As You Wish

I’m anxious. I don’t really get nervous, but this is close.

Tomorrow morning, I leave for South by Southwest, the Interactive, Music, and Film festival/conference. I’m volunteering at a booth (setup and take down) in exchange for an access badge to the trade show.

I’m not even officially attending. I’m not attending any of the official programs or presentations (that’s a different access badge). I won’t be in the room when Twitter blows up with people angry that the speaker isn’t prepared (yeah, that happened last year).

I’ve heard over and over again, “SXSW is really about what happens in the hallways between sessions.” I’m going to milk that (and the trade show) for all I can. I’m going to have my photographer look about me (camera, nametag, giant stack of business cards, etc.). I hope to make a lot of contacts with people in Austin as well as those who might need a photographer in Texas.

Still, even with my “in the wings” style for attending, I’m freaking out a little bit.

There will be 8,000+ people attending this event. That’s 8x (EIGHT!) the size of Texas Photography School. Most universities aren’t this big! The University of Miami was only 12,000 when I attended (it’s ~15,000 now). Can you imagine 8,000 trying to get into the same speaker/panel/party when the cap on some is 100?

I have two main concerns/fears:

1. It will be so crowded that my personal bubble (which, as you all know, is quite large!) will be violated constantly. I’ll feel like the country kid in the big ol’ city bar and won’t be able to find the air I need to just breathe normally. (no, I’m not really claustrophobic, I’m just not a big fan of strangers touching me as they push past. I much prefer the gentle hand on the shoulder or back that says “It’s loud in here, so I can’t shout ‘EXCUSE ME!’ but I need to excuse myself past you to work through the crowd.”
2. I’ll be so overwhelmed that I’ll retreat and then be the quiet person in the corner that no one talks to.

Now, in reality, I know that I’ll fall somewhere in the middle. I’ll be fine.

I understand these rules of this event:

• Go with the flow (your individual schedule will likely change a great deal every day).
• approach people. Don’t ask what they do, ask them how they are enjoying SXSW.
• Listen more than you talk.

I’m also completely—over, in fact—prepared with non-perishable food items that can be my meals and snacks. So, if the chance for free food or a meal out presents itself, I’ve left room in my budget for that. But, if I’m buried/involved and don’t want to leave, I have sustenance.

Except for parking and the unknown, I’m as prepared as I can get.

Wish me luck.

1) I’m doing a photo-a-day-for-a-year Project365. Any comments you have on any of my images would be much appreciated.
http://365.asyouwishbcs.com/

2) As You Wish is having a sale. That’s right! 20% off everything until the end of February. So, now is the perfect time to book a photo session. If you know anyone that needs business headsots, family portraits, or other photography, please send them my way!
http://www.asyouwishbcs.com/2009/01/21/sale/

I’ve been too overwhelmed in the last few years to make New Years’ Resolutions. Plus, with all the news articles about not making them so you won’t feel like a failure, it’s not been in vogue to do so.

This year, though, I really wanted to do some good goal setting for me and for As You Wish.

So, I made three major goals. After a week (ish) into the new year, I can say that I’m a solid 2-for-3.

1. I have been doing my daily Project 365 photo-of-the-day for As You Wish.
   I set some flexible rules for myself for this. I must take a photo for every day of the year. However, I can post/blog 2-3 at a time. I keep my little camera with me, but I make an effort to use my good camera as must as is reasonable. When I have time, I also post these images to Blogger, Flickr, and Deviant Art. The point of this project has a primary goal of making me find something, every day that is worthy of a photo. I’m forced to look at the world with more detail.  A secondary benefit is that by posting the images so widespread, I draw more traffic to my site.
2. Weekdays, I have a task that I hope will help me communicate better and more often with my family, friends, and clients.
   It’s just a little thing, but I’m putting a lot of meaning behind it.
3. Three times a week, I’m supposed to carve out some time that is designed for me for relaxing.
   I have seclude myself, have some green tea, rest, and listen to something soothing. It’s my own little siesta. My evening is so much better when I make the time to do this. So far, this is the one that has suffered. I hope to get a better grip on this one over the weekend so I can set a better pace for next week.

So, we’ll see how far I make it. I know that most of us lose steam for our resolutions pretty quickly. And, I’ve read that it takes 30 days to make a habit. (I’ve also read it takes 100 times of doing it…don’t know which is true.)

Now, where did I set down my green tea?

Thank you, Laine, for sending a wedding contact my way. Stacy and I had a nice little chat about her event. I’m excited at the chance to learn more about the Big Day.

Fireworks Day

As always, we are in Paris for Lori’s grandparents’ birthdays. (His is on the 3rd and her’s is on the 4th). Because Paris has the band concert and fireworks show are on the 3rd, we have one big party with them every year. After a nice dinner, cake & ice cream, and presents, we headed to the concert and show.

This year’s concert was modest and short. But, it was initially highlighted by a precision parachute team’s arrival on the field just behind the band carrying the colors.
Parachutist #1 brought the USA flag

another parachutist brought the Texas flag

Two more parachutists landed precisesly behind the band; one brought the POW flag

The next moment was the traditional medley of service songs. Each member and veteran of the military is asked to stand during their branch’s song. Lori’s grandfather flew a glider in World War II and stood for the Army Air Corps song.

Frank M. O’Brien, Army Air Corps, Purple Heart recipient

The show ended with a nice little display of fireworks.

Boom

Happy Fireworks Day!

When Lori was little, she could say Independence Day, but couldn’t recall it as well. And, fireworks was much more fun to say. Thus, we have deemed the 3rd of July to be “Fireworks Day”. The Paris celebration is traditionally held on the 3rd. A nearby town, Roxton, has held a 4th-of-July show for a few years longer. The Rotary Club that hosts the Paris show didn’t want to step on any toes. Besides, who doesn’t like to start fireworks early?

Michael Stribling‘s reality TV debut and watch party was amazing. After some technical difficulties on my end , I got some great shots of Michael and the reactions of some of his friends and family. The party was packed, filling two rooms at Ozona and spilling over to the patio at times.

Michael introduced me to his newly-engaged friend and his business manager and sold them on my services for her wedding and Michael’s (before and after) design shoots for his website and portfolio work. And, what a small world: turns out the business manager is married to one of Emil’s cousins….and they need family portraits, too and want to see my new watercolors. eeeeee!

So, it was not only a fun night, it was also a quite beneficial one for As You Wish! I’ll have images up as soon as I can get the java applet working, again.

at the wedding on Saturday, a guest grabbed my camera and was wiggling the flash. It happened so fast and I didn’t realize she’d done any harm. (No, she didn’t appear drunk; And, like I said, she was FAST.) So, now, the flash won’t seat correctly and works inconsistently. Dennis and I needed to trade some images, so he brought me his backup camera body and I was back to normal operations. I’m sad that I missed the crowd’s reactions to Michaels introduction segment on the show, but at least I got to SEE the intro segment. (After all, I missed most of the rest of the show. TTfT: Thank Technology for TiVo!)

To strive for a better world, I believe in a society that is non-judgmental; I believe we have to stand up for those not in our own demographics. To that end, I run a §501(c)(3) queer-straight alliance called Brazos Valley QueSt.

Last night, with the love of her life and their best friend just inside the house, one of our patrons committed suicide. The suicide rate among the gay community is 2 to 3 times that of the straight population.

She was a private person, so I will not make big deal or ask for donations in her memory, exactly. I ask that you come up with a small gesture of support for suicide prevention and/or the gay community. Maybe you can donate the cost of your daily beverage indulgence between now and her memorial?

I will donate half of all portrait session fees from this week to these causes.

If you can’t donate money, consider a moment of thought and reflection for those who struggle to the point of no return.