So, here I am starting something new. I’m almost 48 and feel a little too old to be starting over with something I know nothing about. I have decided to start a travel podcast. It’s called Tourist in Your Town. Head over to the website and check it out.
I know nothing about audio recording or editing. But I guess I’ll learn. I thought this might be a good thing for me to try. I love to travel and I love to talk about it. So, it seems a logical step for me.
I have 2 episodes out now and am having a great time with it! Give it a listen!
After school, I got a job that offered
the opportunity to learn Photoshop. This was back in the early days
of digital life. I started on Photoshop 2.0. There were no layers and
you only go 1 undo. So, we would just save several different versions
of the file, in case we screwed up or changed our minds. I did that
job for several years. Then moved on to a job that allowed me to
learn other programs, like Quark Express. Remember that? I was a pro
at it. But I had an early midlife crisis (early 30s) and decided
that I needed to work with animals. So, I quit my steady job and
entered the world of animal rescue.
Wild Whiskers
Animal rescue is a rabbit hole that
sucks you in. It’s a depressing world where you just want to scream
and cry all the time. But there are those rewarding moments when you
find that perfect home for a cat or dog or rabbit. If you are really
lucky, that home isn’t your own. Yes, we have saved many. Some of
them even went to live with someone else. But it didn’t take long for
me to realize I needed a real job, making real money. Also, I got
fired and had to move on (a story for another day).
The New York Times
I got an easy job where I just used
Photoshop again. I was making great money doing it, too. Sure, I
worked nights and weekends and holidays. But I was fine there. I had
few issues with it. I had zero ambition and was fine being a
Photoshop grunt for the rest of my days. Then, the shit hit the fan
as they say. It was the newspaper business. If you’ve been paying
attention, this world crumbled into a chasm of layoffs and mass
exodus when the recession hit. Newspapers were still making money and
profits. But they panicked and began lay people off in droves. I was
not one of those people. Instead, I was left behind. My workplace was
now bitter and everyone was terrified of showing up to work and the
doors would be locked. Nobody was happy. I could not stand it
anymore, so I decided I needed to move on. Maybe this was where I
screwed up.
Fall up the stairs
This is when I got my “dream” job.
There has never been a job more suited to a person than this job was
for me. It was for a company that made pet products. My job would be
to retouch the photos for packaging, advertising, etc. And do some
product photography while coordinating lifestyle photo shoots. Of
course, I had never coordinated anything in my life and had zero
experience with product photography. But my Photoshop skills got me
the job. After six months on the job, my ambition woke up and I
wanted to be a photographer. I wanted to be the one taking the photos
of the animals with the products. So, I started learning and doing.
Life was good. Zoom forward to more recent times (2 years ago) and
find me not so happy any more. Budget cuts made things difficult
because we couldn’t get equipment or locations like we had
previously. Also, even though I was now doing all the shooting, I was
also doing the coordinating. I needed help. Cut to almost a year ago,
I got fired. I was told my position was being cut. They no longer
needed me. The real kicker? Two weeks later, they posted my job on
the job sites.
Not so perfect fit
So what now? A dream I didn’t know I
had has been destroyed. I was left hanging. I thought I would start
my own business doing freelance commercial work. I thought I was
ready. But, turns out, I don’t trust myself. I took the first job
that came along. It’s a fine job. I now do product photography for a
local restaurant supply company. I’m a grunt. Benefits aren’t great
and I’m bored out of my mind already.
Thus the point of this whole thing.
Where do I go from here? Do I rebury my ambition for more? Just
squash down and accept my fate? Yes, I’ve tried looking for other
jobs. But there aren’t very many photo careers available in my area.
I could move, but my family is not ready for that at this time. And I
really do like where I live. There it is in a nutshell. Stuck. In a
hole of my own making.
I’m a 40+, closer to the just under 50 group actually and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. I see young people, in their 20s and 30s, who know exactly what they want to do with their lives. They have a plan and they are following it. It can be depressing and frustrating for me to see people so put together when I feel like so lost and unsure. I know there are jokes about midlife crises for men and women. And there is teen angst. But right now, this feels like midlife angst.
Grain Silos somewhere in Illinois
When I first started my “dream job”,
over 6 years ago, there was a young co-worker who got a job offer
from a different company. I could not understand why she would want
to leave such a great place. She seemed happy and on a great career
path there. But she explained that she had a specific plan. She had
always planned to leave and go to this next level, it was just
happening earlier than she expected. I understood it. But I didn’t
“get” it. Because I never had a plan.
Train Station
Well, that’s not true. In college, I
had a plan. I would go to graduate school, get my masters and then
become a tenured professor at a small private college. Lots of people
are laughing at me right now. Go easy on me, at the time, it was not
as pipe dreamy as it is now. Also, it was in Fine Arts, so no need
for a PhD. However, I did not get into grad school. This left me
dangling in the wind and maybe a little scared. But I was young and
thought I’d just get a decent job and try for grad school the next
year. That did not happen.
Roots in bottles
I never tried again for grad school. Once I started working full-time, I got used to having things, like regular food and clothes and a bank account. Going back to school was not in the cards for me. Do I regret that now? Sometimes, but I am definitely NOT going back to school at this point in my life. So, it doesn’t matter, does it?
They say to keep blogs short and sweet, so I will make this midlife angst business a series for you to read over time. The images in this installment were all taken either in college or just after (over 25 years ago).
I recently went through my photos from Cuba. When I originally sorted and worked my images from that trip, I did not find these interesting. Or they didn’t represent what I was feeling at the time. I have to admit I don’t remember. But on the revisit, I fell in love with Cuba all over again. Enjoy these “new” images!
Rural Cuba
Images from a trip through the countryside. We visited a baseball team, a historic coffee plantation and farm restaurant.
A man feeds the chickens at a farm restaurant in rural Cuba
The El Curujey restaurant is a farm restaurant in rural Cuba
The entrance to the bleachers of a baseball field in rural Cuba.
Coffee Flats for drying coffee beans
Urban Cuba
I found myself fascinated with many different styles of architecture, including Art Deco, Colonial, and Spanish. They would often all be on the same building.
The Santa Clara Libra hotel in Santa Clara, Cuba
Iglesia de Santa Ana Church facade in Trinidad, Cuba
Art Deco style architecture is evident in many of the urban areas
Two people sit at a small table, waiting for the day’s crowds to appear.
A street scene from urban Cuba
Street scene in urban Cuba
I hope you enjoy these images from Cuba as much as I enjoyed taking them! Prints are available of these and other photos from Cuba here.
As a person who lives in a place with little to no public transportation options, subways fascinate me. I have to admit that I find them a bit confusing sometimes. Take the blue line to the yellow line, then go to the green line, then back to the blue line. When I was in New York, I bought a metro pass intending to use the subway more than I actually did. However, there was construction going on and trying to figure out what detours and where was more than I wanted to do. So, I walked just about everywhere. I would leave extra early and stop for a snack or a beer when I got tired. It did give me the opportunity to take lots of pics. Anyway, here are some pics from the little bit that I did spend in the subway.
I feel like this person may have been on the wrong platform. Everybody was standing on my side of the platform. But there was this lone person way across the tracks. Maybe he was waiting for someone. But it adds a little mystery to this photo. It is definitely one of my favorites from the trip.
Waiting for the train at Penn Station
The mosaics in the subway were a favorite subject. Everybody around me was ignoring them and fighting their way out of the station. Don’t worry, I didn’t hold anybody up when taking these photos!
The platform at Penn StationThe platform at Penn StationAt Wall Street Station
And sometimes the entrance to the station is just as cool. This is the Bowling Green station entrance. The head house was constructed in 1905. Look at that clock! You know I love street clocks and interesting doorways. This station entrance has it all!
The exterior of Bowling Green Station
Always be patient when traveling. Sometimes plans change, but you can make that work for yourself. Leave early, take your time, and have fun!
I grew up in Danville, Kentucky. Danville is located in central Kentucky, south of Lexington. It’s a small town loaded with history. Of course, growing up, I never paid attention to any of these things. Now, when I go back to visit family, I can’t help but seek these places out. I want to share with you some of the historic places and the places that hold meaning.
Constitution Square
Constitution Square Historic Site was the birthplace of Kentucky’s statehood. The site originally had a meeting house, jail, and courthouse. The cabins currently on the site are replicas of the originals.
Ephraim McDowell House
McDowell House Museum was home of the “the father of ovariotomy”. McDowell was the first to person to successfully remove an ovarian tumor. The story is fascinating. I recommend reading about it. Visit their website for more info.
A shelf full of McDowell’s potions.
Burke’s Bakery
While not technically a historic site, it’s definitely a landmark. Burke’s opened in the 1970s and is still going strong. With donuts, pastries, cakes, pies, cookies, and more, there is sure to something to make everyone happy. I’m a big fan of the gingerbread men. My mouth is watering just thinking of them.
The sign for Burke’s Bakery and Delicatessen
Courthouse
The courthouse was finished in 1862. The Italianate style building was erected to replace the original courthouse, which burned down. The large clock tower can be seen from just about every angle in town.
The courthouse in downtown Danville, KY.
Danville Office Equipment
Another local landmark, Danville Office Equipment has been in it’s current location since 1975. They sell everything from pens to computers. They also have a service department that started out repairing old typewriters, but now offer service for copiers and printers. My father worked here for over 40 years. I worked there for several years myself.
Danville Office Equipment on Main Street
I have been to many small towns in the south. See my Tuesday Trekkin’ blog for just a few of them. Danville is one of the few that still maintains that active hometown feel. Many towns are empty with closed up and shuttered shops and restaurants. It’s great to see a small town maintaining a vibrant, active downtown.
I run a weekly photography challenge group and this week’s challenge is wrist jewelry photography. Things have been a bit crazy for me, so I had to whip an image out fast. I like to use an example for people to see, so I had to have something. I found this old bracelet and did some experimenting with it.
Our Wisteria bush is blooming like crazy this year, so I thought I would use it as a background. I originally planned on just taking photos of the bracelet. But thought I’d do a quick pic with it on my arm.
This is the original image, before any work.I applied a filterThe bracelet before I added the purple colorThe stones are now purple and really stand out.
In order to change the color of the stones, I used hue/saturation in Photoshop. The color desaturation is done using a black and white layer with masks.
Feel free to share your own wrist jewelry images in the comments or share your link!
For me, photography is about catching a moment. That moment can be a backlit street scene or twin church towers silhouetted by a setting sun.
2 people take a break at the Capitol Building in Richmond, VA. People walk under the Trefoil Arch in Central Park. The shape of the arch is unique, the backlit people walking through gives it a little extra.The bell towers of Saint Anne’s Church are silhouetted against a setting sun.A man takes a break beside a window in a museum in Cuba.The seahorses on the Grattan Bridge in Dublin, Ireland.
Most photographers love reflections. I am no exception. A great deal of my photos are street photography from cities and small towns. My favorite thing is take photos of window reflections. The images are a mix of what’s inside and what’s outside, giving it a sense of place and time.
Macy’s shop window reflecting tables and chairs in Herald Park.A silver dress with red and orange leaves on the inside. City life on the outsideA colorful tableau in Budapest, featuring a yellow and green phone booth and a well dressed mannequin.The window of Cafe Gerbeaud in Budapest, Hungary
