Graham and I went over to my parents’ place for dinner on Sunday after quite a long day of moving. We were both dead tired, but a barbeque dinner of kalbi (Korean short ribs) sounded pretty appetizing! For those of you who have never tried this… you are totally missing out! This is probably one of the main reasons why I’m so far from iron-deficient!

My mom wanted me to take some photos as well. She’s really big into flowers and there was one particular magnolia tree in the neighbourhood that she couldn’t stop talking about. I have to admit… probably the most beautiful and unique magnolia tree I’ve ever seen! The blossoms were spectacular! See for yourself…

Introducing… my very first business card!

I’m so proud of these babies… I nurtured them from thoughts like "How can I better market myself as a photographer?" and "What kind of logo do I want to use for my business?" I’m also shooting a couple of weddings this summer so I also wanted to make sure I had cards on hand if people wanted to reach me afterwards.

I was fooling around in my notebook several months ago when I took a stab at combining my first and last initials to create fluid lines and motions. Lo and behold… the idea behind my sketches had come to fruition. As you can see, the logo looks very familiar (for those who haven’t seen me initial charts and contracts, that’s how I do it)!

I designed it myself using a graphics tablet and Inkscape (great piece of free, open-source vector graphics software) and set up the layout as well. With the layout, I was going for simple and classy. I realize I don’t have any of my photos or anything displayed on my card but it’s just not my style. I wanted an everlasting card that was constant while my style of photography developed and evolved and this layout keeps the lines and look clean and sharp. Just the way I like it!

I’m really happy with the way they printed and the card stock is a wonderful weight. I had to pay a little extra for the rounded corners, but don’t they just look so chic?!

Jenne.

*LENS UPDATE: Graham checked at work to see if my lens had been delivered… and it wasn’t there. Maybe next week…

Well, I must say… maintaining a blog is quite the work! Especially when people start telling you they check back every once in awhile because they want to see if anything new has been updated. In fact, I ran into a couple of blogstalkers the other day (you know who you are!) Thanks for keeping me motivated!

This is good! It keeps me on my toes and really gets me using my camera even if I’m not necessarily taking photos of events or people. And… having my camera on me at all times gets me thinking in more creative ways. I mentioned to Sindy today that, more and more, I’m seeing things around me as if I would photograph them. I see the way I would frame them in my viewfinder and I see the potential in post-processing. It’s kind of freaky sometimes! This applies especially to the wedding photography… and I haven’t even shot my first wedding yet! I see angles differently, I see people’s faces differently, I see colours differently!

That being said, in walking out of school/clinic today, the first thing that caught my eye were these pussy willows by the side of the entrance way that had just bloomed! I thought, "well, I have to get a shot of these, especially since I know that these are Christine’s favourites" and if she could have, she would have incorporated them into her bridal theme somehow! This one’s for you Christine!

There’s also this fabulous magnolia tree that’s off to the side of the stairs leading up to the entrance… the buds looked so fresh in the evening sun! Spring is definitely here to stay and I can’t wait until the greenery really starts to flourish! Yay for spring!

I realize this is a photo blog but every once in awhile, I’ll probably be going on some rants or talking about personal aspects of my life…

So, Graham and I were hanging out today and I brought him some chocolate almond milk to drink… and I said, "Doesn’t this taste better than regular chocolate milk?" He agreed but then decided to look up what the deal was with almond milk or any of those alternate milk choices out there like soy or rice. Up pops Wikipedia (which we both love to just bounce around on… invariably all topics lead to WWII for Graham and the Elizabethan era for me) and the topic of almond milk. Well, a few clicks later and he’s somehow gotten to the Burt’s Bees Wiki page.

Then the question… "Hey, did you know Burt’s Bees has been bought out by Clorox?!"

WHAAATT??!??!

Burt’s Bees… the champion of all-natural, it’s-so-natural-you-can-eat-it, grassroots environmentally friendly, don’t-make-animals-wear-lipbalm Burt’s Bees bought out by the CLOROX Company… a heavyweight in everything synthetic and industrial strength chemicals?? As you can tell, I was floored. And apparently this had gone well unnoticed because the buy-out had happened back in October 2007 and I’m just hearing about it now. I called up my mom (she owns a health food store and carries the line) and she had no idea.

Well, after having read a lengthy article in the International Herald Tribune, I was thoroughly disappointed with the business decision made by the owner/co-founder of Burt’s Bees, Roxanne Quimby.  I can understand that it’s about business and money makes the world go around and yada-yada-yada… I understand how the system works. BUT to make the decision to sell to a company who is clearly on the polar opposite end of the natural, chemical-free spectrum??? If she wanted the big bucks, which evidently she did, I’m pretty sure there were other corporations that would have liked to have acquire a successful and growing natural product company that would have better suited the impetus that was Burt’s Bees.

You know what? I know there are people who say that perhaps in purchasing Burt’s Bees, the Clorox Company will be more inclined to "go green". It’s a great thought but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. When it comes to mega-corporations, while their supposed intentions are good, they still have their bottom-line and their shareholders to please. Watch for those cut corners, they’re pretty sharp!

In my opinion, Ms. Quimby and Burt’s Bees sold out and in doing so, tainted the image of a great company. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find another reputable natural product company to support.

J.