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My Photography Manifesto

May 30, 2013 by Lucrecer 8 Comments

The camera is a tool. It sees light. You see the subject.

The more you practice, the better your eye will develop.

Your vision is what makes your images unique. Trust what you see.

Imitation is flattering, but developing your own style is the most flattering thing you can do for yourself.

Equipment does not make you a better photographer. Telling stories with your images does.

Be your own zoom lens. Primes are the way to go.

When you think you are close enough to take someone’s portrait, take two steps forward. Get closer.

Shoot with film occassionally. It makes you slow down and practice the craft of photography.

Don’t miss the moment trying to compose the shot perfect. Capture the moment, damn it!

Filed Under: Photo Life Tagged With: brownie, camera, capture, develop your eye, digital, equipment, film, focus, imitation, manifesto, photography, portrait, starlet camera, tool, vintage, vision, zoom

Getting results with REVOLT, Week 2 Update

May 12, 2013 by Lucrecer 4 Comments

Disclosure: I was given a free membership to Revolt Fitness. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

I just ended the second week of the Revolt Fitness program and I can already see a difference in my stamina and my body. I have also come to the realization that the weight you see on a scale is not an accurate representation of the transformation your body is going through. The workouts have been instrumental in improving my moods and focus. Those days when I don’t feel like working out end up being the best days for me. My energy level instantly goes up, I am at peace and I feel good in general.

Today, Sunday, is prep day, which means I am preparing all of my large meals for the week. This part of the Revolt program has been great. Nichole supplies recipes and approved foods, as well as menus for the week. Typically, you eat from the same menu for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks each week. The menu changes weekly, as do the exercises. What does not change is that you get results.

I am not noticing much change on the scale, but I am definitely noticing changes when I take my weekly body fat measurements. Using calipers to check my real results is ten times more reliable than a scale. I have seen people get instantly discouraged by the numbers they see on a scale and they end up sabotaging themselves as a result. What the scale does not reveal is that muscle weighs more than fat and there is an exchange going on when you are transforming your body with clean eating and exercise.

So, I am sticking to the program, eating clean and enjoying the daily soreness I am experiencing. I know what I am working for and I know how to get the results. Knowing is half the battle, right?!

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: dumbbells, energy, exercise, fitness, focus, health, HIIT, kettle bell, meals, menus, Nichole Huntsman, program, recipes, results, Revolt, stamina, transformation, update, weights, Working out

If You Don’t Rest Now, You May Be Dead Later

April 12, 2013 by Lucrecer 4 Comments

My last post about breaking down resonated with a few people this week. A friend contacted me privately to say this was something she needed to read and thanked me for being so transparent. Another said she was going through a similar situation and she thought she was alone. I want to make it clear, there was not one single thing that contributed to my body giving out on me last week, it was multiple things. A lack of sleep, no time to recover from long periods of work and activities, trying to bring extra money into my household and raising three children as a single mother takes its toll on the body both mentally and physically. I was lying whenever I was asked how I was doing. I gave the standard, expected answer of, “I’m fine,” because when it comes down to it, most people really don’t care how you are doing. It is one of those questions not meant to be answered…truthfully.

We need to give each other permission to not have to lie.

We need to stop making people feel like they are not team players when they put themselves, their health or their family first. What has happened to respecting a person’t boundaries? I understand obligations and I believe in being true to what you have committed to doing, but I also believe we have become so busy being busy, people no longer know how to disconnect and reconnect with their family or themselves.

Sucking it up does not make you stronger.

While I was experiencing all that pain last week, I thought about pushing through it. I thought about sucking it up and going into work and denying I felt as bad as I did. Then, I thought about my kids and what would happen to them if I allowed stress to take me out. Nothing is worth losing your health over. And, we can not preach being healthy to our children when we are not being healthy.

Make restoration a priority in your life.

We are more than we seem. We are human. We require rest, stimulation, challenge and love to be whole beings. Promise me this, you will take time in the next week to disconnect and just be. Spend time with people who are important to you. Tell a family member, a friend or a co-worker you appreciate them. Do not assume they know. You tell them!

Question: What is the one thing you are going to do today to reconnect with yourself and someone who is important to you?

Filed Under: Writer's Life Tagged With: be kind, challenge, children, commitments, focus, grateful, health, permission, priorities, reconnct, rest, restoration, sharing, stress, support, you are more than you seem

You Want a Breakthrough? Have a Breakdown

April 9, 2013 by Lucrecer 15 Comments

Last week, I had a breakdown. I experienced the worst back pain and headache I have had in years. My body revolted against me in agony and taught me a lesson. This is what I learned from this:

I am Human.

As a human, I require rest, both mentally and physically. When I come home from my day job, I move right into my main job of being a mother and taking care of my kids and household. Unfortunately, there are days I feel like I am not giving my kids my best. Instead, they receive what is left of me and I have a problem with that. I am frequently exhausted and so burned out, it depresses me. This has lead me to:

Get My Priorities Straight.

I don’t know about you, but quality of life for me is not constantly being so busy you can barely breath. My children are my top priority. Period. Telling them that is not good enough, I have to show my children they are important by giving them my time and attention. Secondly, my health is important to me, but I have not giving this priority standing in my life like I want to. It’s no wonder I had two days of pain, but now I understand that:

Breakdowns can be a Blessing.

The first day of my body’s mutiny, I was conversing with a friend about our dreams and goals for life. She and I touch base a few times during the week to encourage each other. She told me to have the breakdown and to let it come so I could rebuild. She told me to find the blessing in this and realize that my breakthrough was on the way. When you are in the midst of your mess, you don’t always see the blessing. She reminded me that I needed to rest, focus and realign. Now, I know I have to:

Focus and Wait for the Harvest.

Another friend called me this weekend to see how I was doing and mentioned what a challenge it is to wait. Waiting is not easy. It can be downright hard, but while we wait, we can choose how we act. One way of looking at waiting is like this: I planted a bunch of heirloom tomatoes last year and I checked them every day for signs of fruit. It took months before the plants flowered and another few months before fruit appeared. What I did not see was all the growth going on in the dirt. In order to hold up this huge plant and eventually support the fruit, the root system had to be established first. My harvest would not have been plentiful if I did not wait. Not even MiracleGro could make the plants produce fruit faster. I simply had to wait and while I was waiting, I grew more and more excited about the anticipation of fruit. Isn’t this a lot like life?

No matter how much we want something to happen faster, it will happen in its own time and in the meantime, we can choose to have a good disposition while waiting for our breakthrough.

Question for you: What have you found yourself waiting for that was worth it and would you change anything about the process?

Filed Under: Writer's Life Tagged With: blessing, breakdown, breakthrough, children, focus, harvest, mental health, physical health, priorities, rest, restoration, waiting

Five Tips for Shooting Better Photographs

January 31, 2013 by Lucrecer 8 Comments

I receive quite a few emails from aspiring photographers asking how they can improve their photographs. While great equipment helps, it does not instantly make you a better shooter. Sometimes, having a camera with all the bells and whistles scares many beginners into using only automatic mode when they take pictures. If you have a clear idea of what you want your pictures to look like and you are willing to experiment, I am sure the following tips will help you become a much improved photographer.

Composition Counts
Take the time to make sure everything in your photo is balanced. You do this by making sure the horizon line is level, using the rule of thirds , cropping out distracting elements and playing with patterns and perspective. The rule of thirds states that an image can be divided into nine equal parts by two equally-spaced horizontal lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines. Where the lines intersect is where you want to align the main subject of your photo. It is believed by following this rule, you create interest and tension in your photo…but rules are meant to be broken, so you don’t have to follow this all the time. In fact, I encourage you to learn the rules, then break them.

Fill the Frame
Filling the frame basically means get closer. If you think you are close enough for your shot, take a big step forward, then and shoot…then move in a couple of more steps and shoot again. I bet you will end up liking the second or third image a lot better because the focus will be on your subject instead of the stuff around your subject. This will dramatically increase the attractiveness and intimacy of your photographs.

Be Selective with Your Focus
Be selective with what you choose to include in your photograph. Traditionally trained as an artist, I was taught to take it all in and include as much detail as possible so the viewer of my drawings would see what I saw. With photography, I find it to be the opposite. Decide what the focus is and remove everything from the frame that detracts from the primary focus of your photo.

I admit I love soft, buttery bokeh. Bokeh is a Japanese term for the subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of a photographic image. If you want to really put the focus on your subject, play with your aperture and blur out the background. The smaller your f-stop number, the blurrier your background will be.

K.I.S.S. Your Camera Settings
If you primarily shoot in automatic mode, it is time to get a little risky and switch to one of the semi-automatic modes. I primarily shoot in Aperture Priority mode (that whole bokeh thing). It is my favorite. Since I shoot a lot more portraits than stationary objects, I don’t have a lot of time to play around with my settings, but I do like having control over how my photos look. Keeping your settings simple allows you to focus on creating a great picture while controlling how the final image looks.

Just Do It!
Finally, if you really want to improve your photography, the best advice I can give is this…experiment, play and have fun. The great thing about digital photography is you can instantly see what your photo looks like. You can shoot as many pictures as you want without worry about processing rolls of film. Have a sense of adventure and don’t be afraid to try something new. While rules are cool, they are meant to be broken. Master a skill, then find a way to do it better. Some of my best photos have been happy accidents.

I hope these tips help you improve and grow as a photographer. Now go forth and be a photographic rebel!