Having a hobby is such a joy. My exploration of new adventures continues with home-made bread making, from scratch.
Ever since reading "In Defense of Food," and watching "Food Inc.," & Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution," I've felt like I have a better understanding of what I'm eating (what it really is) than ever before. Friends with new babies and severe food sensitivities, combined with a vested amount of time spent reading nutrition labels left me looking for alternatives, even for something as simple as bread. I wanted no additives, preservatives or industrial processing. Just simple ingredients that I recognize. (Have you looked at the label of your bread lately? Even what you find in your local grocer's bakery can often make you cringe!) I decided I would make some myself.
So far, I've only made one batch of dough (which yields 4 x 1lb loaves)... and it's been so much fun! Anyone who knows me well can tell you I am not a cook (my mom will gladly tell you all the horror stories I've generated in the kitchen starting at a very young age). And a baker? That's even more of a stretch! But if I can do it, so can you! This recipe has 5 ingredients, including water. (Whole wheat flour, yeast, salt, vital wheat gluten &.... water). I sprinkled the top with sesame and ground flax seeds. YUM!
I baked this loaf up this morning, and it's been the best yet. They say that the longer the dough sits in the refrigerator, the more intense the flavor. I guess tomorrow's loaf will be even better! I'm going to explore a different technique for shaping it and see what happens.... time to start getting fancy. :)
In the meantime, I ate the entire loaf.... by myself.... in one day. I blame it on Sunday's half-marathon. :)
PS: No breadmaker or fancy tools required (except maybe a baking stone). And, once you make up the dough, you can store it in your fridge for up to 14 days (yes... the book explains it all). So, making a loaf takes 5 minutes of "work" time. Once the dough is 'rested,' you pop it in the oven and 30 minutes (and one yummy smelling house) later, you can dive in!
What an adventure! My training for the half-marathon began on Jan. 7th with the Marathon Training Class from the Ann Ringlein at the Lincoln Running Company. The first night of class I was completely clueless and had questions like, "Where do I run? How do I know how far I've gone?" Some were very practical ones like, "Where do I put my keys?" After getting a grip on the basics... I was ready to roll with it. My training plan was 17 weeks long and included 82 runs totaling 351 miles. I did every single one of them, with gusto.
The result was an overall pace improvement of more than 3 minutes/mile (compared to some paces I ran early on in my training) and a finishing time for the race that made me happy (despite the included time for a bathroom pit-stop.... mother nature cannot be bossed around!). Goal for next year: no bathroom breaks and a further improved pace that reflects that fact. :) Oh yeah, and I lost about 20 lbs!
Race day itself was a ton of fun and went something like this:
6:30 am: Emir drops me off for a meet up with my Marathon Class.
6:40 am: We head to the line-up area.
6:41 am: I realize that I forgot to give my jacket to Emir and spend a ridiculous amount of time/energy trying to decide what to do with it. I didn't bring my race bag to leave on the bag truck so.... I decide to hide it behind a bush and hope it will still be there after the race.
6:50 am: Hmmm... still trying to decide which pace to line-up with. I registered with a pace that I've since greatly improved upon.... but... not sure what to expect from myself when crossing through the starting line and don't want to get run-over or be in other people's way....
6:57 am: I run into a friend (Jennifer!) and chit-chat while the guns go off and we move our way through to the start (I'm still wondering if I lined up in an appropriate spot).
7:17 am: My turn to cross the start line.... Ready, Set, Go!
Mile 1: Wow! I've actually not been run over yet! Even doing quite a bit of passing... and am totally surprised by that. Someone shouts my name from the sea of spectators.... I flash them a smile and a wave. What fun! I see mom and dad along 16th street... This is also their first marathon experience (even as spectators). Glad I spotted them! They seemed to be enjoying watching so far.
Mile 2: We turn onto South Street. Surprised we got there already.... So far, so good!
Mile 3: Water station! We turn onto Sheridan Blvd., one of my favorite streets in the city.
Mile 4: So fun to see all the families with little kids hanging out and watching what must seem like a parade...
Mile 5: Seriously? 48th street already? I convince myself that I must surely be on my way to some sort of world record time.... Boston qualifying perhaps? (Just kidding!) Another beloved water station. I see my friend Michelle's mom and sister... I think I surprised them when I spotted them first. Ha!
Mile 6: We turn onto Hwy 2 and the bike path headed west. It's gorgeous out! I cheer on the people around me while pressing ahead.
Mile 7: I see my old friend Kirk along the side of the path, whom I haven't seen since 'running' into him at the gym the morning Emir and I got engaged over 4 years ago! (Lame pun, cut me some slack, will ya? :)
Mile 8: Water! I see Rena on the route... Is she on a bike? She's cheering me on!
Mile 9: We turn onto 20th street... I spot several groups of friends cheering me on & notice some gorgeous homes I don't remember seeing before... may have to drive this with Emir later...
Mile 10: Finally! A porta-potty without a waiting line... eureeka!
Mile 11: A straight shot ahead is the finish line. I hear my name and turn to see Katie cheering me on!
Mile 12: Last water station... Trying my best to pep up the runners around me... "Hang in!" I tell them... "We're almost there!"
Mile 13: Entering the stadium to finish on the Husker's 50 yard line, I spot my parents again... just inside the entrance. I shout, "Love you!" and barrel full-steam ahead towards the finish!
Emir had told me he wanted to take photos of the race, so I had no clue where or if I would see him along the route.... but knew he'd be at the stadium for my finish. I caught up with him just after I exited and gave him a triumphant hug.
PS: My jacket was still waiting for me behind the bush where I left it. :)
Here are just a small hand-ful of Emir's photos. This is the starting line (obviously).
Emir caught this shot of Sammy Rotich as he finished the half-marathon in first place. His official finishing time was 1:06.32 with a pace of 5:05. Amazing!
All the different athletes have so many stories... to freeze them in an image can say so much in terms of commitment, perseverance and determination. I enjoyed this image Emir caught of Jason Kerkman approaching the finish line.
One of the perks of finishing at Memorial Stadium is the jumbo tron! It featured a split screen... the left showing the finish line, and the right showing runners as they approach the stadium.
Here's yours truly making a bee line to the finish!
After hugging Emir and catching up with my parents... I was anxious to sit with my feet up and stretch a bit. Emir captured the moment when my dad asked to take a photo with me and my medal. :) It's been years since I've participated in a sport where I brought home one of those. (Not since high school) Ok, that makes me feel old... ha!
(If you're wondering about my choice of music, it was an ecclectic mix featuring everything from Michael Jackson, Jason Mraz and Tom Petty to a wide array of international artists. I ran with one ear bud in and the other decidedly not. I loved hearing the other runners and the people cheering along the route... so for me, this was the perfect combo of music and ambient soundtrack.)
So, I think I'm officially addicted. Trying to decide what my next running goal/event will be. I like the idea of using marathons as an excuse to travel.... and Emir has recently started running with me.... so.... looks like the fun will be continuing... and I am pumped!
It's here!
By the time this post goes live, I'll be in the middle of my first half-marathon! To say that I am excited would be a grotesque understatement... I am seriously PUMPED! I was never a runner before I started training this January... and now.... I'm cranking out 13.1 miles and loving every second of it. I can't wait!
More after the race! For now, enjoy these photos Emir shot from yesterday morning's run.
PS: If you're looking for Jessica & Brett's wedding photos... they will be up on Monday! :)
Just before leaving town last Friday for Michelle & Matt's love shoot in Denver, I felt compelled to capture some of the joys of our yard in spring. Lilac bushes, an apple tree, our deck and some tulips. One of these years I plan to learn a lot more about gardening.... but for now, even if I don't have a green thumb, I can still appreciate this gorgeousness!
Then.... there's Merki. For some reason, Emka never has a hair out of place... but Merki.... is a completely different story. Her knots got to the point where petting her seemed like it hurt more than it comforted... so I called up the groomer and took her in for her annual buzz cut (never really a pretty sight, it's obvious we don't groom her for aesthetic reasons... lol!). She doesn't seem phased as she looks out the window... such a little stinker!
I hope wherever it is that you find yourself this spring, that you're enjoying it!
So I've been on a journey lately. Not the kind that involves an airplane, TSA lines, or over stuffed suitcases... but rather, a journey of ideas and education, which can be, in its own way, just as exciting as a travel adventure!
Since starting my half-marathon training, I've had a growing interest in improving my overall health. Exploring more about what that means, I eventually discovered Michael Pollan's book, "In Defense of Food." I just finished reading it and am surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. I mean, I love to read.... but for some reason, his book was extremely compelling. It just seems to... make sense. His main point being that we need to quit eating processed 'food like substances' and instead, eat more real,actual food (old skool style, before it all began appearing in boxes....).
At first, this seemed like an overwhelming challenge. It means having to.... you know, cook. (Not just take things out of a box and toss them in the microwave.) This freaked me out for two reasons: 1) I don't know anything about cooking 2) my schedule is crazy, how am I supposed to make time to do something I'm so terrible at?
Well.... I got over it.
I realized that if I can't make time for my health now (and forever), I'd be in big trouble later. Who was I kidding!?
So, I've been cooking up a storm and so far... I haven't blown the place up! :) We've been enjoying whole-grain breads including pumpernickel and dark rye (and as soon as my new cook-book gets here, we'll be baking our own whole-grain artisan breads! Yummo!)
I've familiarized myself with Open Harvest where I can buy unrefined grains like quinoa and locally produced treasures like honey (in refillable containers!).
Buckwheat pancakes with pure, 100% real maple syrup have begun making a regular appearance on our kitchen table on the weekends. We kicked all artificial sweeteners and refined sugars to the curb (when was the last time you tasted real maple syrup? Incredible!).
I finished the last few chapters of "In Defense of Food" under the shade of our apple tree on a recent sunny day. :)
While soaking up the sun (and the book) I spotted this little guy. Isn't he cute? I bet the view is pretty great from up there!
One of the things that I've realized is.... the only way to really know what you're eating is to educate yourself. So, if you want to learn more about eating better and how it can affect your health, I can't say enough about the book. For the whole family, I also recommend checking out Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, an incredible series with the goal of improving the way we eat. The season finale just wrapped with a total of 6 episodes. Each one broken down into four 10-minute clips available on YouTube.
I can't believe my baby brother is so.... grown up. He was the kid who never wore normal clothes.... it was super hero costumes only. He had the most incredible golden curls that flopped around his face in the summers and though he may not care to admit it now.... he was my little buddy. With dad at work and mom knee deep in her P.h.D. program, I was the oldest of all four of the kids, and was happy to embrace the role of big sis... taking it very seriously. :) He was my little brother, after all!
He and Jamie have been together forever, and this summer... they are officially tying the knot. Both students, if they're not in class (or running to/from), they can usual be found studying. Jamie just switched to early childhood education, and Nick is pre-med. Over the years, I've repeatedly teased Nick that he is sooooo much like me (much to his everlasting frustration....) but, as he's getting older.... I like to think (and hope!) that I am also much like him in the sense that he is incredibly self-disciplined, focused... and capable of anything he puts his mind to. :)
His razor sharp focus at the moment is set on working his butt off to prepare for his upcoming MCAT exam. When I say 'butt off,' I mean.... the kid studies like nobody's business. His practice exams have scored him as high as 41 (he's already in the top 1%, and hasn't even taken the real test yet!). On top of rockin' grades, a killer study regimen, and of course, his ongoing dedication to his workouts (he has been obsessed with the study of physical fitness since he was about 12).... he is also a proud papa of little Cole... who will make an appearance as the 'best man' in the wedding this July.
And all of that makes me one proud big sister. :)
He and Jamie are quite the team. The support I see from Jamie towards them as a family and especially towards Nick is inspirational. They are simply adorable to watch... as the pictures show. :)
Of course Cole was with us for our shoot..... How could we not bring him??? Look at that face!!!!
I love this shot. Jamie has morphed into the role of 'mom' with such grace.... she just looks so classically elegant here... even while Col-e jumps on her. :)
I love the old Coke bottle here... (no, he's not really drinking it!)
With the 2010 season on my heels, I thought I'd take a quick break from wedding photography for a few short days to pop over to the windy city for something entirely different - a 3-day intensive improv/writing workshop at Chicago's famed Second City. Having never studied improv before, I wasn't sure what to expect... but I was determined to have a good time and explore something that was entirely new to me.
The weather in the city was amazing...
I completely hit a home-run with my hotel choice (this is me in the elevator....)
Two days in this swank spot for $100 (including tax!)? Yes please! Plus, it was located right near the intersection of Grand and Michigan Ave., in the heart of the famed Magnificent Mile (not that I did any shopping.... but... it did make for great window browsing while running to the lake front to put in my requisite mileage every morning!).
I lived in Chicago off/on for roughly 4 years after college, and one of my favorite things about the city is the incredible public transportation. The CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) makes it super easy to get around and even makes use of impressive technology that lets you input your starting/ending locations, then it tells you not only the route/transit connections you need in order to get where you want, but it even tracks the buses/trains telling you when the next one is arriving, and how long it will take you to get to your destination. I was blown away!
Much of Chicago's 'subway' is actually elevated above ground (hence the name the 'el train'). It makes for lots of fun when coming from the airport with a suitcase. :) Good thing I travel so light!
I took advantage of this travel opportunity to test out my new purse/camera bag made by my friend Maile (Relish Portrait Studio). The bags are called 'Epiphanie' bags... and it meant that I didn't have to carry a purse AND a separate camera bag. (Plus, I *love* the color!) I took out the adjustable partition inserts so that there were 3 compartments: one for my camera, one for the 2nd lens I bought, and one for all my 'purse' type stuff.
People watching on the trains...
This young lady, Anika had *the* coolest hair and sunglasses... I mean.... look at her! I felt absolutely compelled to ask if I could shoot a couple shots of her, so with my best "I'm-Not-A-Creep-I-Promise" self-introduction.... she obliged. Turns out she's in a band. As soon as I finish this blog post I'm sending these images to her. :) Thanks Anika!
I think this one is my FAVE!
Second City is in Piper's Alley in Old Town at North & Wells. I love the energy up there.... so much buzz! (Maybe it's from all the Starbucks in the neighborhood.... there's one right inside Second City that is open 24-hours!)
In case you're not familiar with Second City, it's the fertile breeding ground for amazing comedic talents like Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Dan Aykroid, Gilda Radner, etc.... Over the years, many of the stars from Saturday Night Live got their training at the Second City conservatory. Pretty incredible!
This was our home for three days. A simple classroom consisting of wide open space, an L-shaped bench and peppered with a few chairs. Truly a space of limitless potential... it became many different things over the course of the class.
The main messages that I took away from this exploratory 3-day session were in-line with Second City's 'collaborative' philosophy. Our teacher, Nick, taught us that in improv... there are no bad choices. Only choices, and better choices. Every choice that we make is a gift that we give to the other players in the scene with us. It is our duty, as scene collaborators, to accept and honor the choices each other makes. This is done by continually saying 'Yes and...." to each other. Not literally of course, but figuratively. It's kind of like a game of tennis where players serve the ball back and forth to each other all across the court (I'm just guessing... I've never really actually played tennis... but then again, until this week... I had never really studied anything about improv before either!). When another player in the scene makes a choice and tosses the ball back to you.... it's your job to accept their serve (whichever direction it may have gone in), run to it, embrace it.... and send the ball back to keep the game going.
One of my favorite things that I heard Nick say, was that in terms of the creative process, the word 'no' is an act of violent opposition. Kind of like when someone serves you a ball in a game of tennis... and instead of going for it... you just stand there and let it hit the ground. Not much fun, not much of a game.
The players in a scene are all responsible for helping each other out and making choices that support the choices everyone else is making. Nick said, "It's your job to make the other players look good." Sounds like good advice for life in general... don't you think? :)
Our days consisted of a series of 'exercises' where we would explore movement, shape and the transformation of all those things. We were often given a location, and in pairs or groups of three we were asked to bring the scene to life. There were usually some interesting rules/restrictions such as only being able to speak in 1 word sentences, or sometimes not being able to speak at all. One of my favorite exercises was done in pairs with one person pretending to be a poet, reading a poem (whose title was randomly generated by someone else in the class) in a make believe language while the other person served as the interpreter doing their best to give shape and reason to the jibberish and body language the 'poet' was supplying. I was continually blown away by the incredible material that would seem to come from nowhere in only a matter of minutes!
Having just come off of my experience writing the (hopefully) comedic "Uncle Bob" piece, I was really excited for the writing section of the workshop. We learned to explore dialogue, emotion, needs/wants and obstacles to make scenes that carry their own weight.
Of course, when it comes to improv.... there is no writing. You make it up as you go, completely on the spot. It was fascinating to realize that like any art form.... there is a structure that makes it possible. There are principles to learn and techniques to study. (This was very encouraging, as I always just thought that improv professionals simply woke up knowing it all... go figure!) Much of it centers around learning to let go of control and go with the flow. This was probably the hardest part for me as not only am I a total control freak maniac, but I have a very hard time just being 'silly' and doing things that at first glance appear to lack significant purpose. Of course, sometimes, having no purpose... *is* the whole purpose. :)
The other people in the class came from all across the country and even from as far away as Canada. With diverse backgrounds and spanning various age groups, it was an eclectic mix, held together with a thread of common interest in this art form/life skill.
What a great experience. Thank you to all the players for continuing to pass me the ball with a big "Yes and...." :)
As an added bonus, I managed to squeeze in an opportunity to connect with photographer friends Kenny Kim,Kenny Nakai, and Matt & Stevie Savage for an outdoor dinner on a gorgeous Chicago evening. So glad we could make it happen guys!
Saturday marked the completion of my first 10 mile race. When people find out that you're training for a marathon (or half marathon, as in my case), they tend to assume that you are fast. Everyone wants to know what your time was. The minute I got back from the race, the first question I got was, "How'd you do?"
The short answer is, out of 893 runners... yours truly came in 683rd with a time of 1:50:47. I even got beat by a 9 year old and several people over the age of 60 (there's some inspiration for you!). Even the incredible 73 year old runner was only a couple minutes behind me.
But....
It's not about that. My time? That's trivial compared to the fact that I'm well on my way towards accomplishing a goal I've been working on for nearly 3 months. I'm not running to break world records (or even local ones). I'm not running to try and beat that crazy fast 9 year old (though I wouldn't complain if I did.... ;) I'm running to be healthy. I'm running because it's simple and travels well (no gym required!). When you train outdoors as I do, there's a whole new connection to nature, weather patterns and even the city itself that can be pretty cool. I'm really running because.... it's just plain fun and sure beats sitting on the couch.
I've only been 'a runner' since the beginning of January when I was still very skeptical about this whole endeavor. Me? Run? Are you kidding? Growing up, I was a swimmer and a dancer. I avoided running like the plague.
"Soccer? Ummmm.... I'm pretty sure that involves running. No thanks."
"Basketball? Same deal."
"Softball? I'll pass."
So what changed? I suppose that I did. I always loved the fact that in swimming, your only real competition was yourself. I guess I realized it's the same with running. At the beginning, a 2 mile run nearly killed me. Saturday, I ran all 10 miles and though I won't pretend it was a walk in the park.... (it was infact, a run in the park, and the mud, and the rain.....) it was nowhere near as hard as the first 2 miles I started training at. My pace has improved by nearly 2 minutes/mile and... I've dropped nearly 20 lbs. What's not to love about that? :)
This is my muddy glory shot. :)
After the run, we went to celebrate Cole's first birthday. Shamefully.... I didn't bring my camera (which Abuela was quick to point out). But, I still enjoyed watching him devour his birthday cake. I can't believe that little monkey is 1 already. He is pure joy... I just love him so much!
Then it was out for an early dinner and back home to observe earth hour by candlelight.
Time for another 5 mile training run.... have a great week!
It snowed. Again. After a 60 degree day filled with the vitamin d goodness of the sun, it snowed while temperatures plummeted back to below freezing and the weather fairies laughed at us and our newly washed cars (that's Nebraska for ya!).
But, even on a day like this... even after running 10 miles through the icy snow this morning.... I am feeling good. Really good. I've been relishing the time I've carved out to spend nurturing my passions and creativity... and naturally, that feels awesome!
I've been reading up a storm lately which has not only stirred up tons of new ideas for my business.... but has also helped fully embrace and better understand lots of new things that I'm really excited about! Reading is something I love dearly, but it tends to be very labor intensive because I don't just read. Nope. I devour. I read for knowledge. For wisdom. For inspiration, ideas and sometimes... just plain fun. Like a run-away freight train, I dog-ear any and every page that casually mentions something half-way interesting that I might want to follow-up on later. It could be another author I want to check out, or a website I should visit... or simply another book that I may buy while further contributing to amazon.com's global empire. :) These are just a few of the books currently protecting my nightstand from dust.....
The same is true of magazines. They've been piling up on my desk since November (literally... I just learned all about the latest and greatest Thanksgiving recipes), but I recently made my way through about 30lbs. of them. This, of course, means piles and piles of tear sheets that I now have to sort, file and somehow put away for a possible later future reference (who doesn't want to know Martha Stewart's brilliant ideas for dying easter eggs or some random tutorial on the pen tool??????). *sigh*
Through it all... Merki provides plenty of comic relief. After my run this morning, I fixed a big yummy vegetable/pasta lunch, and while I was getting things out of the cupboards, guess who was taking their place.... that's right. Miss Merki. When she was finished hanging out on the bottom shelf, she made a u-turn and cozied up amongst the soup cans on the 2nd shelf. After that, she wanted out. While most cats are content to paw at the door until it opens, Merki literally launches herself at the door... through the air... until she lands atop the lattice where she literally hangs until someone lets her back in. I was able to catch it on camera today.... too funny! I love the look on her face, as if she'll fall to certain death if we don't let her in..... Right this very minute.
It's still daylight... plenty of more reading to do. :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
(If you're looking for the Uncle Bob Ignite video, it's at the end of this post! :) - Enjoy!)
What fun we had again in Vegas this year! We arrived on Sunday, dropped off our bags and immediately checked out the scene at the conference.
Emir came along and was an INCREDIBLE source of support and encouragement. I absolutely enjoyed having him there with me... and don't know what I'd do without him! I love you sweet thing! Here, he solves some last minute IT challenges.... :)
Sunday night, we got cleaned up... (I know, worst camera phone EVER!) and I was surprised to discover that I actually fit into this dress.... Hallelujah! I suppose that all the running has really started to pay off! ha! I'm proud to say that I continued my training by cranking out another 13 miles along the Vegas strip in the wee hours of the morning during the conference. (It was kinda crazy to see people in the casinos at night when we were going to bed, and again in the morning.... still in the same seats at 5:30am the next day when I headed out to run.... I guess they were really having a great time!)
Sunday night meant dinner w/ friends (gasp! no photos!) and surprise tickets from me to Emir for Cirque's LOVE. (Which, is aptly named... as we LOVED it!)
I've been looking forward to teaching my first WPPI Master Class since last year's WPPI.... and was so excited it was finally here! I was bursting at the seams with passion to help fellow photogs be the best they can be. We talked about using Adobe InDesign as part of a regular work flow as well as some basic design principles to really hit the ground running.
Last year, while boldly following my heart down a path that eventually lead to this year's Master Class, I found myself under the supportive wing of this fun fella... Joe. :) He introduced me to the rest of the Rangefinder family and welcomed Emir and I back to Vegas with his hearty grin and a big bear hug. You're the best Joe!
I am eternally grateful to Adobe,AsukaBook (Lindsay... you rock my world!) and Banti Album Proofing for helping to bring this class into existence. Their support made this learning opportunity a reality, and I'm not the only one who was grateful. One quote I received after the fact was from Jake who said: "2 years of WPPI and @kplicanic was hands down my best class yet!" Those simple words made the countless hours of prep, writing, planning (and stressing!) completely worth it. I am THRILLED that everyone seemed to really enjoy it and left better equipped to rock their businesses. Yay!
It was ultra exciting to have Adobe dream team members Julieanne Kost and Allison Goffman sitting in on my session. Truly an honor ladies! Thanks so much for your support!
The icing on the cake was afterwards when we met up with other Adobe conference speakers including Kevin Ames, Jim DiVitale, and Art Suwansang for drinks later that night.
We had a lot of fun... but no fluff here! This class was bursting at the seams with hard-core substance! (Hence, the serious looks of concentration... ;)
Of course, I was up to my usual antics.... (I have no idea what I was illustrating with my wide open arms.... document bleeds perhaps?)
Following my Master Class, I got to visit the great people over at the AsukaBook booth where I did a couple of quick demos explaining how to export from InDesign specifically for AsukaBook. If you've never checked them out.... some seriously great folks over there! Luv you guys!
Me, gettin' my 'Britney' on. (Love the headset mic!)
Ok. So, yes..... that horrible looking man pictured below.... is me (Thanks to Jen Mckendrick for snapping and sending such fun shots!). (Scroll down for the full 5 minute VIDEO)
It was to be the official closing session for the conference and it was suggested that I submit some proposals. So.... submit I did. Perhaps as many as 5? After finishing what I thought was my last proposal idea.... I was brushing my teeth one day when the idea for Uncle Bob came to mind. I ran to the computer, submitted it and quickly went back to brushing my teeth where it dawned on me.... I might actually have to go through with it (costume and all) if it was chosen. Ha!
So.... I began writing...... then editing. Then writing some more. Then, I threw the whole thing out and started over. TWICE.
Write/re-write. Then.... record to test timing. Followed by (are you surprised?) more editing and re-writing.
Eventually, I went thrift-store shopping... not for fun things like shoes or purses.... but for.... "Bob's" clothes.
I roped Emir and my soon to be sister-in-law in on the action and created the imagery for the 20 slides that would auto-advance every 15 seconds for what was to be nothing more (or less!) than a 5 minute presentation. These are a few of my fave slides....
I enjoyed the entire creative process almost as much as the live performance. :) The days leading up to the event were spent twittering on behalf of Uncle Bob (much to the confusion and bewilderment of those he reached out to!). It was a riot to watch people's faces wash over with a smile as I walked through the audience before the show welcoming everyone, shaking hands and telling them how great it was to see them again (since the last wedding they photographed where they surely ran into me.... er..... I mean, Bob!).
One email I found waiting for me upon my return home said: "Hey Khara! Just wanted to say, AWESOME 5 minutes at Photographers Ignite. I really ALMOST did wet my pants!! LOL. Great Job!!" People almost peeing their pants? SCORE! (wow... I continue to be amazed and how truly unattractive I am in this outfit! ha!)
If you want to see the whole 5 minutes for yourself.... check out the video below. :) What you can't see well in the video is the final slide, which brings home the point of the whole presentation. It says: "Don't be Uncle Bob! You just spent a week learning great things from great people. Go forth and put your new found wisdom into action! (Don't be Bob!)
Khara Plicanic
Khara Plicanic. Instructor, Photographer, Designer, Advocate. Here you'll find tools, inspiration, and empowerment to help you on your own creative journey.
I hope wherever it is that you find yourself this spring, that you're enjoying it!
This young lady, Anika had *the* coolest hair and sunglasses... I mean.... look at her! I felt absolutely compelled to ask if I could shoot a couple shots of her, so with my best "I'm-Not-A-Creep-I-Promise" self-introduction.... she obliged. Turns out 
What a great experience. Thank you to all the players for continuing to pass me the ball with a big "Yes and...." :)
Time for another 5 mile training run.... have a great week!
