I didn’t have any weddings this weekend and that is fine.  You have to have a break every now and then, so I took the free weekend to do some much needed yard work and get our pool up and running fo the summer.  Most years I have it up and already running by now, but this spring has been busy and wet, lots of much needed rain.  That has put me way behind in my spring yard clean up, so I took today to get caught up.

If you have never opened an above ground pool, there is so much that has to be done.  There is a winter cover on the pool, it is designed to keep the fall leaves out of the pool. The problem with it is that while it keeps the leaves out, it also keeps the rain water from going anywhere.  So, it ponds up in the cover and before you can take the cover off you have to drain all the water out of the cover and since I was behind it had gotten kinda smelly and gross.

While I was draining the pool I needed to get a couple of things for the pool, things like chemicals, a pool vacuum to just name a couple of the items I needed.  While I was at The Pool Place I noticed that they were short handed and a little busy.  Most pool places are busy this time of year so you have to have some patience.  I got all the items I needed and went to pay for them and got in line behind a lady that must have been having a bad day.  Here is what I saw happen;  she was getting some parts and chemicals for her pool.  From what I could hear the guy in the parts department give her the parts and told her they were $3 and some change.  When she got to the register they were closer to $4.50 which cause her total to be $10 more then she had calculated in her head. That set her off into a whole new world of pissed off.  The owner of the store was the person who quoted her the price and his wife was the person checking her out. The owners wife told her she was sorry, these were the prices of the items, but since the owner quoted her the price, they would go a head and charge her the price the owner quoted.  Seems like the right and the nicest thing to do, right?

This woman didn’t see it that way, she saw it as if the owner was doing her wrong and the person checking her out was accusing her of trying to get something for nothing.  She went on and on for a good 15 minutes.  She kept saying she had been using this store for 26 years, that she had spent over $300 last night at the same store.  This woman was going on about $10 for goodness sake.  It got to a point where those of us in line behind her started to laugh a bit, I mean it was $10.  Finally, the guy in line behind me jumped up and pulled a $10 from his wallet and slapped in on the counter and said, “here, I’ll pay the $10 if you will shut up and get out of there!”.  She got this look of total disbelief on her face and said, “well, I never….”.  The guy without missing a beat said, “yea, no kidding, maybe you should.”.  She huffed out of the store and we all just kinda of laughed as she left.

That would have been enough for a great blog post, but it got better.  When I got home I wanted to finish up the pool stuff and ran into a huge snag.  I drained as much water as possible from the cover.  I thought I had enough out, but I was wrong.  I pulled as much of the cover off that I could, but it would not come out due to the amount of water in the cover.  I asked Leeann to help me and we pulled but, it would not come out.  We tried everything we could think of but nothing worked so that left only one option; one of us had to get in the pool and push while the other one pulled the cover out.  Well, being the wonderful husband I am, I jumped in the pool.  To say the water was COLD is an understatement.  To try and stay a little warm I kept my shorts, shoes and shirt on, it didn’t help.  Well, after about 10 minutes of pushing, pulling and scoping out a bunch of gross water, the cover came out.

Some days I love being a homeowner, other days I wished we rented this house and someone else had to do all the work around here.  But, in the end it is worth it, even the pool which is running as I type this blog.   This July when it is hot as all get out, it will be worth it.

Today was the last day of school for my 10 year old daughter, KT.  She had a very crazy year, she changed schools late in the year but like the trooper she is, she never missed a beat.  So, as a reward for all her hard work this year we took her to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN today.  She loves going to the park for the rides. She loves roller coasters like no other little girl I know.  We had a great day at the park even though we didn’t stay the whole  day.  We got there about 12:30 and stayed until a little after 4 pm.  It was a bit warm and due to some of KT’s special needs, her body does not handle  extreme temperature swings. Now, 82 is not a high temperature, but her body will not produce sweat so she doesn’t cool her self off like others do.  So, we don’t stay long in higher temperatures.

On our way out of the park we passed a little drink stand and I saw Santa there.  I kid you not, there was a guy there that plays Santa at the park during the Christmas season.  Well, he was putting ice on the drinks and I thought, “there is Santa with a bunch of ice”.  I wonder if he brought some with him from the north pole.

We had a great day with KT today, we did Dollywood than hit a couple of the western shops in the area and got some new boots, a couple of belts for myself and KT and Leeann both got some new boots and a few other things.

I’m so proud of my little girl, she is such a hard working little girl, but she is also the apple of my eye.

Have a safe weekend.

Don

My alarm clock went off this morning at 6am to the sound of the news guy telling us that we were in Blackberry Winter.  I was half asleep and all I heard was winter.  To me, winter means COLD air.  That means jackets, long sleeve shirts and such.  I turned on the TV but, didn’t really pay attention to the station it was on or the girl doing the weather.  I just heard he say “Blackberry Winter”.  So, as I got ready to take KT to school I was prepared for some cold air.  Much to my surprise, as I walked out the door it was just in the 40’s.

What the heck is Blackberry Winter anyway?  When did we start giving a cold snap names?  We always called these things “cold snaps” because that is what they were.  I grew up in central Indiana and I can tell you, with pretty good confidence, what winter is and this is not winter.  It is a cold snap plain and simple.

After I took KT to school this morning, Leeann and I went out to the farm for Leeann to spend some time with her horse, Lakota.  I love going out there with her.  I spend most of my day at the computer in my office doing editing, budgeting and such, so I really enjoy getting out of the house and out into the fresh air.  Today was a wonderful morning for the most part.  The air was crisp, the sky was blue and the sun actually made a guest appearance in the sky.

Leeann got Lakota ready and she rode him for about an hour or so.  She looks so great up on that horse and she had complete control of him today.  I was so proud of her and I get this thrill watching her ride.  It makes her so happy.  Now, before I tell you the next part of what happened I have to say that I have a horse as well.  Her name is Sunny and she is currently at STAR where she is one of the lesson horses.  I have ridden her a number of times and feel pretty comfortable on a horse. I am no expert by any means, but I do OK.

Well, today Leeann asked me if I wanted to ride Lakota in the field for a little bit.  I got a bit nervous for some reason. I think it was the fact that the field she was riding in had a number of hills and the ground was a bit uneaven.  I wasn’t sure about it and I think Lakota could tell I was a little uneasy about all of this.  But, I took a deep breath and jumped up on Lakota anyway (ok, truth be told, Lakota is a big horse and I didn’t jump up on him at all, I got boosted up on him.  Don’t want to give any one out there the wrong idea).

Once up, I started to feel a bit more comfortable. But I did notice that the saddle was smaller that I am comfortable with, but no worries I thought, I can do this.  I wanted to start off kinda slow so I could get more comfortable with Lakota, but he had other ideas.  He decided to kick it up a notch and go a bit quicker than I had wanted.  He went down the hill at a pretty good clip and I felt like I was going to come off him at any second.  I was no longer in control of Lakota, I was just along for the ride.  Then Lakota went one step further, he really got going and as a result, it got rougher and I started bouncing in the saddle.  Not the most enjoyable ride of my life, but I didn’t come off him until I was ready. And at this point, I was ready.

As I got down I realized what was going on. Lakota was trying to tell me that he is Leeanns horse and Leeann is who he is going to listen to and who he works for.  Well Lakota old boy,  I got the message.  You just take care of my girl when she is on your back and I will make sure you have all the treats you want. But, I will not be up on your back again until you invite me.  I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Sunday’s are just the best.  We try hard to make it a family day, you know a day where we do things as a family.  My little girl, Katie, is 10 years old and is a true animal lover.  I mean she studies animals.  She reads books to no end about animals, watches Animal Planet on TV and will watch any movie with animals as the main character.  If it is a dog movie and the dogs talk, she is tickled pink.

Well, today we were going to do some family stuff and had thought about going to Dollywood for the day.  It is a fun place to go as a family plus, she loves the roller coasters there. However, when we woke up this morning, yet again it was raining, cloudy and just plain grim looking outside.  So, plan B.  We decided to go to a movie, but which one?  I have seen the new Star Trek movie two times now, but it is a bit too intense for Katie.  We did find the Disney movie “Earth” still playing at the mall.  This is a movie about our planet and some of the animals that live on it.  BINGO!

Now if you saw any of the Discovery Channels great mini series “Planet Earth”, then you saw this movie.  They just took some of the best parts of the TV show and made a movie out of it.  But here is the weird part, we tried to get Katie to watch the series when it was on TV and she wanted nothing to do with it. But at the movie theater, she was hooked and never took her eyes off the screen. One scene made her a little teary; seems there was this polar bear out on the prowl for some food.  He left his cubs with their mother and went looking for his own food.  Well, at the end of the movie he didn’t do so good getting any food and died.  So, guys take that as a lesson; stay with the wife and kids, you will live longer.

Anyway,  love Sunday’s because I get to be with my family and we all get a little down time which is so important.  I hope all of you get to spend some time with your families this Sunday.  Now, if the sun would just come out, I would be even happier.

Back in 1976 my family got cable TV in our house. Now, it was not the cable we have today. We only had 13 channels and it was mainly to make the signal look better.  You see, back in the day we had to have an antenna on top of the house to get any channels and then it fuzzy at best.  When we got cable I asked my parents for a TV for my room.  You have to remember this was 1976 and most homes had one TV in the house period.  Non of my friends had a TV in their room, at best most had a record player and a radio.  So to ask and get a TV in my room was huge. It was the greatest thing my parents ever did and put me on the path to where I am today.

You see I had always loved television.  Not just to sit and watch for hours on end, but I studied it.  I wanted to know how they did the things they did.  I wanted to learn how they set up shots or scenes, how the script was written, I wanted to know everything.  But most of all, I wanted to have a job in television more than anything in the world.

I grew up in a small farm town in east central Indiana.  You either were a city kid or you were a farm kid and worked in the corn fields.  I was a city kid and was proud of it and knew what I wanted to do.  So you could just imagine how thrilled I was when I found out my high school had set up a small television station and allowed the students to do all the work.  I, of course, signed up for the program on my first day of high school.  I learned so much and loved every minute of it

I tell you all of this to give you an idea of where I came from and how some 25 years later I am still loving every minute of what I do and how proud I am of my work.  Today I got awarded for my work.  Today I was named the top videographer in the East Tennessee area according to the WTNZ Fox 43 Hot List.  I was nominated back in January and the voting ended the first part of this month and today I got the results.  I am thrilled to have won this, but I also know that means I have to work that much harder to prove I deserve the award.  I intend to do just that.  I pride my self on making the best video possible and that I give you something that you can watch for years to come.  Something you are proud to show your friends and family, your kids and even your grand kids some day.

So, I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all of those who voted for me, all of the brides I have worked with lately who allowed me to be a part of their special day.  But, most of all, I want to thank my wife, Leeann.  I would not be where I am today were it not for her and her love.  She puts up with all strange schedules, all the meetings I have, and all the late nights I have had just to get the video finished on time.  Thank you Leeann.

It’s hard to believe, but here are in May and that means that summer is just around the corner.  Summer is one of my favorite times of the year.  The warm days, trips to amusement parks, hikes in the woods.  Just can’t beat this time of year.  But, one thing about summer is that brides are making plans for their fall weddings.

Here in East Tennessee we have a some great outdoor venues for fall weddings.  Our temperatures stay pretty warm well into October and early November.  The changing color of the leaves makes for wonderful backdrops as well.  However, outdoor wedding pose a huge issue for videographers and photographers a like; the SUN. Every bride wants a beautiful sunny day for her wedding day.  The warmth of the sun and the clear blue sky make for a perfect day.  But, the sun can cause several issues when it comes to your wedding memories.

Most any photographer will tell you they would rather shoot on a cloudy day.  Why you ask?  Simple, the clouds provide a great filter for the sun.   You see, when you are shooting in the sun, you only have three choices of where to put your subject:  your back to the sun and your subject facing the sun. This is how most of the old point and shoot cameras told you to take a picture, with the sun to your back.  The problem this causes is that the subject is either squinting because the sun is in their eyes or the face is blown out, too bright, and looks washed out.  The other choice is with your subjects back to the sun and you facing the sun.  The problem here is that your subject’s face is in a huge shadow or is very dark.  The third way is to stand to the side of the sun; in other words, having your left or right shoulder facing the sun.  This causes a shadow on one side of the face.  This way you only see half a smile.

A cloudy day causes the sun to be filtered more evenly.  No harsh shadows, no squinting eyes, no half a smile.  Well, the same thing applies to video as well.  There is no light that will overpower the sun.  So, you have to know how to use your camera and how to set up your camera for a sunny day.

Now, don’t go looking on your camcorder you got from the big box store for some of the things I am going to be talking about for the next few minutes, they are just not there.  You see, your camcorder you got from the big box store is preset to take generic video. Sure the iris will open and close automatically based on the amount of available light, but the gamma and luminance levels are already set.  These two items, Gamma & Luminance, help control what you can do with the light.  I don’t want to go into the long technical definition of Gamma, but lets just say it deals with the dark levels and how you can stretch them to make things look better.  Luminance is the same thing, only it deals with color adjustments.

All of this is just a bunch of tech talk I know, but if you have a hard time understanding it, how hard do you think it is for your Uncle Dave if you ask him to shoot your wedding video on his handy dandy camcorder?  Just like you wouldn’t ask your friend to his their point and shoot digital camera to capture your wedding pictures, why have someone with a point and shoot video camera capture your wedding.  A professional photographer is not only going to know how to best pose you and your family, but what is the correct light setting on his camera, where to best place everyone in the shot but, also how to edit the pictures when they get back to their studio to make sure you have the best pictures possible.

A professional videographer is going to do the same thing. We know how to use the light to our advantage, how to set up our camera correctly.  We are also going to be able to make adjustments in the edit process or post production.  I can, for example, go in and fix the color of a dress the bride has on.  If she is in a dark room, I can brighten it up, I can adjust the volume of the vows.  The list goes on and on of the things that a professional videographer and EDITOR can do with your video.

So, as you plan that fall wedding, think about all the things that are going to happen on that very special day, then just think of the things your are never going to see or remember from your wedding day.  A professional videographer is going to be able to capture it all and provide you with DVD that you can watch for years to come.