Chuck E.

We wore our costumes again for a costume birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. I shouldn't say "we" because adding a tiara to your street clothes isn't much of a costume. For a second day in a row, LV was Indiana Jones and Scrappy was Padme from The Clone Wars. LV suggested I wear a sweater vest and be him. Then we decided that was weird. Instead, I tried to dress like one of the archeology students in Raiders of the Lost Ark--a cute dress, Mary Janes, and "Love You" written on my eyelids. No one knew I was in a costume. Maybe I should have gone with the tiara.

Halloween

Trick-or-treating was more fun this year because we'd lived in the neighborhood for more than a week. We didn't have to worry if we were going to get lost.

Halloween in general was also more fun because I could torture the cat--dressing him as a pumpkin for Scrappy's school parade. He was a good sport.

Another Reason to Move

While I was celebrating the newly instituted Tiara Tuesdays, my landlord was getting the garage cleared out. All that good stuff that I had models posing with is now gone. How boring.

Seriously?

Thanks, SI, for proving once again what a jinx your cover choice can be... The party was quickly over after that cover. I found these today while cleaning. It was nice (?) to see that no one from these covers is in the World Series.

Tasty

The shoot ended rather early (I consider anything before 6 p.m. to be early), so there was plenty of time to let the cats out and watch them entertain themselves. Streaky found a big fat fly to eat. I have no idea where the fly came from. Or, for that matter, the bumble bee the cats were chasing before the fly.

More Abstract

I saw an ad on craigslist for a web designer/photographer. Trying to swap web designing for group shots didn't prove to work out previously, so this time I offered to photograph what they needed in exchange for what I needed. Not until the morning before the shoot did the idea really strike me for how to anchor the shoot. I wanted something more emotive than what I had, but "anxiety" and "happy" were just too vague. I wanted something specific. I decided to pull the more interesting announcements from my Facebook account. The picture above is "[Name] cannot wake up. :("

This is a picture LV, my lovely assistant, took of me taking a picture of "[Name] wants to bury her head in the sand and not wake up until 2009." LV's not into the absurd, so it really wasn't his cup of tea. I am his cup of tea, though, so he bared down, made nice with all the pigeons on the roof, and was a great assistant.

This wasn't really part of the series. More just to make use of the sunset and a group shot.

Flash Pop Bang

A model I previously shot referred another model to me. It was really great to have a paid shoot, but that didn't really put any cash in my pocket. On the last look, the flash stopped triggering. Model lights, good. Flash, no go.

Meanwhile, though, I did learn how to change the flash tube when I finally plugged in the third light I never use.

Fuzzy Little Pumpkin

LV hates clothes for pets, but, when I said I wanted to get a little puffy jack-'o-lantern costume for Streaky, he was game. Streaky on the other hand... At least he didn't try to take it off right away.

When One Isn't Enough...

We haven't had side-by-side TVs in the living room since we moved in two years ago, but, when the final game at Yankees Stadium was going to be played at the same time as the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, it was time to roll out another TV with rabbit ears.

Family Affair

"Fill the frame" is the most basic advice given to anyone who wants to take a good picture, but I wasn't about to compete with this crowd for pictures at the Christening. I like the story my picture tells.

On the Wall

Scrappy had no idea her art would be displayed in an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum until five minutes before we left for the opening gala. We had the postcard on the refrigerator and I'm sure it must have been mentioned in class, but Scrappy was still shocked to see her work displayed. Then she went looking for the chips and cookies.

A Lot of Shoting...

...means a lot of iced coffee and bruises.

The best part of shooting so much in one week? Always having iced coffee ready in the fridge. The worst part of shooting so much in one week? Carrying so much equipment every day. I have bruises all down my every limb and big crazy bruise on my hip from lugging a 30-pound strobe kit.

Beautiful Lighting

We went to see Gavin DeGraw again. This time we hung further in the back and upstairs--it wasn't as hot or stuffy, therefore I did not feel like passing out. Being upstairs also meant I had a great view of people using built-in flashes too far away from the stage. (See examples below.)

I'm such a snob, huh?

The opening act included an electric mandolin. I did not think I would ever pay to see someone play the electric mandolin...

Back to School

First day of a new school year? Time to break out matching sweater vests... Although Scrappy was super nervous about her first day of third grade, it seems like God and Streaky are there to shower her with support.

Super Cute, Super Fast

More art direction from LV...

This is me and the designer, Alison from Project Runway Season 3, hustling to get through 14 looks. Without her knowing exactly what she likes and having two great models from Race Management, I'm not sure how long this shoot might have taken. Our call time was 10 a.m. and just about everyone got lost. So we started around 11 a.m. and still finished by 4:30 p.m.

Then, completely unprecedented, people stayed to hang out after the shoot.

It was a good shoot.

If only he could do the dishes...

I mean, as long as he's up there...

Something Needs to Change

I didn't like finding LV's drawing materials on my vanity. The whole reason I had cleared off the vanity was so that I could use it as a vanity. But he took that as opportunity to stack up comic boards and rulers and pencils on surface *and* the stool. Something had to change.

We have two kinds of walls in our apartment: those that are impervious to drills (ask the DirecTV guy who ruined his drill) and those that can't support more than a nail. Shelves are out of the question unless they are part of a bookcase. But I was determined to make the office better. Or at least find a new home for all of LV's drawing materials.

The idea didn't hit me until after I had streamlined every other shelf in the apartment. (We have sooo much clutter. "So much" = Christmas cards LV bought and then lost track of among all the books and receipts and action figures on one particular shelf.) When LV came home, he was slightly freaked out that furniture had moved and his toys all had new homes. I had asked him if I could throw out all the receipts, so he knew something was going to be different.

"Where's Venom?"

"With the second shelf of comic-based DVDS."

After he located everyone, I showed him what had happened to the folding table:

He now had a dumping ground for drawing materials that he could also clear off and actually use for drawing. He was excited.

Can't Hardly Wait

Some might say, "Another Star Wars movie?" Not my family. They say, "Another Star Wars movie!" And then make masks to really get into the spirit.

Sweet

I've nearly paid for the macro lens with all the work I've spent illustrating for these pet food labels. LV comped up cans with the final versions of every design, and then I shot them for the presentation. (A good time to have that macro lens on hand...) LV took this picture of me (under the umbrella) struggling to figure out how to light shiny cans. I'd like to think it didn't take me *that* long to pull out an old milk jug and turn it into a reflective tent. Not quite the pretty blown out white backgrounds I had with my models.

Not Quite the Same

We went to the IMAX to see the Hannah Montana concert in 3-D, but somehow it was still a big deal to sit down and watch it again on TV at home.