Rants & Raves: WiFi & Kelly Moore

So, I have this pet peeve... and I'm seriously considering not meeting anymore clients at a Starbucks again... ever.  While I was traveling this week I was stuck in 2 airports, and an airline that all charged for WiFi!  So over the course of 10 hours I was going to have to pay $15 to use the internet.  Fail.  Epic fail.  Oh Internet, why do some people think they can make money off of you when Time Warner is already sucking my life away?  So here goes the 2nd edition of Rants & Raves...

Rants...

- Moving!!! (More on that later... and btw, where's that box of jackets?)

- Random Generators... I lose any contest left up to a random generator (sigh)
- Charging for WiFi that you're getting at a set price and making bajillions (why didn't I think of that?)

Raves...

- My new Kelly Moore bag.  Seriously... have you seen this thing?

 - In & Out (Dear In & Out, I know it's been less than a week since I tasted your yumminess, but please don't forget me... or at least set up shop in NC before you do :)
- MOVING!!! (I know... I know... I just said it was a rant... a sea of boxes, but all I can think of is my new studio space... and this sea of boxes...)

Off to Starbucks... for my latte.

The root of all evil... p90x

So I was out for dinner with my sister (@bethanycg) and my husband (@ryanfesko)... I only include their twitlinks because they're usually hilarious when there's banter going across the airwaves, and you have to follow both of them to see the hilariousness.  Some of the hilarity ensued at dinner the other night over a well known workout video.

So... we're out for dinner, and Beth mentions that she just bought p90x.
"Who did you buy it from?" Ryan asked.
"Some old guy.  Said his wife saw it on television and thought it looked interesting.  When she actually got it she said there was no way..."
"Yah, there's a big difference between OWNING it and actually DOING it!" Ryan said.
"Yeah, my sister owns p90x and she'll kick your butt!" Beth said.
(Beth in a different voice) "You don't oooooowwwwnnnnn p90x, look at you! ... (different voice) "No, no, no... I said I OWN p90x."
"How long have you OWNED it? (Beth again)... "1 day."
"I can imagine his wife sitting on the couch with a bag of lays, 'He just told me I did a good job!  How does he know?'...  I don't know where to even FIND a pull-up bar."  Beth said.
"They sell them at Wal-Mart.  Hey!  Do you want ours?  We're not using it.  (to Ryan) Why do we have a pull-up bar again?" I said (this was through tears at this point).
Beth: "How long have you been on day 1?" (different voice) "Two weeks!"
"Yeah... I can tell!" Ryan said.  "When I emailed him I would have asked if I could see HIS before and after pictures!  TV is one thing, I want to see YOURS!" 

In this conversation we determined 2 things...
1.  Once you can't lift your own body weight (via the p90x pull up bar), you are officially overweight.
2.  If for you, bootcamp = love, p90x is the workout program for you!

And maybe this conversation was only hilarious to us, maybe you had to be there.  Maybe you own p90x, and you just needed some encouragement or a workout from the laughter.  In any case... we're here for you.

Amy's Model Sesh

You may remember Amy from this post.  Amy, Sam and their mother up and moved away from me in December... it was a very sad day in the house of Fesko.  They were so gracious to open up their home to me while I was traveling from SoCal to NorCal this past week... and with Amy being the perfect model, I decided to grab my flashes and head out to Pismo Beach for some shots on the dunes.  Stay away boys!

And of course... my favorite!

Top 10 Reasons You Know You're in California...

So I've been in California for about a week now, and I honestly forgot how much I missed this place.  My hubby and I met in SoCal, and I guess I just fell in love with him right along with the 75 degree weather, destroyed jeans and flip flops.  I can't help it... I think I'm a California girl at heart.  The best part of SoCal is getting to see all of my amazing friends that are putting up with me... I mean putting me up... while I'm here :).  Note: If you find friends that you can meet up with after hardly being in contact for years, and you pick up right where you left off... these are friends for life - keep them.

So after being in CA, I realized that not everyone knows what this amazing experience is like... so I decided to take it upon my self to tell you... (and some of these were taken with my blackberry... so no judging!).  Here we go...

10.  You're surrounded by palm trees...

9.  TRAFFIC!!!

8.  Skateboarders... everywhere...

7.  You can only buy certain things in the OC... CA... (that pic is coming later!)

6.  The sunset happens over the water...

5.  In-and-Out Burger on every corner...

4.  The real Real Estate isn't in the convenient places...

3.  You can pick your own fruit to squeeze for your own juice... (photo taken in the backyard... seriously!)

2.  It's the place where the mountains and the ocean meet...

and lastly... 1.  Duh, you can see the Hollywood Sign! (uh, hello!)

More to come from the amazingness that is California late-ah!

WPPI

This was my first experience at the world's largest photography conference... also known as WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International).  I remember listening to one of the speakers when he said when that at WPPI you can be surrounded by people, but feel entirely alone.  I think I spent most of the first day in tears... all of the photographers I tried talking to snubbed me, I couldn't find anyone to eat lunch with, and the party the night before was not all it was cracked up to be.

Something I realized is that although I may have my stuff together, it is nothing compared to what some of these photographers are doing.  I listened to people like Scott & Adina Hayne, Jasmine Star (who is exactly like she is on her blog), Jared Bauman and Mike Colon (who is seriously the most real, honest and down to earth person I heard).  I became inspired.  I found ways to better myself and my business.  I found friends.  I was stranded in Las Vegas and the Shootsac crew selflessly gave me a ride into California... and seriously, if you're a photographer and you don't have a Shootsac, you need one.

Lastly, I reinvented myself.  I took a lighting class from Kevin Jairaj...  and, I could tell you what I learned, but I would rather show you...

And of course... my favorite...

 I'm looking forward to making more of my images look like these... beware brides, you're about to be fabuloulicious!