Headshots: Attempt #1
Monday, August 17 2009 - 0 comments
I haven’t participated in a real photo shoot in a long time. I’ve taken pictures during my travels over the summer, especially in Bermuda and Europe . But these weren’t what I’d consider serious photos where I gave any thought to light, proper exposure, etc… I should be doing that all of the time and I’m going to work on that. But I needed a headshot. I started another blog a few weeks ago, Scattered Breadcrumbs , which is about all things related to technology that interest me (instructional technology, gadgets, Web 2.0 tools, etc…). My new blog needed a good picture of me, but not the hold your camera out in front of you and cheese kind. It needed a photo with a bit more polish to it. I didn’t want to put on a suit and stand in front of a plain backdrop because that’s not the real me. So I started researching photographers in the Delaware area that I like. There are several that I really admire and think they produce fantastic images. I could have gone to any one of them and gotten a much better image than what I can make right now. However, I chose to take my own for two main reasons. Cost. Honestly, it’s not in my budget to spend about $1,000 on a one-hour photo session with digital images from the shoot. I’d forgotten how expensive these things can be. Photographers seem to be pretty divided right now regarding those who offer digital images as part of a session, those who offer them for purchase (usually after you purchase prints), and those who don’t offer digital images at all. While I theoretically understand some of the reasons behind why this is, I simply do not need or want prints. Nor do I have $1k to drop on a headshot. I wanted to start taking real pictures again. Pictures that required me to think about light, proper exposure, etc… I’m not interested in taking pictures as a business right now but I would like to improve my skills. Who better to start on then myself? So I drug my equipment outside this morning and spent about an hour and a half taking pictures in our backyard. I used my Canon 5d with my 50mm 1.8 lens, my Manfrotto tripod and the remote control Peter got me last Valentine’s day. I was using my flash (a Canon 580 EXII) but it quit working about 15 minutes into shooting. No idea why because it had a full battery and everything looked ok. I realized that I’m not exactly sure how to force the flash – i.e. make it flash despite it thinking I don’t need the light. That’s one of the first things I want to learn. This is the first image I captured – it makes me laugh because despite the fact that I’m not smiling my trademark grin and the headphones from my Zune are trailing everywhere, it’s a pretty good representation of me. I like the idea of this one, especially because it incorporates my beloved Mac iBook – despite not being a regular Mac user I will always have a soft spot in my heart for this laptop. I’m not thrilled with the fact that I cut my head off. This was my second favorite of the session. If I had not cut off my boot (seems like I was always cutting one end of me off today!) and had nailed the focus (seems to be tack sharp on my knee and the laptop – how strange – but too soft on my face), it would have been my favorite image of the morning. This image was one of the last pictures I took and it ended up being my favorite. It’s currently up on the About section of my Scattered Breadcrumbs site and is my Facebook profile picture too. Full Disclosure: I took 121 images this morning. Some were accidental because I was taking two shots per click of the remote shutter for a while – I was hitting the wrong button, oops! Others were a bunch of test shots for lighting and also trying to figure out why the heck my flash wouldn’t fire. Out of the 121, I consider the last two I posted my best, but know that they have a long way to go before they are really good images. It felt good, really good, to be taking real pictures again.European Adventure 2009-Part 1 - London
Friday, July 24 2009 - 6 comments
My Mom and I started planning our annual cruise in January. We were up for doing something different, so instead of looking into the usual Caribbean/Bahamas/Bermuda thing we decided to extend our reach to Europe. Over the next few days, I’ll share some favorites from our adventure. We flew out of Newark, New Jersey on Virgin Atlantic – this was my first time flying with this airline (more about that later) – to London Heathrow . We flew in a day and a half before our cruise departed Southampton to give us a chance to recover from the jetlag and see the sites of London. I was amazed that we were able to pack so much into basically one day. I’m sure that’s because we decided to take a tour. We went with Big Bus Tours which threw in a river cruise for free. Despite the off and on cloudy/rainy weather, we had a fabulous time. Next up….Cherbourg, France!June 2009 – Our 3 Year Anniversary Trip to…
Wednesday, July 22 2009 - 2 comments
the 9 Beaches Resort in BermudaSpring is almost here
Wednesday, March 18 2009 - 1 comments
The Wedding: Marisa and Wesley, New Castle, Delaware
Tuesday, February 03 2009 - 3 comments
Marisa and Wesley were married this past Saturday in New Castle, Delaware. Shortly after Marisa and I met, I discovered that she was a fellow Hello Kitty fan. At that moment, I knew that I would have a blast shooting their wedding because I’ve never met someone who loved Hello Kitty but didn’t know how to have a good time. And I was right! Marisa and Wesley had a beautiful intimate wedding in front of family and friends before enjoying their party. Congratulations and happiness forever to you both! A few favorite images…Celebrating the Super Bowl – Rysavy Style
Sunday, February 01 2009 - 1 comments
Peter and I make no secret about the fact that we are not football fans. In fact, if we are going to be completely honest, we’re not fans of any professional sports. That doesn’t stop us when it comes to celebrating the Super Bowl ever year. Our three Super Bowl Favorites: the Puppy Bowl , commercials, and food. Usually I plan some sort of an elaborate menu for just the two of us. This year, I decided to do things up a little more simply – and chose a wine and cheese theme. I found these cheeses at Costco today. The first group of three is by Isle of Man and was absolutely amazing for $7. Since I grew up on a farm, I totally have a soft-spot in my heart for farms and this company produces its cheese by working with 51 small dairy farmers. Of course I had to pick up dessert. Costco was featuring David’s Cookies and had tempting samples out to try. I’m usually quite strong when it comes to resisting samples – I usually manage to keep walking no matter what the sample is – but my hubby ruined my will power when he stopped and pointed out the sign featuring these amazing truffle cakes. And then he tried a free sample – and it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t have one right? At least that’s what I’m telling myself. Less than five minutes later we were the new proud owners of the Truffle Cake Sampler . Two slices are currently defrosting in the fridge – Marble Truffle Cheesecake (for Peter) and Chocolate Raspberry Truffle (for me!). Happy Super Bowl! Go Steelers! (Dude, I so don’t care who wins, but I remember that my brother John liked the Steelers when I was growing up so that’s who I’m picking. Peter chose the Cardinals just to be contrary.)Tea for One
Thursday, January 29 2009 - 5 comments
I have a love/hate relationship with Tea. I love… when it’s hot because I love hot drinks. that it usually still tastes ok after its cool. This means I can start a cup mid-morning, and by the time it’s lunch time, when it’s cool, i can still drink it with lunch! Peter thinks this is gross. that there are a lot of different kinds that are widely available so I can mix things up with a new kind if I get bored. I hate… that it’s not coffee. I really do prefer Coffee. that it’s such a production to make: boil the water, put the tea bag in, wait for a while, take the tea bag out, find a place to toss it out without making a mess – Coffee is so much easier. that it doesn’t make me go “bing!” like Coffee does. But for right now, as I make some healthy lifestyle changes, I have to stick with Tea.First Snow Day of 2009!
Wednesday, January 28 2009 - 1 comments
A cat called “Puppy”
Tuesday, January 27 2009 - 1 comments
We often call my cat Jasmine “Puppy”. She loves to fetch balls (although only the fluffy kind she can pick up with her claws or teeth), meows when she wants to get our attention, and seems to get lonely without people around. This is cute unless it is 4:30 AM and she is walking up and down the hallway and stairs howling. Then it’s so not cute. She especially enjoys sitting on the back of my chair when I’m eating or working at the dining room table. These two shots were taking with my new lens – my new baby – the Canon EF 70-200 2.8 IS lens. This is my first purchase (and only for quite some time I’m sure) of L series glass. I’m still getting used to the weight – it is quite heavy! I’m going to need to start lifting weights again so I can haul it around easier. I’ll be shooting my first wedding with it this Saturday.Wilmington University Graduation, Lunch at the Green Room in the Hotel DuPont, and photos with Vice President Biden
Sunday, January 25 2009 - 1 comments
It’s been nearly six months since I defended my dissertation , and almost three months since I submitted the final draft of my dissertation for publication, but I was still excited when I woke up this morning to be graduating from Wilmington University with my Doctorate degree in Education . Even though it was freezing cold outside I was totally excited to be wearing the outfit I have had planned for weeks – a new skirt suit from Ann Taylor with the perfect matching heels (which I just realized are also from Ann Taylor, but were purchased several years ago). The actual graduation ceremony wasn’t that long, about an hour and a half, but it felt like forever because the Doctorate candidates were the last to be called up on stage. I was totally nervous, but I didn’t trip, AND the announcer pronounced my name remarkably well – that doesn’t happen too often! I’m glad I decided to add the phonetic spelling above it (Reeshavee) because “Rysavy” is butchered on a regular basis. I met up with Peter and my parents after the ceremony and we had time for a few pictures. Wasn’t I having a good hair day? Yea me! With my hubby who put up with me being away almost every Tuesday night for the last three years as I drove to Dover for my classes. Without his support, I never would have finished the program! With my parents…This picture shows our happy family. What it doesn’t show is the 5 minutes prior of Mom trying unsuccessfully to take pictures with her tiny point and shoot. We later found out that she was missing her memory card – oops! But on a serious note…I am so thankful to my parents for always supporting me. Especially my Mom, who earned her Doctorate degree from Wilmington University as well, also in Education, back in 2005. My Mom was my unofficial advisor, was and is always available to listen to me, and the reason I enrolled in the program in the first place. Here’s a picture of the two of us together at her graduation back in 2006 – three years ago. This is a way more accurate portrayal of me with my parents – Dad explaining step by step to me how to get from the Riverfront Chase Center to the Hotel DuPont – me looking at him with a not so patient look on my face. Before we left, I made sure to find Dr. Curtiss. Dr. Curtiss was my Dissertation Advisor. She provided amazing support to me as I went through the long process of writing, rewriting, proposing, resubmitting, writing, rewriting, defending, and finishing my dissertation. I was so fortunate to have her as an advisor. After we found Dr. Curtiss, Peter and I headed out to join my parents at the Hotel DuPont. As a special treat, my Mom had arranged for us to have brunch at The Green Room . I noticed two things after we arrived. First, my friend Maty and her family were seated right next to us, which was awesome. The second thing I noticed was that our former Senator, the new Vice President Joe Biden , and his wife Dr. Jill Biden , were seated just two tables away from us! Since we didn’t want to disturb their brunch, I decided not to go up to his table. However, when they were getting ready to leave, Maty’s son went up to his table, and when Maty joined him and mentioned that she had just earned her Doctorate degree that morning, I took that as my opportunity to step up and introduce myself as well. Since he was our former Senator, I had heard Vice President Biden speak at various events over the years, but never had a chance to speak directly with him in person. We had a chance to talk to him for several minutes, and he even came over to our table to say hello and shake hands with Peter and my parents. He was so nice and generous with his time, even posing for several pictures with us, Maty’s son, and several DuPont hotel staff. We spoke with Dr. Biden as well for a few moments and she was very gracious as well. The funny thing about all this was that I had been going back and forth about attending my own graduation. Since I really did finish several months ago, I wasn’t sure that I saw any point in attending. But at the end of the day, I enjoyed the ceremony, felt proud to walk across the stage in front of my family, and got to meet and take pictures with the new Vice President of America – I can’t imagine a better way to spend my graduation day!