Fontana. It was still unbearably hot today and the air is still terrible because of the fires but they cleared the schools to play today's game.

Here are a couple of photos from todays game. I took over 200 photos but haven't had a chance to go through them all yet. He is wearing jersey number 78. I was very proud of the way he played and the way the entire Defensive line played.

They were just really upset since the offensive had 6 turnovers and threw 5 interceptions. They lost their first game 28-14. My son feels responsible for the loss since he hurt their 1st string all start quarterback during practice. Now the coaches wont let him tackle as hard during practice, especially the quarterback.

Hey is it my sons fault he's such an awesome tackler? They play Glendora next Thursday and that's an away game as well. I think this team kind of got screwed this year since they only have 4 home games out of their 10 regular season games.

I will keep everyone posted on their progress.

Banging Your Head on a Huge Staple Really Hurts!

In my kitchen, which is in desperate need of a makeover, there is this broken drawer that the facade has fallen off of and exposed the huge staples that once held it together. I've had my run in's with these staples before but it has usually been scratches or pokes in the leg from getting too close. Today, however, was a different story.

I accidently dropped the lid to my pepper grinder on the floor and bent over to pick it up and empailed my head right above my left temple on one of the staples. It really hurt terrible and began to bleed all over the place right away. I must have really hit my head hard on this staple because it felt like someone hit me in the head with a bat.

I just grasped my head and leaned against the wall and tried to stop the bleeding. My youngest son was very worried and concerned. The initial shock of it finally passed and I gained my composure. I applied pressure to the wound and just took it easy for a few minutes.

I was in the process of making dinner when this all happened and I just wanted to finish, so my darling child held the tissue to my head while I finished up dinner for them. The bleeding stopped about 15 minutes later but it wasn't bleeding too badly. I sat with an ice pack on my head for 2 more hours before the pounding pain finally went away, for the most part at least.

Now I'm just wondering if I should go get a tetanus shot or not. I still just feel really stupid that I head butted an industrial staple. I am so not going to do that again!

Living in a Cloud of Smoke

The wildfires are just getting worse with each passing day. Now we are right smack in the middle of two very large and very dangerous wild fires. About 20 miles to the west of my home the Station fire is still burning out of control.

The wind shifted a bit yesterday and the plumes of smoke hang right over our heads showering us with ash. Now about 20 miles to the east of us, the Oak Glen fire is raging and has now targeted the town of Yucaipa where my best friend lives.

We were briefly in a small pocket of clear air for the past few days but that is no longer. I was in Fontana today and took a photo in the direction of my home.

Those clouds you see in the photo are not clouds but smoke from the wild fire that is hanging over the western part of the Inland Empire. Mt. Baldy is hidden behind that smoke and my house is right underneath all that crap.

I tried to get a decent photo of the plumes from the Oak Glen fire to the East but the sun was already so low and the sky so dark with smoke and ash nothing came out. I'm going to have my friend take some photos from Yucaipa and send them to me to share with all of you. Anyone else have photos or stories to share about the fires?

Another Year of Fire Storms

I live in Upland California. About 5 years ago, our area was ravaged by wild fires that turned into a massive fire storm. The mountains and foothills above my home burned to a crisp from several miles to the west and spanned several miles to the east as well.

One fire had started out west of us and another started east of us and eventually they met in the middle and started an even bigger fire. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and several people died.

We can still see the burned out homes that were never rebuilt and now the fires are back again. There is currently the Station Fire that is burning out of control about 20 miles west of us. Our sky is filled with dirty brown smoke and once again ash is falling like snow all around us. I feel like I'm drowning when I go outside and breathe in the particulate matter in the air.

I suffer from asthma and so does my grandmother. These are trying times for us and we are struggling greatly with the ever increasing heat and the fire spewing it's toxins into the atmosphere. Our breathing has suffered ever since the last fires and now it threatens to get even worse.

As we were driving home from the car dealership last night, we saw the plume of smoke billowing over our neck of the woods. The winds seemed to have shifted and now all the smoke is blowing our way. I took some quick images while we were in the car. They are not that great but you can get the picture of what we were driving into.

 The smoke does make for some beautiful sunsets. Too bad it feels like I'm breathing through a straw every day. I think I'll be going through a lot of inhalers.

Are you near the fires too? Let me know how this is effecting you where you are.

Helping Granny buy a New Kia Spectra!

Today I spent most of my day at the Kia dealership. My grandmother really got herself into a bad car deal and wanted to get out of it and get herself into a new Kia Spectra while she was at it. She really did get screwed with the last car she got. Can you believe she got a 25% interest rate?! It was just crazy so she finally saw how much prices came down and how she could probably do a lot better and get out from under the piece of crap she currently had.

The Kia dealership we went to was in Pomona on Rio Rancho Road. They were really nice. The salesman didn't presure us at all. My grandmother doesn't have the most perfect credit and was hoping for the best while expecting the worst but they were able to get her out from under her crappy loan and into a much better one and a brand new car.

We were there for nearly six hours though. The dealership was actually pretty busy so we had to wait awhile to finalize everything but it wasn't too bad. They really took care of us there. The finance guy that finalized our paperwork was really cute and a big nerd just like me, but like every good man he was taken. At least I got to flirt for an hour! Who knows...one day I might actually meet someone.

So anyways before I go off in a tangent, before we went to the dealership, I was working on another photo that I took of my friend Wendy. This time she is dressed up like Snow White. I did some post production and put her in a new background and softened the image a bit. I really like it. Let me know what you think!

I'm I Crazy for getting Multiple Degrees?

Someone told me today that I was crazy to pursue additional degrees since I already have a Bachelors degree. Well my degree is in business and it's not something I particularly love. My heart is in art. I love to create and be creative. So I'm getting another degree in Photographry. I might even go further and get a third degree in graphic design or 3D Animation.

I guess I love to learn new things. And hey, if that means I get to defer all the massive student loans I have from the first degree while I do this then that's okay with me! I also look at this in the long term. I am learning more skills that will help me to become a better photographer and artist.

There is always something new to learn, and technology always changes. I'm already challenged in my classes since the school runs on Mac computers and programs while I'm stuck with my PC at home. If I could afford a Mac I'd get one. PC's are just made more affordable. Working on these amazing machines at school makes me want a Mac so bad though!

Today my graphic design instructor gave us our first assignments. We have to come up with a unique system of pictographs and we have 4 weeks to do it. I have a few ideas about what I'm going to do for this project. I was thinking of something very complicated at first but then I came up with an idea that is fun and will be easier to excecute. I'm going to do a series of hair style pictographs.

We have to come up with a minimum of 12 in our system so I'm thinking of doing 6 women hair styles and 6 men hair styles. Lets just hope no one else has thought of this idea in my class. I need to sketch all these out first before I create them in Illustrator. I think I'm going to be doing a whole lot of lab time this semester! Wish me luck!

Pin Up Photo Shoot with Wendy

I am a woman with many talents. I am a Photographer, Graphic Designer, Website Designer, Makeup Artist, and Hair Stylist. I'm mostly self taught but I did go to school for Makeup and I'm currently working on my degree in Photography soon to be followed by a Design degree. I'm always striving to better myself and gain additional skills and talents that will help push my business forward. Hopefully this will help me make more money :0).

Well the other day my friend Wendy came over and I made her over 1950's style and we took some pinup style photos of her. I did her hair and makeup and styled her outfits. I think the images came out great and I'm happy that I got to do what I loved and we had a lot of fun making art.

Here are some of the photos from the photo shoot with Wendy.

I'd love to hear what you think of my work. If you are in the greater Los Angeles area and would like to book a photoshoot withe me, just contact me through here or email me directly at LyndaRay@LyndaRayDesigns.com!