Tuesday, February 23, 2010


10 Ways to boost your Mojo
OK so what is your mojo – well my understanding is that “it is your internal energy, enthusiasm, power and inspiration that gets you moving joyfully in whatever direction you desire” Mojo is like the fuel you need to fulfill your goals and dreams
If you feel that your Mojo is more like a Nojo try these simple tricks to get it back in full gear.
1. Embrace the Peter Pan in you - think more like a child – they only see the possibilities not the danger. I really like a quote from Peter Pan “to live will be an awfully big adventure”
2. Be good to yourself, I am sure you know how to make “To Do Lists” well make a Self care list and write down all the things that would make you feel healthy. Like regular walks, fresh air , time to sit and enjoy your food not eating on the run. If it helps pretend you are writing it for someone else.
3. Defrag your mind – just like your computer your mind gets overwhelmed with all the things it has to process, so carve out 15 mins a day to meditate or pray.
4. Learn to live in the moment – let go of past and don’t fret over the future but truly live in the here and now. This is a very special gift I have got from photography - after all it’s all about catching the moment.
5. Live in an attitude of Gratitude – if you face each day from a perspective of gratitude then you will never have that familiar feeling of running on empty.
6. Mojo Stealer, learn to recognize people or situations that drag you down and avoid both – believe me you won’t miss them.
7. Look for the miracles in everyday life – it might be that just getting out of bed in a morning is somewhat of a miracle for you - if that is the case give thanks.
8. Kill stress – my easy solution to this problem is to call it what it really is! Instead of saying to yourself I am stressed say “I am overloaded” then itemize all the things that make you feel overloaded and either remove those responsibilities or delegate until you start to feel life is good.
9. Recognize time stealers – and get rid of them – for me it is my crazy obsession with farm-ville – for you it might be TV shows, or crossword puzzles. Recognizing where the problem lies is half the battle.
10. Eat chocolate – it makes all the cells in your tummy sing Halle Lulea – and just knowing that scientifically (unproven) theory makes my Mojo go
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Top 10 Reasons to Hire - A Sharper Image - Photography


Top 10 reasons you should hire a Professional Photographer
Well these are really good reasons why you should hire A Sharper Image actually

Whilst reading a marketing book recently, it posed a question that I felt worth spending a little time pondering.
The author suggested you put yourself in your client’s shoes and ask
Why should I hire you?
He was really trying invoking advertising copy and creating a unique selling proposition. But I thought that question warranted some serious thought.
So here are my top ten reasons to hire A Sharper Image - Photography
1. Top-of-the-line Equipment – My camera is worth more than my car, and I have a whole slew of lenses. Along with all the “Must have” pro accessories
2. Expert Eye – As a professional photographer I anticipates all the possible moments in an event. And know how to capture these moments and immortalize them in a single, cleverly angled shot.
3. Coaxing a Shot – I know it’s hard to believe but sometimes I have to deal with uncooperative subjects. This takes experience and patience to coax a shot.
4. Lighting Techniques – Another reason why you should hire a professional photographer is I know how to deal with different lighting conditions. I can gauge what kind of equipment is needed if the present natural lighting conditions are unsatisfactory and recognize what kind of light will make a photograph pop.
5. Focused Concentration – Hey as a professional photographer is hired to do one thing and one thing only, he or she will have the concentration that is needed to capture special moments in an event.
6. Education – I have formal photographic education plus attend workshops to continually upgrade my skills. Unlike the amateur who has barely skimmed the instruction manual.
7. Proper Etiquette – Years of experience has developed the proper way of acting in an event. I can document the event without being conspicuous.
8. Objectivity – During an event, there are a lot of emotions going on and if you hire a friend or relative, chances are, they will be too involved in the event to take excellent shots. A professional photographer who is outside an event can give this necessary objectivity.
9. Dealing with Other Professionals – The professional photographer will be able to coordinate with other professionals, such as a Judges or videographer or event officials, to make sure that every important shot is taken without getting in the way of other professionals.
10. Standards of Quality – I am totally committed to producing high quality photographs. After all that is my business.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Wild Horses Of Alberta


I had heard all kinds of stories about the “Wild Horses of Alberta” some people said they were farel horses meaning horses that had either escaped or been turned loose and allowed to roam and breed free.
Other people told me the number of supposedly wild horses was proportionate to the price of hay – meaning when times were tough and hay at premium prices people were guilty of just setting their horses free to fend for themselves and hopefully be accepted into the herds of wild horses.
Others claimed these wild horses were brought to Alberta by the first nations people long before the land was settled by white folks. The first record of large herds of wild horses roaming in the Sundre area was in mcDougals journals written in the 1800’s
So I was very keen to go and see for myself.
There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that there are free roaming horses in the foothills – this is a fact.
Bob and Doreen Henderson head up WHOAS - the wild horses of Alberta society and they are active in trying to protect these horses. They very kindly offered to take me out to see them.
I met the Hendersons in Olds and they took me and all my camera gear in their all terrain vehicle on out quest to find the horses.
Bob told me there were about 300 head but they live in small family groups made up of one stallion and his mares along with the youngsters. He explained the bachelor males who hadn’t yet managed to secure and females for themselves also live in small groups this is for both company and safety. Bears and wolves are their natural preditors in these parts.
I ask Bob about the farel horse theory and he said some horses do get tuned loose out here but most of them don’t survive the winter, domestic horses that are used to being fed good quality feed and fresh water really suffer. The streams are frozen all winter and there is no grass – only the hardiest of horses can not only survive but thrive and breed in these conditions.
We traveled about an hour and a half west of Olds and turned of the main road onto the logging roads, I was extremely thankfull that Bob was both driving and knew where he was going because everywhere looked the same - snow and trees - it would be very easy to get lost up here.
As we were driving Bob told me to look for both horse poop and fresh tracks as this would be our clues to finding these elusive horses.
We spotted several white tailed deer but after driving around for about an hour we still hadn’t seen any horses, then Bob stopped the vehicle and told everyone to get out quietly. He had spotted what looked like horses in a clearing. So I grabbed my camera and followed quietly behind Bob eventually we cane upon a family group of horses. The stallion was a very flashy chestnut with white stockings and large white blaze on his nose. He had 11 mares and youngsters in his group.
He was very aware of where we were and patrolled around his mares snorting and pawing the ground in warning for us not to get too close.
I was thrilled to watch the group interact and forage for food, and got some great shots.
Back in the vehicle Bob asked me if I still thought they were farel horses and I had to readily admit they were all of a very definite type.
They were all stocky horses around 14 hh , they had good bone and feathered fetlocks. They had rather large heads with characteristic roman noses, along with thick full manes and tails. These horses were not like any other breed I had encountered in Alberta.
Even though we are nearing the end of winter and you would expect to find horses living free - looking poor and malnourished - that is certainly not the case all the horses looked well and fat, their coats were thick but shiny. Some of the mares looked like they were in foal and even the young stock appeared to be in good health.
After watching us for a little while “Socks”decided to take his girls to a less populated place and he herded his family off into the dense trees. Bob explained they are not only very elusive they are extremely skittish and at the first sign of someone encroaching in their space they take flight.
So we set off to see if we could find more family groups.
We had a very successful trip and throughout the course of the came across 5 groups of horses ranging in size from 5 to 13 and all these horse had the same body type and were around 14 hh.
I am sure that without the help of Bob and Doreen to locate and track the horses I would have never found them.