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Well, of course you.......... ![]() spend days digging out your backyard………. with the help of one hardy neighbor, thanks Nancy Bass. Then you rent a tent, have it delivered and set up by two very nice guys. You offer them lunch and a warm place to stay because their battery ends up being dead when the tent is all set. Hours later, help arrives and they are on their way. Our cars did not have enough juice to get their battery started. We tried. If you ever need to rent a tent, these guys were awesome, friendly and unflappable. What's next? You invite a few friends and neighbors who you know will appreciate your need to fight the winter blues and you set up the tent for an outdoor viewing of what else, Dr. Zhivago. A nice, short, uplifting movie with lots of warm weather scenes to make you feel so toasty while watching it. The excitement builds as the day arrives. Catered food is picked up. Blankets are set out. Food and drink tables are set up. Most importantly, the propane heater and space heaters are turned on ahead of time to warm up the tent. It's a toasty 8 degrees out and headed below zero for tonight. Typical looking cook. At last, the guests are arriving! Even a Bolshevik makes an appearance. The Bolshevik introduces the movie and the first reel (disc) begins. Boy, that Lara sure gets around. Okay, disc one is done. Everyone grabs something, food, drinks, blankets. This was fun, but the second half of the epic will be shown inside after intermission. What a great night! The day after. Time to clean up.
See some added notes below. Last year my husband had the Idea of doing a winter version of our summer movie nights that I have blogged about before. My youngest daughter Sarah bought fur and hand sewed the Bolshevik hat for him for Christmas, so we had to follow through and have Dr. Zhivago night.(A year later) It was sad that it didn't work out that she could come home from Virginia, where she attends college, to join us. Another note: During one of our summer movie nights, a neighbor knocked on our gate. We thought, oh no, we are too loud and he is going to complain. Quite the opposite, he said, "I heard the movie and I just had to come join you, I worked on this movie". The movie was Moon Rise Kingdom and he did all the set dressing for the movie. He told us some pretty cool stuff about the movie and dished some dirt on the actors in it. He is now a regular at our movie nights and always has interesting tidbits to share about the movies that he works on in this area, which there are a lot of. His girlfriend joined us this time, too. We have awesome neighbors!
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Let's take a closer look at the anatomy of a recent photo shoot. I was so happy when a prospective client contacted me about secretly photographing his proposal to his girlfriend. I am sucker for romance and he sounded so excited. We talked on the phone and decided to meet at the spot where he wanted to propose, Christopher Columbus Park in Boston. He and his girlfriend, Jess, have a tradition of going out dinner in the North End every year on Valentine's Day. They have been dating for 7 years. He decided to make this the day to propose in a place that was special for both of them. ( The 2 above pictures are of my daughter, without her permission. She will forgive me. I thought they were cute illustrations of the text. She is as goofy, if not more goofy, than I am.) This is Christopher Columbus Park where Nick and I met to talk about the proposal particulars. I know he was excited, but I venture to say, I was almost as excited. I wanted to make sure I did a great job at capturing his proposal, so I asked my husband if he would go into Boston with me one night before the actual date to practice the set up and lighting using him as the model. He agreed to help me out. I love this guy. I know he thought it was romantic too. However, he did mention a few times, "Are you sure this is not some creep that wants to get you out there?" Always thinking like a cop. A the time came closer, the forecast was for a blizzard on Valentine's Day. My husband said, "What are you going to do?" "What do you mean?" I responded, " I said I would go, and I'll be there." "What if you get stuck in Boston? he asked. "I'll figure it out", I replied. His reply "Book a room and we will do this together. We will go in early and you can practice before. We will make this a night out for us, too." Did I mention that I love this guy. When we arrive in Boston on the 14th, it is still to early to go practice because it is still too light out to mimic the lighting of the time of the proposal. So after checking into the hotel we venture out to the Black Rose for a few vittles and grog. We head back to the hotel room and I am practicing lighting. It doesn't make sense because the lighting is going to be entirely different outside, but it helps me be less nervous because I am practicing. (Obsessed) Finally, It's dark enough. Let's go. We're on the move again. The snow is flying. The wind is whipping, but the rehearsal begins. John is freezing, but never complains, which is highly unusual for him. I have to say, it is a beautiful spot with the snow and the lights. It is still too early to wait here. It is about 6:00 and Nick told me to be ready between 7:30 and 8:00.We decide to go hang out in Faneuil Hall to stay warm for a while. That's John to the right, carrying all my gear. Here is an ice sculpture we saw along the way. The National Guard Band was just packing up. I am sad that we missed them. They have gotten some good press lately. Waiting patiently. Finally, we head back to the park. More practice while we wait. In the last shot in the above series, I liked the lighting. That was it. I decided to lock in the setting. No more practice. This is what I was going with. Not too bright, not too dark. Good bokeh in the background. I receive a text. We still have about 30 to 40 minutes to wait for their arrival. We find a warm spot in the Long Wharf Marriot lobby to wait. I am getting nervous. I don't want to mess things up by missing it. Soon I decide to wait outside. Forty minutes later, I get the text. "Walking up any second now." Oh no! They are coming from a different direction than I thought. I run. I get there just in time. I start shooting and I can't see a thing. My view finder is all fogged up. Panic starts to set in. I keep on shooting anyway. I check my back display, I'M OKAY, THE SHOTS ARE FINE! Thank God, It was a good thing I practiced and locked the setting in. The champagne was my husband's idea. I don't think Jess even noticed us until she heard the champagne bottle pop. This was such a special moment and a special shoot. I thoroughly enjoyed it! What a wonderful couple! She said yes, by the way! I wish them both happiness and a nice long marriage where they both support each other like my husband supports me.
Yesterday I decided that I was going to record a day of my life in photos. I was inspired to do this after looking at another photographer's photos of ordinary life. I found them very interesting to look at. So Here is my version. This is the first thing I saw as I opened my eyes this morning. I had left my camera on my nightstand knowing I was going to photography my day. My Husband had already gone to work . There was another snow storm going on outside so I decided to grab my book and read in bed. Well, 2 hours later I woke up after "reading" and got out of bed. My daughter's boyfriend and his dog spent the night. He is a teacher and his school had a snow day. Here his dog is sleeping soundly. My own 3 dogs were excited that I was finally up. The kitchen does not look too bad after having a house full of guests for the Super Bowl. When the dogs go out, the cat always comes to see what is happening. My husband stops home for a quick snack. Back to work. Last night this room saw lots of emotion as the Patriots won the Super Bowl ! In the bathroom, I look up and chuckle a bit. Up above the sink where all the little police figurines are, I spy my husbands new hiding spot for his toothbrush. He always hides his toothbrush. When I used to read, The Watsons Go To Birmingham to my class each year, the dad in the story hid his toothbrush also. I was so surprised that someone else had a hangup about hiding their toothbrush. A lot of my day involves dog in, dogs out. My daughter cooks up a mean breakfast. They are called Daddy McMuffins. My husband always makes them for the kids. (Who are all adults now.) I decide to do a little reading again, flanked by furry friends. Time to settle in and watch a movie. .....wonder how it ended. Still snowing The last event of the day is a friendly game of Phase 10. Actually, the last event is writing this blog. Just another ordinary day. Time for bed.
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Ann-Marie FordAfter 31 years of teaching, I have decided to retire and start a new chapter of my life as a photographer. It has been my passion for about 7 years now. Categories |