I'm pulling photos from the archives today because I am without my laptop. And without my laptop means I'm without any of my most recent images. Grrrrr! On Friday my laptop screen decided to take a nose dive. It just went blank with a bunch of stripes going up and down it. I immediately ran it over to Best Buy and their Geek Squad told me I'd have my baby back in 3 weeks. THREE WEEKS??? That is like death to some people - me included. How in the world am I supposed to go three weeks without my left arm? Needless to say, I'm feeling the pain. Photoshop, all of my actions, my current and past images over the last year, etc. are all on my laptop. I'm lost! I'm currently using my desktop computer which I don't necessarily care for. It doesn't have any of my current programs or anything on it. What a mess! So...for now it looks as though I'll be using older images that you've already seen anytime I plan to blog over the next three weeks. Oh what a joy that is going to be. LOL! Bare with me...I'm keeping my fingers crossed that three weeks goes by in a jiffy.
Karen flew into town and spent that past 4 days with me before she had to head on over to the East coast of Florida for a concert she was attending. We had a great time eating at all of the restaurants I've wanted to try but just haven't had a chance yet. For those of you heading to the Sanibel Island area over Spring Break, you must eat at the "Island Cow." It is this quaint little restaurant that I've always wanted to try but never had the chance until last week. It's always packed out and therefore we never attempted stopping there because of the wait. It's an outdoor restaurant with the most adorable hand carved Adirondack chairs in every color of the tropical rainbow calling your name in their front yard. The chairs are handmade by a company here in town called "Tropic-chair" and I'm bound and determined to save up for some to place around our pool. They scream beach, tropics, sun, fun, etc. Definitely a new favorite find of mine. The Island Cow restaurant has a menu the size of Texas which includes everything under the sun. I tried their lobster and shrimp wontons that were plated with a plum dipping sauce that day and devoured them along with their hand squeezed orange juice and their chocolate chip muffins as a side filler. Oh yes, my tummy was in heaven. Keep in mind this stuff followed a bowl of guacamole dip that Karen and I woofed down in the car on the way to Sanibel that morning. Yes, can you tell it was my "cheat day?" I think it goes without saying that it was my one day off my diet and I made the best of it. And when my blender broke at home and it appeared that our lime chips and avocados were about to go to waste, Karen suggested duck tape for a quick fix. I never wavered - headed straight to the garage for Brent's duck tape and we made that daggone blender work. You know your a guacamole addict when you tape up your blender with duck tape in order to make it work at 9:30am in the morning. HA! Thank you God for brilliant friends who suggest duck tape and for the duck tape itself. :) Oh and here are a few photos I found on the Internet of the Island Cow atmosphere...
As you can tell, the Island Cow is a MUST when on Sanibel Island. I love the atmosphere. I love the colors. I love that it is an open air restaurant. I love their food. I love their shirts they wear there. I loved it all. We will go back. I want to take the kids there sometime. Too fun!
Lastly, I've had many people writing and asking how my doctor appt. with the cardiac electrophysiologist went yesterday. In a nutshell, he doesn't think that my issues are the AV Node Tachycardia. THANK GOODNESS! Praise Jesus! Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. The doc says he is 90% sure that it is due to stress rather than the condition that requires surgery. He thinks my body is releasing a surge of adrenaline at night while I sleep and while my body processes the day. Because of that, I'm having severe palpitations like I've never had before and my medication is no longer working to help them. He basically told me that I needed to quit "stifling" my stress. (meaning don't hold it in or push it deep down - deal with it!) Anyone who knows me well enough knows that it takes a lot to get me down. No matter what is going on in my life, my main goal is to keep trucking along. I refuse to let anyone or anything get the best of me. I read a quote yesterday that said..."Those things or those people that tried to destroy you, haven't! Those things or those people who tried to kill you, didn't! YOU'RE ALL THAT!!!" (by Paula White) I loved it. Thought the quote was a must share - so I did share it on facebook with my crackbook friends. :) However, that attitude is apparently part of my problem. I need to start accepting my stress and owning it a bit more I guess. The doctor reiterated that the normal person who is stressed out hasn't undergone a move across 5 states away from family, a life altering heart diagnosis last year (the PFO), personal issues last July nor do they parent a special needs child on an hourly basis - day after day - and so forth. He told me that my stress level is beyond the norm and that I have to start balancing that out even though I might not feel stressed or feel as though it is as bad as it is. My problem is that I don't look at my life as stressed. I won't give in to the enemy and allow my joy to be stolen. After my talk with the cardiac doctor yesterday though, I realize now that I can OWN my stress and still have joy. He said I needed to give myself extra long bubble baths, extra walks on the beach, pedicures, etc. that focus on me and me only. He said the body needs to balance and the only way to balance your life is to give yourself the time your body is requesting. I laughed and said "Well, apparently my 1-2 walks on the beach each week aren't cutting it then. I'll follow the doctors orders and increase that amount." He twisted my arm. LOL! Looking back on it, in hindsight, I guess I do have a lot to be stressed about. I'm just not one to let those "stressors" win. Even knowing what I know now, I still won't. However, I will throw them away with the seaweed as the wave caps come washing up on the shore each time that I'm taking my walks on the beach here in sunny Florida. I'm making the decision to own those stressors and send them packing in the cool gulf waters with the sharks and the bottom feeders on the ocean floor. Yes, yes...that is the best place for her them...on the bottom of the ocean floor - in the darkness for which they so consistently beckon.
And today...where am I headed...to the beach of course. Today begins the start of a FL warm up here in Naples. Our temps are expected to reach the low to mid 80's over the next 10 days. Not only due I plan to hit that beach over the next several days in order to return to Indiana next week tan and actually looking like I "live" in Florida, but I plan to hit that beach to feed my stressors to the almighty powerful ocean and the monsters that lurk within it. My stressors will soon be their problem now and not mine. And when I report back to my cardiologist in 4-6 weeks, I intend to prove to him that he was right and that the sea is confirmed yet again as a huge and ever so powerful tool in life.
Happy, happy, Monday peeps! Make sure you are all de-stressing even if your "sea" is the toilet in your nearest bathroom. Let's be honest...that is where the stressors best fit anyway - in the commode.
LIGHTHOUSE BEACH - SANIBEL ISLAND BEACH PHOTOGRAPHER
Last week I hit Sanibel Island and Captiva for some shelling as well as for some "shooting" time that was just for me. More often than not I hear professional photographers talk about how you should take certain days and just make them "your" days to shoot whatever you want. They explain how these "whatever" days really keep you inspired and your creativity flowing. I love to go shoot by myself and for myself. I enjoy taking my time and photographing things as many times as I want at as many different angles and such as I want. I don't have to hurry as you would in the middle of a scheduled session. I can take my time and see things at my own pace. On this day, the clouds/sky were incredible. The top image above is just proof of what a beautiful day it was. I teach my students in my photography classes that you should never take an image with the horizon line dead center in the middle of the photograph. You should always either pick the sky, the ocean, or the sand as your subject. One of them needs to be your main focus. Therefore, the horizon line should always end up in the bottom third of the photograph or in the upper third of it. In this case, can you tell what I chose my subject to be? Scroll up there and look. What is your answer? If you chose the sky/clouds, you are correct. When you look at that image, I want your eyes to focus on the sky. I want you to see the beauty in the clouds so I place my focus point on that area. I even went a bit more drastic and placed the sand in less than a 1/3 of the image so that the sky is basically screaming at you. You didn't know you were gonna' get a little photography lesson here today, did ya? LOL!
Notice how the shot above has the horizon line in the upper 1/3 of that image? Yeap, now I'm trying to direct your eyes to the beach and the sand. I want you to focus in on the fact that all of those people are sitting on top of a pile of sand that is infested with nothing but shells. They are combing that mound looking for all kinds of different type shells. This particular spot is called blind pass. It is the area where Sanibel Island and Captiva Island split. It's a gorgeous spot. I love it there. There are always tons of "shellers" there. Great fun.
There are really cool rocks on the corner of this beach. They make for great texture in an image...
I have a thing for photographing signs. Some of you might have picked up on that before. Signage always has great color. Love me some signs...
And I'm still confused by this one...
Here is one I just had to grab because of the angle within it. Angles can do so much for a photograph. Love the shadows from the nautical ropes here...
I managed to get some great shots of the Sanibel lighthouse that day too. It really popped on top of that blue sky. This lighthouse is one of the most unattractive lighthouses I've ever seen but I still love it. I am obsessed with its rustic, old, vintagey feel.
I love wondering about the nights it lead and directed those at sea. I envision this powerful beacon that is the epitome' of all things "sea" related. It was first lit with a kerosene lantern on August 20th, 1884 and the rumor is that the light is still operational. The lighthouse itself is 98 feet tall and totally brown in color. It took them three months to build the structure itself. It sits on the southern most tip of Sanibel Island. The beach it rests on is poignantly named "Lighthouse beach."
Although the building itself is not open to the public, many visit the site and photograph it on a daily basis. The beach surrounding the lighthouse is gorgeous and well worth any day spent there.
As you can tell, I had a great time exploring the lighthouse grounds as well as lighthouse beach there in Sanibel. This whole moving experience has been great fun for me because I enjoy learning the history about all of these areas. Even though we vacationed here for more than 10 years before moving here full time, I never knew any of the main details surrounding the islands. It is a treat to research this stuff and then be able to photograph it as well.
I'm signing off for now in order to tend to two sick children I have tucked under my wings here at home today. Yeap, Kenidi is home now too. We are bundled up in my bed watching cartoons under the down comforter as the sultry Florida rains pound the seaside outdoors. I used to detest when it rained in Indiana. However, now that we live here and see such little rain, I have found that I enjoy a good downpour to help cool off the humidity. Storms here are so much more powerful as they roll in off the ocean - way different than Hoosier land. We are enjoying those pelting's on the clay rooftop today. It's a welcoming sound as we nurture our way thru this sick spell. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend. Talk soon...Angie
I've had many of you blog readers ask for shells from here in Southwest, Florida. For those who've asked, I've gone shelling to pick them out and then those who want them have paid for the shipping costs to ship them from here to their particular state. While I had another set out today getting them ready to ship, I thought I'd take some pictures of them just for the fun of it. I've been dying to get out and shoot since this weekend so this helped temporarily. :)
These particular shells came from Sanibel Island. My Mom and I walked on the beach over there one day and we grabbed these as we walked.
Sanibel is known for their "shelling." They have gorgeous shells over there - pretty good sized ones too.
We found coral too.
I love the way my 105mm macro lens just picks up every little minor detail of these shells. You can almost feel the grit of the sand still on them.
I found this one (below) still in tact and connected...two halves still attached...
And this shot below...ummm...it's my new fav. Again, the detail that the macro lens provides is nothing short of amazing.
And oh yeah...I forgot to mention that we found some dead star fish on that walk too. I decided to bring them home for Brennen to see. No...I didn't ship these to my blog readers with their shells. LOL! I did take photos of them though. How cool is this shot??? (below)
and another...just a bit further back...
And this last one...another one of my favs...
Hoping that the receiver of this package of shells loves them. They sure were fun to find and collect. Any afternoon in the sand, sun, and surf makes for tons of fun though. :)
This is the last chance to sign up for the next round of beginner photography classes via Angie Seaman Photography which starts tomorrow. (Monday, January 4th, 2010) Some of you have already registered and if so, then you should have received my confirmatiom email back confirming your seat in class by now. If you are interested in taking a beginner photography class that teaches you the basics of beginner photography, how to use your camera and its settings, etc., then this class is for you.
You do not have to have a digital SLR to participate in our class. Any point and shoot will work as well. We will discuss the pros and cons to both styles of cameras as well as the ins and outs for both designs. For a few more details on the class, click HERE. If you are ready for a basic, beginner, photography class...go HERE to sign up. Once there, click on "portraiture," then on "classes." From there, you can walk thru the registration process. Should you have any questions, please feel free to email me directly at Angie@AngieSeamanPhotography.com. This will be the LAST CLASS OFFERED AT THIS PRICE. I'm planning to do some different things for the new year ahead. Therefore, should you want in on this price, now is your chance. All of our past classes have sold out. Don't wait...we'd love to have you.
This is "C" man. I had a shoot with him a couple of months back and am way behind in getting his and other sessions up and posted here on my blog. Either way, "C" man was lots of fun. I've included a few images from our session together. The camera loved him. His Mom is a fellow photographer so he knew EXACTLY what to do in front of the camera. I had a ball with their family.
I honestly didn't have to tell him to do anything. His Mom was there helping him along but for the most part, he was a seasoned pro in front of the lens. It helps when there is a bit of bribery involved for some new lego sets as well. Ha ha!
Like his brother and sister, he has gorgeous eyes. Mom look out...the girls will be ringing your phone off the hook very soon. Wink wink! :-)
I loved his attire as well. Photography sessions depend so much on the clothing choices for the shoot. His Mom, being a photographer, knew exactly how to pull off "the look." As you all know, I love the beach and C-mans clothing ensemble reminded me of the perfect walk on a beach at sunset. He made me want to grab my suntan oil, my flip flops, and a beach towel like ASAP!
Speaking of the beach, I'll be back in the Naples, Florida area come November 22nd. Should you have a need for a beach session or an urban session around the Naples, Bonita Springs, Ft. Myers, Sanibel Island, or Cape Coral areas...look me up. I'd love to work with your family in photographing some images for your perfect holiday card this season.
Do you hear them? They are calling for us. Our beach B/F/F's.
Yes, it is time for another photo shoot. They are holding our spot as always.
Only 10 days to go and counting down...
We are ready for that salty breeze to tickle the skin. We must obey its call. As cottage style says..."We are going to roll up our pant legs, slip on a pair of shades, and trek barefoot through the warm sand. Like a stroll in the surf, the serene haven of the beach and all its glory are guaranteed to satisfy."
