It has been almost over two months since I've written my last blog post.  There, I've said it.  Like ripping off a Band-Aid, the pain only lasts for a second.  Writing it is much worse than just thinking, "Wow, it's been awhile since I've written a blog post."  I read an article from NPR that was about how doodling can help writer's block.  I didn't doodle before writing this which made me feel like a freakin' genius.

Since I mentioned going to Mexico, I thought it would be best to use the title of this post to allay the fears of anyone who was afraid I'd been kidnapped by roving bands of thugs or was arrested for trying to smuggle an endangered bird out of the country by wrapping him in my beautifully sewn hammock that my husband swears will fit on our deck perfectly (the jury's still out).  I'm home and completely unscathed except for a sunburn.

If you don't want to read anything about my wonderful vacation please skip the rest of this post until you get to the pictures below.  Otherwise, read on for what may convince you that I work for the Tourism Board of Mexico.  In case you weren't sure, Mexico is still amazing. 

Day 1 – Arrive at rental house in Puerto Morelos via private SUV airport transportation after picking up beer and going to the ATM on the way.  Met our host Ricardo and his dog Leon, got a tour of the house, found the tequila and the pre-stocked refrigerator and then the doorbell rang.  Who can it be?  Why, it's our private chef for the evening.  He cooked, the boys chatted with him, the girls sat outside with our feet in the pool and then we were served a five course meal that included fish that was caught twelve hours earlier.  Ceviche with conch, fish cooked in awesome little foil packets with veggies and butter and garlic inside, three different shrimp dishes, rice, tortillas made by the village tortilla man, salsa, and a dessert concoction with fresh strawberries and cream served in a margarita glass with a tequila float on top.  Yes, we had tequila in our dessert.  Yes, it was super awesome.

Day 2 - Wake up.  Eat (share chorizo and eggs with Leon), swim in the pool, rinse in the outdoor shower, swim in the ocean.  Repeat entire process beginning with "eat".

Day 3 - Repeat activities from day 2.  The boys go into town to find tortillas and beer.  We bring in chaise lounges from the pool into the living room to watch old movies during rain storm.

We were there for seven days.  Maybe I'll continue my recap in my next post, if I feel like it.  This is making me want to catch the next flight out of SFO to Cancun so I'm not sure if I can make it through another post about this without skipping town and finishing the post from Mexico.

For now, I'll just leave you with some images that are currently making me angry that I have to wear a jacket when I go outside.

*By the way, the image of the dog was taken while he was running about ten feet from the back gate of our rental house.  Yeah, I'm super stoked to think about that during our unseasonably cold Northern California winter.

Last week I was checking out some images on Flickr.  I seriously can't remember what got me started and who ever knows with Flickr.  You start with one image then it's down the rabbit hole of everyone's favorites and you start joining groups and the next thing you know you're adding images to the Cheese Slopes Actually Attached to Something group.  Yes, it's a real group.  You can join here.

I resisted the urge and didn't become a member of that group.  There was, on the other hand, a group that seemed interesting.  It's called Hit, Miss, or Maybe.  It's a rating group and how the images are rated is pretty self explanatory.  I should mention that one word is all you get, no technical feedback.  Cool, I took the bait and submitted a few images.  The rule is that after each submission, I had to rate three other images.  Outside of the fact that I got a "Miss" on one of my images from some kid with thirty three images in his photostream; I found something else interesting. 

There seem to be people on Flickr whose sole purpose is to get TONS of comments by joining a million and a half groups.  I've created a word for these people…flickrcommentgluttonasaurus.

What in the world would compel someone to join a large number of Flickr groups to get a million comments?  Does it really get them anywhere?  To be fair, I can see how you can join a rating group, not get the ratings that you want and then continue to join ratings groups hoping for a better result.  I said I can see it, not that it's normal behavior.  Maybe I'm crazy but I take critique and commentary with a grain of salt.  If someone says that they really like one of my images I am ALWAYS flattered.  If that person is someone whose work I really respect it just means that much more to me.  Now, if someone calls my images crap but their stuff is pretty much crap, well it's easy to brush it off.  I'm not talking about constructive criticism, I'm talking about the stuff that comes in the "Hey, your images are crap" package.  You know, the snarky rude stuff.  I'm not down with that.

So please dear readers, can you tell me why the flickrcommentgluttonasaurus exists?  Feel free to try and change my mind if you'd like.

*Here are the images that were rated.  The car image received two Hits and a Miss.  The sunset received two Hits and a Maybe. 

I'm not sure what the deal is lately with me and song titles but if you really care about me you'll roll with it for awhile.  For my last tweet it was Green Day.  Now you're saddled with '80s era Madonna.  Hopefully it's bringing back good memories.

I've had some good memories lately.  Memories of my 52 week photography project.  Oh, how I've missed it.  Because I've been working on my new logo and new site and new blog I haven't had the time to work on an additional project.  OK, fine, I've also been going to Pismo and SoCal and street food festivals and photo walks and the beach.  I could never lie to you, not even by omission. 

Images have been made, just not tied to any particular theme.  That's the part that I really miss.  It was a fun challenge.  There were also some pretty great images from other members which are always good for inspiration.  So, even though I've been gone for about twenty percent of the project, I started again this week.  Unless someone created a Photography Project Police in secret that gives out tickets to those of us who flake on part or all of our photography projects, I should be fine.  Otherwise I just hope that the ticket isn't too steep.  I'm going to Mexico soon and I'd rather spend the money on tequila and fish tacos.

In honor of this new beginning, I give you my images from week two and the current week of the project.

I was perusing one of my favorite photography forums last week when I stumbled across a woman politely asking for critique.  Some of the responses were helpful and polite, while others were…well, not so much.  The person who started the thread was totally honest about being new and knowing that she's not yet a pro.  Which to me means, stick to the subject posters or you run the risk of being a factor in turning this photog off of the art for months or years.  Seriously, I know someone who's been on the receiving end of this and it ain't cute.

Here's where the 'awesomeness' comes in.  After a particularly snobby response, a poster who I'll call CK responded in a way to call out the rude poster.  The call out hit pretty close to home and I have to admit that it was pretty great to see.  There are way too many people online who pose as authorities without anything to back them up.  So I get kind of stoked when I see someone stand up to one of these guys when they act like a bully, and they usually do.

Not only did CK call the guy out once, but didn't back down when the other dude tried to get snarky with him.  Now, the problem I have is that the cowardly bully went to the forum admins and complained.  This caused them to give our buddy CK a warning.  Here's the other super awesome thing.  He doesn't care, he's going to keep doing what he thinks is right and showing people out there that just because you're (or think you're) experienced and good at what you do…you don't have to be a tool.

Way to go CK. 

Like a moron I made a promise on my Facebook page during a very busy week.  I mentioned that I'd post a few tips on how to take pictures at the beach when it's a not so beachy, meaning overcast…meaning, it's August and it looks like October.  I can't break a promise so I'm writing this post now rather than painting my toenails in preparation for my trip to SoCal tomorrow morning.  It's OK, I made my bed now I've got to lay in it.  I'm just warning you, if you see a woman walking down the street in Pasadena with shockingly naked toenails in her Havaianas…it's me.  Feel free to look away in disgust or point and stare with a mocking gaze.

Here's my beach story and I'm sticking with it.  Last weekend I went to Salmon Creek Beach with friends.  Friends, awesome.  Beach, always awesome.  Beach weather, not so much.  Here's the thing.  I'm the type of person who can sit at the beach in the cold as long as I've got a blanket.  This time around though I wanted to get some images.

All I can say is I'm happy that I made cupcakes for everyone (in case you don't know, cupcakes can fix many things) because I was feeling pretty uninspired.  So, I walked pretty far down the beach to a rocky area and actually pressed the shutter button a few times.  What's better is that I actually got a few keepers.

Now, I'm assuming that when you go to the beach with your friends, children, dog, other assorted loved ones, and your camera, you'd like to get some pictures.  If you've ever gotten home and thought, "I wish it wasn't so gray that day." here are a few tips.  They come with a caveat.  These are a few tips, not the end all, be all, list of every single tip ever known to man to help you take better overcast day beach pics.  They're just a few things to keep in mind next time you're out in that sort of situation.

- Use the mist – If there's actual mist, it's a great way to add mood to an image.  If your child, dog, husband, other loved one is near the shore with mist over the water you may get a nice image for the mantle.

- Look for interesting shapes – This is exactly why I went to the rocks.  Haphazardly jutting out, they made some interesting shapes in the ocean.  This also works with sets of waves rolling in or just the way the person in your shot is standing or sitting in the sand.

- Get close – On overcast days there's usually not much difference between the ocean and sky so the horizon doesn't look so awesome.  Get the shot of your kids looking at mussels on a rock or even sitting on a blanket feeding chips to the seagulls (which will just make you mad because once you feed them they never go away but at least you'll have a nice picture of them).

- Shoot for black and white – You don't have to worry about a lovely blue sky when your images are in B&W.  If there's a moment that you want to capture and you definitely want that horizon in it, try converting it to black and white after the fact.  This gives you much more flexibility for any post production rather than shooting black and white in camera.  This would work in unison with the other tips also, it just depends on the kind of feel you're looking for.

That's it, all I've got right now.  Please feel free to add to the list in the comments if you'd like.  These tips are just a few things to try if you're so inclined.  If not, that's OK too.  As long as you're having fun, that's all that matters.  You know you're doing it wrong if there's no fun involved.

OK, so I've been away for awhile getting the new blog design and website together.  Hopefully you won't cry yourself to sleep tonight because you miss my old blog design.  If that's the case, I apologize and hope that you can come back to check it out when you're emotionally ready. 

Now for my first images on the new blog.  Well, these aren't my first images but the first ones that aren't in a test post.  I figured that my first real post on the blog should include something that everyone loves.  That's what brought me to…kittens!  To quote my mother, "You can't get mad at kittens!"

I'd like to thank Shay at Dumplin Designs for my new design.  If you're ever in the market for web design, check her out.  She's professional, nice, and really good at what she does.  If you read my earlier post when I talked about designing my blog, well, that was before I gave up.  I realized that while I may take a somewhat decent picture, I know absolutely nothing about CSS or HTML.  So I went and found someone who does.  That's when my head stopped spinning and I was able to relax.

As promised, here they are…kittens.

To anyone who has arrived at this site looking for my blog, I'm sorry for its sad state.  I'm currently trying to redesign it using WordPress rather than sticking with my old Tumblr theme.  So, sorry, please bear with me.  I promise that I will have something MUCH more interesting to say once I've finished with the design!