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bed head

04.29.2007

A few weeks ago I posted a poll asking what y'all wanted to see on my blog, and 77 people actually checked the box saying they wanted to see more self portraits of me (only God knows why!)

So when I woke up this morning (early afternoon to be precise), and caught a glimpse of my mug in the mirror and thought to myself... "Where's my camera?"

The people need to see the real Becker. You can obviously tell that I am not a morning person. I hadn't had my Diet Coke yet:

I also remembered that I have a cool coffee table book from Veronique Vial called Women Before 10 a.m. It was really cool to see these celebrities in less than perfect conditions, without tons of make up. There are some relaxed portraits and real moments, which is what I am always trying to capture with my photography.

I thought it would be fun to invite photographers to take self portraits of themselves (how's that for being redundant), first thing in the morning, and send them to me. I'll post the best ones (along with blog links) sometime next week.

How many of you are brave enough to do it?

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my parental units

04.28.2007

34 years ago today, my mom & dad walked down the aisle and tied the knot. They were high school sweethearts and they are still in love all these years later. My folks are truly the coolest people. Of course we butted heads in those high school years, but they have alwasy been there to support me and my sister in everything we've done. I am so lucky to have a close family. Gary & Sue are actualy friends of mine too, not just parental units.

I did an actual photo shoot with them this afternoon... something I have never done (it's mostly just snapshots during family gatherings). Don't they look great? They have combined to lose over 50 pounds. I need to visit more often for some home cookin'!

I tried to get some of their wedding photos to post here, but they weren't having it. Perhaps if y'all leave some comments we can talk them into sharing off the powder blue tux! For now, here are a few shots from the prom and winder formal dance from 1970.

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personal site updated

04.27.2007

I finally got around to updating my personal site with some of the images I took when Jessica and I went on our "Great America Road Trip" back in January (if you check out that link, just click "previous" at the bottom of eaach page to see the next day).

Most of the images were processed in Photoshop with the Totally Rad Actions (link at the bottom of the blog) and my personal site was done by Livebooks just incase you were wondering!

I am ready for another trip. Where should I go?

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subway

04.26.2007

This afternoon I enjoyed a delicious sandwich from Subway! Ok, maybe it wasn't that great, but at least it was low in fat and somewhat healthy.

I starting thinking back to my time when I worked as a "Sandwich Engineer" at Subway back in 1989. It was my first real job that I actually filled out an application for. (I umpired little league games as my first job). I loved working there... we had a lot of fun, and the place was relatively new and on most Saturdays, the line was out the door from about 11am until 3pm. I remembered that they had just opened their 3000th store that year, and they expected it to triple in the next two years. I just checked the website and they now have 27,552 locations in 85 countries.

Why I am blogging about Subway? Two reasons:

1. I have been trying to be like Jared and walk to get my lunch (at least a few days a week). I have been going to El Pollo Loco and getting a salad, but there is a Subway near my house as well. It's about twice as far, but still totally doable. I had lost 12 pounds earlier this year, but fell back into some bad habits after my Vegas trip and gained a couple back. I need to get back on a good healthy program (which may or may not involve Subway sandwiches). If anyone knows of a personal trainer and/or nutritionist in South Orange County I would love a referral.

2. As a business owner, it's impressive to me to see how Subway has changed and adapted to stay current with what people want. I remember when Quiznos first opened around here, and everybody loved it because they toasted their subs. Well, now Subway will toast them if you simply ask. They are also really trying to push the healthy lifestyle with the low fat sandwiches and options for healthier sides like raisens and apples. They are going after a specific customer. They aren't really trying to compete with deli's and other specialty sandwich shops (because ay food Deli is going to make a way better sandwich), they are trying to take customers from McDonalds & Burger King and other unhealthy fast food chains and it appears to be working.

Anyway... food for thought!

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a.d.d.

04.25.2007

Ok, I am bored, I am blogging from my blackberry at a seminar that is only been going for 20 minutes. I still have like 6 and a half hours left. My wicked case of A.D.D. has kicked in and I am wondering why I woke up at dark o'clock 30, drove through crazy LA traffic, paid $99 to come to a workshop about the new Adobe Lightroom, which is a new piece of software, that works with Photoshop and I am very excited about...

But the thing is... The guy is talking about lighting and photography tips and really doesn't seem to have a clue??? I thought I was going to be learning about software, not cheesy posed photo tips.

I have a hard time sitting still. I have a lot on my mind and I have a hard time concentrating.

Anyway, I'll be updating about throughout the day to ward off the boredom so check back often.

Update: I feel kinda bad because I just yelled out "What does this have to do with Lightroom?". The instructor wasn't pleased, but most of the crowd cheered. He got my point though and we are finally getting to the good stuff. I better try to pay attention.

Update #2, It's getting much better now that he's showing the program. There are some cool things about Lightroom. I am getting an Aperture demo tomorrow so I'll post a comparison later in the week.

Update#3: I am bored! I need a nap. I can't believe I am still here. There's just no sense in getting on the freeway at this point.

Last Update: Okay. I am finally home. It was a long day. i hadn't originally planned to post a review of the workshop, the original post was suppossed to be about my ADD. I just have a had time keeping focused. It was Scott Kelby who led the seminar, and the guy is a total Photoshop guru and he really knows his stuff.. and he actually is a very good speaker, but I guess I was just disappointed because he barely scratched the surface of the program. I didn't learn a single thing about Lightroom that I didn't already know. It seems like it was geared towards novice photographers and not professionals. I did pick up a Photoshop tip or two, but I don't think I got my $99 worth. I certainly wouldn't mind going to a smaller, intimate workshop with him, where I could ask some questions.