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!
Sometimes it's great to feel part of something bigger than ourselves... When was the last time you felt like that? Here's another opportunity, that's easier (and more fun!) than you thought....
On Saturday, March 27th at 8:30pm local time, people around the world will be turning of their lights for one hour to send a strong message about their concern for climate change and this lovely jewel of a planet that we all call home. Be part of the fun & join in! (The kids will LOVE it!) :)
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!)
'Tis that time of year again! I'm headed out west where I'll be presenting at this year's WPPI Conference. I am *so* stoked!
If you're a photographer who will be there and want to connect, I'd love to meet you! Here's a bit of what my schedule looks like:
Monday, March 8th: Speaking at the AsukaBook Booth (#1619)@ 3pm
Tuesday, March 9th: Teaching a Master Class @ 11am (sold out!), but you can catch me later in the day at the AsukaBook booth again at 3pm
Thursday, March 11th: You WLL NOT want to miss Photographer's Ignite! 20 mini-presentations in 2 hours. It's going to be a blast! I have some special things up my sleeve for my presentation... if you're planning to attend, let me know (email or twitter message me @kplicanic), I'd love to have you there!
Seriously, come say hello.... It would be so much fun to meet you!
In between all of those fun things, I'll be connecting with photographer friends, colleagues and some of my favorite vendor pals. This industry is all about relationships... and WPPI is a chance to put names to faces, shake hands, say hello and spend some quality time with the rest of the incredible team who (in addition to my fabulous clients!) makes my job so much fun. I can't wait!
What joy. Pure, happy, light on your feet... joy.
Liz & Pepper's wedding was the first on my calendar for 2010.... and it couldn't have been better. Their day was wrapped in an envelope of peaceful calm. Liz, the ever cool & collected bride, appeared to be happily enjoying every minute of her wedding day.
At the end of the night, I gave her dad a hug and told him how happy I was for them... and that I especially loved his toast. He just smiled and said, "It's so easy. When it comes from the heart... it's simple." Word up. :) I think that's why Liz & Pepper's day was such a breeze.... they have been dating for 7-ish years.... and from the looks of it, their hearts were already married. Yesterday's celebration was simply making it official. Everyone knows it's right.... and that confidence inspired the beautiful day that officially began their new wedded adventure.
With a name like Pepper.... you know this is one cool dude. Pepper and 'the guys' played cards in the church basement before the ceremony.... (and taught me some fancy card-playin' vocabulary. I always just smeared the cards around in a pile b/c I can't shuffle to save my life.... but apparently there's a term for that... it's called 'washing.' I feel so official now!)
First look....
L.O.V.E!
How fun is this?
We headed outside so we could make good use of Liz's gorgeous coat. She's had it for years, and it just so happened that it was a perfect match for her dress! Gotta love that.... :)
She also had a pair of fancy wintery gloves to go with it. I love the elegance of winter weddings!
Moments before walking down the aisle, I spotted Liz in the back hall way peeking through the door/window. I couldn't tell for sure if she saw me and was looking at the camera (I was trying to be transparent!).... or past me at Pepper at the front of the church.... but I love this image.
I grew up down the street from Eastridge Presbyterian Church, and after 10+ years of shooting weddings, would you believe this was the first wedding I photographed here? C-razy! The church had a lot of great light and interesting architectural lines. I can't wait to go back! Pastor Jim Crelin, as entertaining as he was enlightening, performed the ceremony.
The flowers and centerpieces were all done by Stem Gallery. They always do such an incredible job!
Liz is so darn gorgeous!
Thank you both, so much for entrusting me with the memories of such an important day. I am truly honored! It was delightful to be part of your families for a day..... best wishes for a fun (and safe!) winter escape to the slopes! :)
It started in the most unlikely (but classicly proven!) of places..... a bar. He liked the odds, she liked the atmosphere. They both liked each other. :)
What started in a neighborhood bar, is preparing to take this lovely duo to a new city--yet to be determined as hopeful job assignments hang in the balance of what is yet to come. What an exciting (but understandably nerveracking) place to be!
I don't know if I can reveal Ben's career aspirations (confidentiality?) but they are exciting to say the least. These two will be hanging on for quite the ride! Luckily, I caught up with them in Omaha for their engagement session on what was a cold, hazy day. They were great sports and happily put up with frozen fingers and cold toes! Thanks guys!
I think this is just plain adorable. Look at how Ben looks at her! Ca-yute!
In front of the bar that started it all... The Green Onion. I {heart} the coy look on Christine's face here!
Great job you two! I'm looking forward to photographing your wedding next fall... it will be here before we know it!
What are you doing tomorrow bright and early? Don't sleep in! Join yours truly and a stellar line up of social media/blogger enthusiasts for a panel discussion on what makes it so darn fun. Hope to see you tomrrow!
Yours truly is proud to have been invited to come speak at the Co-Op Photography Studio, My Studio, in Omaha a week from today! (That's Monday, Feb. 22nd folks!)
I'll be discussing:
Design basics
Intro to Adobe InDesign
Marketing & Social Media (Blogs/Twitter/FB)
Wedding Photography – The Big Picture
I love being part of a community that's rich with great people, talent, innovation and ideas!
Toolulu'sDeb Averett & Christy Nelson recently produced a one-of-a-kind event in downtown Lincoln called "Awesome Camp."
It was a conference of sorts, where everyone was welcome and anyone who wanted to could sign up to present a 20-minute seminar on the topic of their choosing. Topics ranged from kayak water-polo, to wind energy, to book publishing. Very neat!
Yours truly jumped at the chance (are you surprised, really?) and presented "Awesome Photos in 10 Simple Steps" and "Twitter: How Not to Suck at It." Emir got in on the fun as well with a web usability presentation!
Khara Plicanic. Instructor, Photographer, Designer, Advocate. Here you'll find tools, inspiration, and empowerment to help you on your own creative journey.
Time for another 5 mile training run.... have a great week!
