There's Coffee at the End of the Tunnel

If you follow my instagram (username is addynik) then you know I'm on a shopping kick (and apparently a red kick). This is both awesome and extremely dangerous. Be prepared for lots of fashion posts. I'm trying to fit in all the shopping and tourist things and awesome NYC things within the next two weeks. Yep. Two weeks. I'm moving. More on that later. I even stayed out till 2 am Monday night, even though I clearly had to work the next. I have to get it all in before I leave, even if it means a minimal amount of sleep. The two pots of coffee I made the next day were not even enough to get me through the day, but we shall see how that pans out in actuality. We went out to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday. Jon and I were planning to leave by 12:30. Clearly, that didn't happen.

Here are Jon, Zach (birthday boy), Melissa and I. Courtesy of Jon and his amazingly long arms. You know there's no way we would have all fit in that photo otherwise.

Jon, Melissa, and I finally peaced out around 1:30am and left Zach with Renn and his own drunk devices. I didn't hear from Zach until well into the afternoon.

Onto more pressing matters! Like how I'm peacing out of New York. It was a pretty agonizing decision, which I probably waffled over for a good month and I'm still slightly unsure of it. I think it's what I need to do, but there are definitely pros and cons. I came to realize that though I love the big city, and the glamour, and the excitement that comes with it. I'm not entirely happy. I miss my family, who have always been a crazy large part of my life (not just because I lived with them). We have all always had a great relationship, and I count them as some of my closest friends, not just relatives. All in all, I have had a change of priorities. Although Fashion and Photography are pretty much my two and only true loves, they aren't worth it if I don't have a support network around me and people I enjoy spending time with.

My brother told me he was glad I was coming home. He was sad I was leaving NYC, as he knows how long I've dreamt about it, but super excited for us all to be able to get together again.

I'm hoping that a few of the job leads I've found will pan out (I'm really hoping one in particular will) and I'm not moving to NC only to be jobless for forever. I don't want to be one of those people living in my parent's basement all through their 20's. Although, my parent's do not have a basement, so I'm good on that front. But you get the idea.

If you have job leads, feel free to send them my way.

On a side side note. I think NYC has distorted my sense of what is an acceptable amount of money to pay for an article of clothing.

Every Congressman First Had to Be A Squire

Even when you get a real, paying job you have to do silly things like slog lunch for 13 people across three avenues and five streets, or go get coffee for the office. I think I knew this generally, but not in any real sense until I actually had to do it. You have to go through the shit jobs before you can get to the ones that you actually like though. Its something pretty much everyone has to do. You also have to go through those shit jobs to figure out what exactly you want to be doing. Even with that, you may not figure out your exact path. My brother gave me a wonderful phone call last night and reminded me that "every congressman first had to be a squire" (no lie, those were his words). Moral of the story, those squires did have to do horribly stupid things like fun things three blocks and get coffee for 12 people for a meeting, but they did come out of it at the end of the day a congressman. What are some ridiculous things ya'll have had to do during your hike up the ladder?

It's something you have to keep in mind when you get up to NYC, or anywhere, and get your first job. You have to jump through hoops and serve your time, before you can get up to the bigger (not biggest) and start doing what your really want to do. So use the time you have at that job to build connections and learn as much as you can. Be prepared for anything and learn from everything.

On a different note, what would people like to know about hauling ass to NYC? And does anyone have suggestions for things to do up here?

Yesterday (after a leisurely morning doing pretty much nothing) I went to Central Park and sat on a rock and read fashion magazines. It was nice. I need to find some people who will do that with me though. Everyone out on the field with their friends looked like they were having a blast. I even found a person teaching a dance class in the square. It was very amusing. Video May 19, 6 29 21 PM As you can see, some dancers were better than others.

So let me know what you want to know about my experience, and your favorite places around the city. I'll check them out, and tell you my opinion.

Things I Learned From Hauling My Ass To NYC

Things I Learned From Hauling My Ass to NYC (or How To Have A Mental Breakdown at Work) I don't get incredibly lonely when I'm going to work everyday and going through routine. I get incredibly lonely when I'm with people and I realize that I have missed them terribly and I just have not let it come to my attention (yes, I do compartmentalize to that extent). I first started to come to this conclusion when my mum came up to visit. I realized just how gosh darn hard I had missed all my family and how much I actually did enjoy spending time with them. It was driven home when Anita, one of my best friends, came to visit right before I am scheduled to go home for a long weekend. I'm hanging out, enjoying life with her and it hits me. I have missed spending time with people who know me, care about me personally, and like me. I then went home, realized all the things I had been missing and did not want to come back to New York. I literally spent the last two days trying not to think about how much I wanted to stay in NC. I, of course, did go back because, well a) all of my clothes are up here and b) I don't really like being a failure. I lasted two days. I broke down in the middle of the day, in the office. Those of you who know me, know this is not like me. Those of you who know me also know I like to be left the hell alone (sorry sorry) when things like that occur. My boss and coworker did not know that and kept pushing, which led to me crying off and on all day (which is reallllyyy unusual), awkwardness to the extreme, and telling my boss how I disliked what I was currently doing. During the pity lunch that she took me to. When asked by coworker how lunch was, my only reply was "awkward." So I have set a goal for myself in hopes it will get me over this mental setback and in hopes that I don't start out each morning dreading the day. I am going to use my job to meet as many people as I can, personally and for business purposes, and see where that leads. My boss even gave me permission for this. She basically said I was too nice and I should not feel guilty for doing things like taking advantage of my current position to make new contacts. We shall see if that works or not. Living in NYC, you can get pretty isolated. I know, it seems ridiculous. But seriously, all those people walking around you have their own thing to do. No one looks at each other for long on the street or in the subway. It isn't normal to start chatting to your neighbor, sure it happens every now and then, but generally this is not the case. So you have to put yourself out there. Join a group. Go to a bar. Invite people to come out with you, because chances are people will not invite you to go out with them (people generally do not think about other people).

On that note, don't be duped by for horrid guys (or girls), who pretend like they like you and only want to get in your pants. I met a guy, seemed nice, at a bar with my friend Anita. Gave him my phone number and he started texting. All he could seem to talk about was my boobs. Occasionally he would veer away into what seemed like real conversation (even jackasses can't be jackasses all the time). I met him for a drink, and he really was pretty nice, but I could tell he was taking as many glances as he could if you know what I mean. I went home (ALONE DAD ALONE!) and he continued to text, but the weekend I was away on vacation: nothing. The day I'm supposed to get back, more texts. He said something to the effect of "I would really like to see you" (after he had talked about my boobs some more. And I said "No, you want to see my boobs, not me. Entirely different thing." All I got back was a ":-(" face and I haven't heard from him since. So moral of that story: Just because you are lonely, do not get together with people who do not treat you like they should. You deserve better, no matter what. Also he was a horrid tipper. That was my second clue at his wanker ways. Word to the wise for the boys: us girls really do pay attention to things like that. If you're skimpy tipping the nice waitress, what else are you going to skimp on?

Also, Camille left me to go back to the south. SHE EVEN BAKED ME COOKIES THE NIGHT BEFORE SHE LEFT. She is a wonderful person. Which probably did not help my desires to go back to the south. Although Camille's viewpoint is to get back up here as soon as she can. She's got a nice boytoy to keep her company when she does come back up here. Although he might be moving somewhere weird like Michigan. Don't do it Mikhail. Don't do it.

There will probably be more posts of this nature in the future. I'm sure they all won't be this depressing.

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Eleven (or And So It Led to This)

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Eleven (or And So It Led to This) Words of advice in the event you are offered a job:

You can, in fact, negotiate for a higher salary.  This is something I learned literally an hour after I accepted a job, mediocre salary and all. Don't get me wrong. It's a great salary to have coming out of college, but there is the possibility (which I will never know) that I could have had an amazing salary coming out of college. I get the job, text my friend from Martha about it. He asks me what my salary is. I tell him. He then proceeds to ask me if I had tried to haggle for a higher one. I was all like "uh. No. I was unaware this was a legitimate option."

His response was "you can always negotiate." And i was dumbfounded. And slightly angry with myself.

Make sure you ask questions during the interview about your benefits, how they will be doled out, and what they are exactly.  Otherwise you will be walking around in a cloud of confusion for the first three months, thinking to yourself, "What exactly have I gotten myself into, and what were the reasons I got myself into it other than my weekly paycheck."

Rejoice in that weekly paycheck.  A large portion of people who graduated with a photography degree (or any degree for that matter) in the last few years do not have that amount of stability and are crying on the inside while openly worrying about where they will find rent for the next month and eating one packet of ramen a day.

Figure out if your employer takes out taxes or if you have to do that for yourself.  There are pros and cons to both.  On one hand, you have exactly as much money as you think you do. On the other, you have to make sure to set aside about thirty percent of each paycheck, a painful and at times dangerous thing to have to do.  On one hand, you can barely write anything off.  On the other, lots of things could technically be written off when you are an independent contractor.  I would not; however, take my word for these things.  I would consult an accountant.  I still have not quite gotten to the part where I file my own taxes. In time, young padawans, I can give you advice on this as well.

Make sure you are going to like what you are about to plunge into.  It is not a great feeling when you set out to do something and then realize it is not exactly what you were hoping.  This cannot always be avoided.  In the case that you are duped and stuck with a job that is slightly off kilter, be sure to learn all that you can before you skip out of there. And, you know, make sure you skip out of there in a nice way so that those people still like you when it comes down to it.

In other news, More Adventures of Mumsy, Naughty Nicki, and I then I will fill you in on some things that Camille and I have been getting ourselves into.

Sunday was my mum's last full day in NYC. So we went to Hillsong. It was packed. Mum, Nicki and I were way back in the back by the door and we could not see anything because of all the people standing in front of our short selves. They did bring mom a chair, while we were back there and then they went in search of actual seats for her. WHICH THEY FOUND. Some nice lady gave up her seats so that my Mom could come up to the front and sit in a chair where she could see. I was lucky enough to get in on this as well. I did say that I would sit on Nicki in the aisle, but that didn't seem to be acceptable. So Mum being a gimp paid off. People are all kinds of nice to the injured.

Then we came home and made lasagna! It was delicious and yummy!

Monday morning, we packed mom all up and went on a bus adventure (I am now a pro at buses) to Kitchenette. The mecca of brunch food on the Upper West Side. I had delicious strawberry french toast and delicious strawberry sangria. They go surprisingly well together.

Then we went on back to the apartment and I had to sadly put my mum into a cab. Then there was post vacation depression. Don't laugh, you all totally know what I'm talking about.

That Wednesday, I went out to a release party with Camille. Camille and I have taken to going to random MeetUp group events and gallery openings that come into my works email box simply because we can.

We did not know who this girl was, just that there had been an email inviting us and we had our minds set on going. Who cares if this girls music was good or not (it was so not awesome). We got there, FREE hors d'oeuvre! This was great as I had come from work and had nooooooo dinner. We then decided we should at least by one drink if we were planning on staying a while and sip that thing for hours. FREE vodka drinks! Sure, they were watered down, but they were still delicious. We did not go crazy though, because we are responsible adults and did not want to have to go to work with hangovers in the morning.

So we are sipping out drinks on a nice couch by the stage when the girl releasing her CD comes out to sing and shake her thing. Everyone immediately stands up and crowds to the front so us short people are incapable of seeing. This is okay though, because I notice other short people standing on the couches so they can have a higher vantage point. We immediately follow suit. So does a tall guy trying to take photos with his point and shoot. I ask him if he would be so kind as to move his head to a lower level so us short people can see. Which he actually does, so I had to stop being snippy with him.

He starts talking to us and asking if we are enjoying ourselves (which two free vodka drinks in, of course we are) and it turns out he is in charge of the whole thing. This makes me laugh on the inside and try not to look scornful. I think I managed it because he tries to give us his card. He handed me one directly, hand to hand. But apparently Camille was not paying enough attention to him (there was a girl singing and dancing on a stage ten feet in front of us), and he starts moving his hand like he is going to slip the card INTO HER BRA. I shove her so that she notices this and has the opportunity to stop that from ever happening. Apparently I made a very horrified face at her, which she still remembers exactly a week later. She took the card from his hand and was very polite about it. She said "Uh Thanks," and did not mention his blatant disregard for personal space as I would have.

This incident is something I will remember for months, possibly years, to come. He was taking pictures the whole time too. Of us as well. I looked on the website later and I did not apparently make the cut, but half of Camille's face did. O the funniness. Camille and I at le party!

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Ten (or I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty)+ Dance Like You Mean It

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Ten (or I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty) + Dance Like You Mean It Make everyday fun in some way so you do not dread waking up.  For instance, take pictures of you work outfit everyday.

This may, at first, make you feel like a vain fool, but it brightens up your day when you get a nice comment and it encourages you to try, which is certainly important when your endgame is impressing people enough to give you a job.  It also is a nice record of every day of your internship. Something to look on in your dotage and say to your adopted grandchildren "see here, on this day I wore this outfit and got noticed by the editor of this magazine." Or something like that.

Obviously, not everyone is going to want to take pictures of their daily clothing choices, but you get the point.  Make everyday at least slightly different by setting a goal and recording it.  I can honestly say I did not wear exactly the same thing any of the days I worked at the lovely offices of Martha Stewart.  This may be unimpressive and extremely un-noteworthy to you, but I find some small sort of pleasure in it.  And should we not find pleasure in our internships, even while working our little tushes off to impress people?

And more Adventures of Mumsy, Naughty Nicki And I!

Saturday was a ridiculously fun day as we went on a cruise around Manhattan.  I should say this adventure began on Thursday when I called to book the tickets.  Joe, the voice on the other end of the phone, was very flirty.  He asked me what the occasion was and I told him just because we wanted to.  His response was "So life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."  I did not know what to think of the kid at this point so I was just like sureeeeee.  He then asked if we would be "enjoying any alcoholic beverages" on the cruise so we could buy the tickets beforehand for a lesser price.  I was all like "heck yes, we drink alcohol" and he proceeded to tell me "I think I like you," which was interesting.  After this was all done, he was outlining a few ship rules.  "As this is a lunch cruise, the dress is semi casual, so a button down and slacks."

To which I replied, "I don't think I'm going to be wearing a button down and slacks," and he became extremely flustered.

I thought this cruise was sure to be a touristy, corny thing to do, but something all people who live in the city should do at least once.  You know, with one alloted alcoholic beverage and a mediocre buffet.

It turned out to be awesome.  Probably because we had an interesting group of people on the boat with us.  And when I say Interesting I mean Crazy.

We get there and are shown to our table. It was on the second floor (so I hauled Nicki up some stairs) and it was not by a window, but we could see the dance floor and out the windows across from us. This turned out to be the prime sitting spot as we could look over the railing at the goings on of the DJ and the people who interacted with her.  Before we figured out the wonderfulness of our tables location; however, our waiter came to get our drink order and to ask if we were here for any particular reason, an ongoing theme.  We repeated that we were just here to have fun, no particular reason, but my mum was visiting from NC.  He WROTE THIS DOWN and then flounced off.

Then came the food.  It was actually pretty delicious. Mashed potatoes, and salad, and salmon, and mac & cheese.  A carb lovers delight.  Then we got TWO desserts. TWO.

We then went outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather and the Statue of Liberty. This is us in front of the Statue of Liberty even though you cannot tell....

Then the fun began.  People had imbibed their alcoholic beverages (and probably a few more before they even boarded the boat) and they were loose and excitable.  The DJ fed on this and so did the crew. The waiters and waitresses actually came out and sang and danced.  It was corny, true, but great.

Then the crazy crowd got involved.

 This woman was hilarious.  She interpret danced all around that dance floor, and on it, and off it, and on the waiter a bit too.  We later found out she actually teaches dance classes, which does explain a bit about the large amount of dancing.

After that the DJ threw out some line dances, which basically forces everyone to get on the dance floor.  I did indeed dance. Sadly, these photos are on my mother's phone and I cannot get them to you, my loyal readers.  I'm sure you can use your imagination.  I was literally the only white girl on that dance floor and it was awesome.

I would like to believe that I held my own.

Part Nine

Part One

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Nine (Planning Ahead Makes People Happy) + Adventures!

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Nine (Planning Ahead Makes People Happy) + Adventures! This lesson is less about interning and more about being a photographer. Nevertheless, it came to my attention how lackadaisical photographers really are at procuring releases at my internship and not through my four years of college (in which I may have gotten one model to sign a release. Maybe). This is not for lack of trying on my professors' account, it's just a matter of real world experience instead of theoretical lectures.

All photographers should be made to secure release as they shoot, not after they shoot, move on, and turn in their photographs for the magazine to use.  I'm talking to you, location photographers, and you lifestyle photographers.  I cannot begin to count how many times I had to go back and find location releases and appearance releases and even location AND appearance releases.  Get that business taken care of ahead of time.  It is so much more difficult for the assistant photo editor (or intern as the case may be) to track down the people and places you shot than it is for you to slap a piece of paper   in front of the owner while you have them there, trapped in front of your camera.  There's even an app for just this purpose. And we all know most photographers would not be caught dead without their trusty IPhone. Put that $700+ worth of technology to work for you and your future employers and everyone will be much happier in the long run.  I know the people in the photo department will appreciate it when you say "Why yes, I do have a release for that random person I shot in the middle of Toronto."

This lesson applies to all photographers who are a) invested in saving their own ass should the need occur and b) want to work for a publication and keep working for the publication because they make the photo editor's job so breezy and carefree.  I'm pretty sure that is the majority of photographers.

In other news: The continued Adventures of Mumsy, Naughty Nicki, and I.

The next day of our trip (well Mum's trip), Friday (and to think this is only the second day of adventures), we went in search of discounted theatre tickets for later that night.  But first we had a wonderful lunch sitting outside in the sun, munching on fish tacos and sipping margaritas at Blockheads. Mine had an upside down Coronitas in it. Clearly I am always up for an experience.

Once this had occurred, our search began.  We went to the TCKTS line, but as we had had an enjoyable lunch instead of standing in the line from hell for hours, the line looked like a barely contained mob.  We decided that this was something Naughty Nicki could not handle (not us of course, we can handle anything).

So on an off chance that there would be cheap tickets, we went directly to the theatre that was showing out first show of choice, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.  It was an interesting journey through the throng of tourists who continually occupy Times Square, but we finally made it.  It is extremely possible we ran over a few toes on the way there.

Alas, there were not cheap tickets (i.e $60 balcony tickets), but there were RUSH tickets.  For those of you who are uneducated (I was, but not anymore) this means that they are partial view seats, but most importantly that they are only $30.

We decided to take this risk, and after a perilous journey to the grocery and home we came back for the show.  On the way in I overheard this statement, "OMYGODNICKJONASISINTHISBUILDINGWITHUS." I kid you not.

We were escorted into our seats, as apparently my mother is 'handicapped' and needed special help. I enjoyed it, everyone was VERY considerate of her. Even when she ran them over.

We actually had pretty awesome seats.  Only the very top of the stage was cut off, which only became a problem when a person got dangled from the ceiling, so not much of a problem at all.  Needless to say, It was a very enjoyable show.  

What came after it was just funny, and made me a little sad for the world in general.  Nick Jonas and another character, Bud Frump, came out to auction off J. Pierrepont Finch's bow-tie (Nick Jonas).  This of course caused those very same girls who had screeched earlier to become highly agitated.  Although one grown woman in the front was trying to get them to auction off Bud Frump.  She was very adamant, but was finally dissuaded from buying him and persuaded into actually bidding for the bow tie.  It got to the point that one man yelled out "ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS" and then tried to temper it by saying "for my daughter."  This girl was clearly a) thrilled and b) probably a spoilt brat.

My mother and I made our escape at that moment, wondering about the nature of people who have the ability to pay $1000 for a man's sweaty bow-tie.

At least it was a tax-deductible $1000.

Part Eight

Part One

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Eight (or Holding On with All Ten Toes) + More Adventures

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Eight (or Holding On with All Ten Toes) + More Adventures I'm sure you've had the friend who tells you the horror stories of his menopausal boss, or the boss that loads them down with work on a weekend, or the boss who constantly sits right behind them and criticizes everything they do. Or, you know, the boss who tries to seduce you while acting like a chauvinistic pig, or the unfulfilled pay promises, or the crappy job assignments meant to 'put you in your place.' You get the idea. I'm here to tell you that, though they may be slightly embellished and/or overly talked (complained) about,  it is highly likely that most of that story is true.  Consequently, if you find yourself in a happy work environment hold on to it with both hands and all ten toes.

Horror situations like that do; however, make you that much more appreciative when you do land an awesome workplace with awesome coworkers (they also lower your standards so you are in a much more appreciative mind frame to begin with). Martha was a place of mostly happy people, enjoying what they do and enjoying the people with which they were doing it (at least that's how it seemed to me).  Martha the homemaker is clearly also Martha the maker of happy workplaces (maybe even more so).  Let's face it, a picture of her giant chow, Genghis, will put a smile on your face any time you see it (and I saw one at least twice a week).  I'm convinced Genghis Kahn is her secret plan to take over the world.  I mean, he did win best in show at Westminster. He also is allowed to eat at tables, in fancy restaurants:

But anyway, the Moral of the Story is: Be thankful for an awesome work environment because not all companies are full of genuinely happy people who not only enjoy their jobs, but also the majority of their life (all because of Genghis Khan).

Take note of Martha holding puppy Genghis, clearly world domination is being planned:

In other news, I promised more Adventures of Mumsy, Naught Nicki, and I.

Later on in the afternoon, after the horrible waitress incident, I got to take my mother to the other Little Town NYC location by Union Square. With a LivingSocial coupon of course.  The Union Square location was just as wonderful, though the ambience was not quite as awesome as the Hell's Kitchen location (that one was two stories, with a net above the bar so drunk people couldn't throw things at innocent bartenders).

We rolled on in (or my mum did) and got a table by the wall (so my mum could lean on it., Okay I did too) AND THEN we had beers!  Let me just point out from what kind of selection we could choose.  And THERE WERE MORE THAN THAT. I had a White IPA which I encourage everyone to try.  It was fantastic. My mum had some sort of light wheat thing, which was also good, but she is clearly a pansy beer drinker.  My brother and I try to teach her and fail.

And then we had TWO DOZEN oysters. Which were pretty awesome.

Once we had finished our delicious oysters, our two beers each, and one (non couponed) bag of chips and bleu cheese dressing; we went on our way to a Trunk Magazine 'Special Exhibition' to meet and greet with Trunk Mags Photographers.

But backing up to us being on our merry way.  We our strolling (or rolling as the case may be) down the street, me pushing my mum a bit so her "calf doesn't get too tired" and so we can make it there before 2013. We may have gotten a little too ambitious, speed wise, and Naughty Nicki was not having it. We hit a bump and almost bit it. The both of us and Naughty Nicki.  Luckily, Mumsy and I are both quick on our feet (her slightly less so obviously) and we managed to not make a spectacle of ourselves on the sidewalks of Union Square.

We eventually made it to The Conran Shop (which makes you want to buy EVERYTHING) and down to the Exhibition where we met up with one of my photographer friends. Yes I do have friends in NYC.  Three of them. So there. The event was interesting (i.e. photographs and free alcohol), but there was only about ten photographs, which was slightly disappointing. To be fair, they were awesome photographs.

So we are mingling. Eric and I are trying to get to know people (we are both new to the city and need to know everyone). Eric points to a guy and is like 'I think that guy is one of the photographers,' but he wouldn't get his ass in gear and go talk to him. So I took matters into my own hands.

For those of you who are unaware, I came to NYC and became much more outspoken.  You have to be.  But I also grew up in a household that rid me of most of my shame (in a good way).

Anyway, I sidled up to him and said "You're one of the photographers right? My friend over there wants to meet you, but he's being a pansy, so I'm shaming him into doing it."  I know, I'm a horrible person.  Turns out the photographer was David Cicconi, the founder of the Magazine and the Creative Director.  Pretty Awesome.  And he remembered my name later, which is always a good sign.

That's something to add to the Intern Manual, Be Memorable. Perhaps that will be the next post?

Part Seven

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Seven (or Sharing is Caring) + The Adventures of Mumsy, Naughty Nicki, and I

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Seven (or Sharing is Caring) + The Adventures of Mumsy, Naughty Nicki, and I For this little tidbit I'm going to tell you a story, a story of a girl:

Once upon a time, on my last week working at Martha Stewart, I was speaking with a coworker, let's call her Lisa (you know, to protect her identity, and I asked her what she was doing before the glorious days of Martha.  She responded by telling me that she had worked at both Allure and InStyle, which is awesome.  Something about which I would have clearly liked to know more.  In fact, if you know me at all you know I would happily work at either of those establishments with a smile on my face for all my days.  'Lisa' was clearly a connection whose life I could have looked over with a fine tooth comb and bored with my questions. I also could have used her as a reference/in into a photo job at one of these magazines (not that I will not now, since I know she loves me).

The moral of this story is to ask your coworkers questions about themselves early on into your internship.  People like to talk about themselves and their accomplishments, whether that is the incredible genius of their granddaughter (my mother), the amazing family photos they took at the beach (anyone who owns a point-and-shoot or a camera phone) or how they just got back from battling crippling winds and subzero temperatures while climbing Mt. Everest (no one I know). Don't believe me? Go ask anyone you even marginally know what they do, or what they are most proud of accomplishing and see what happens.

Not only does asking about your coworkers lives build a stronger relationship with them, but it also allows you to figure out networking opportunities way before you need them (something I failed at, but will not fail at in the future).  This also has the added bonus of making your coworkers believe you care about them (I did, you may not, just pretend you do).  Plus, and I am not lying, you get to hear some funny stories.  Directly after 'Lisa' gave me the momentous fashion magazine revelation she told me a hilarious story about finding out one of her old roommates was a 'dancer' by coming upon the girl's clear, lucite dancing heels displayed in the girl's room after she had moved out. See, life stories are hilarious. 'Lisa' was all like: "It explained so much."

In other news,  I just put my mother in a taxi to the airport and she's leaving me on a jet plane.  I am slightly depressed by this.  Not only because, you know, my mother is leaving, but also because I get crazy post vacation depression.  And even though I did not actually go anywhere out of the Greater New York Metropolitan Area, I treated this weekend like a nice, crazy, relaxing vacay (in lieu of a nice, crazy, relaxing trip to the beach). 

I had a fun filled long weekend with my mother and Naughty Nicki the Kneewalker (an adventure in and of itself).

This is my mother: 

This is what she was riding around on:

Only hers had a little pack on the front and a lambs wool knee cover, cause she is classy.

I'm sorry to say the very first thing my mother and I did was go to brunch, wherein there was no BREAKFAST and it was only 11. Our waitress was horrid, we shared a meal, she didn't bring us an extra plate but charged us $3 for it, and she forgot about us for a good 20 minutes before she came to run our credit card. Which she promptly dropped, dropped, and kept walking, before another waiter had to flag her down and give it to her.

During that fiasco, she botched this crotchety old couples order. And they literally yelled at her and left.  I want you to imagine this whole scenario spoken by people who cannot hear their own voices unless they yell, and these people wanted to hear the sound of their own voices.  Anyway, crotchety couple was not pleased.  They wanted breakfast and there was none, until another waiter told them they could have a 'lunch omelette' but it was not on the menu (WHICH NO ONE TOLD US).  They ordered egg white omelettes, very clearly (as I can obviously repeat this whole scenario to you), and then the waitress came out with the wrong kind of omelette.  The old women was all, "Now. WAIT A MINUTE. This is not an egg white omelette," and the waitress just stood there and kept putting the plates on the table, not offering a solution.  That was the end for her. They stormed off in a huff while the crotchety old man said, "NO. I am NOT paying you. This is ridiculous. No breakfast and then when we finally get breakfast it's not even the right kind of omelette!"

I felt marginally bad for her, but then I remembered how she had dropped my mother's credit card on the floor and walked off so anyone passing by could just grab it.

The Adventure's of Mumsy, Naughty Nicki, and I will continue in the next posting. I promise.

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Six (or God's Gift to New Yorkers)

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Six (or God's Gift to New Yorkers) Multitasking is God's gift to New Yorkers. They get excited about it in their own little ways, whether that is complaining about everything they have to do at once or rejoicing in the fact that they are so busy and have so much work.

If you can also do these things, and do it with a smile on your face (as talked about previously) you are set.  "Wearing different hats" (as one interviewer I talked to put it) is like gold.  Employers, whether at a real paid job or a fake job (as I like to call internships) want you to be able to do everything and anything and do it with pizzazz. This talent makes you eminently more marketable.

And it likes up the frenzied, crazed faces of your bosses.

In Other News, my mum is coming in the morning! This is exciting because a) I do not have to go to my real job for the next five days and b) MUMSY.

We are going to have tons of fun (even if my mother is currently gimpy cause she's done something crazy to her knee). We are going to try to go to a musical! and an art gallery opening! and the same bar/restaurant my cousin and I went to last night (LivingSocial is my jam).  And we will be doing it all on a kneewalker (you can legitimately rent the things for a week)! Well she will be, I'll just be in the background being jealous.

And taking pictures.

No seriously, there is a kneewalker photo contest.  I am going to take tons of pictures of my mother knee walking about New York and win that money. There will be knee walking in bars, knee walking in galleries, knee walking in Trader Joe's, knee walking at the Eiffel Tower (oh wait, wrong city).  I'm sure you get the picture though. (PUN!!)

Last night, was also awesome. I met up with the lovely Camille, which is always dangerous, and we painted the town red. Which means instead of going to a real dinner we went to Sweet Revenge, a cupcake and wine bar. A CUPCAKE AND WINE BAR! I got the Dirty Cupcake (because why wouldn't I), which is all chocolate all the time and paired it with a Guinness. Pure deliciousness. Camille partook in the Crimson & Cream with a glass of sangria because she is more classy than I am. Both were amazing and I will probably go again. Simply because it is a CUPCAKE AND WINE BAR. Enough said.

We then pranced on up and over to a gallery opening called Quiet Beauty: A Portrait Series, which was pretty awesome. Braden Summers takes some great photographs and looks good in a teal bow tie while he shows them off (let's be honest, I will pretty much instantly love anyone who wears a teal bow tie).  If you make it to NYC before May 10 stop by the Wonderland Beauty Parlor and take a look at them.

To end, here is a quote that one coworker said today. She doesn't know where it came from and nor do I, but everyone should ponder on it and use it to their benefit:

"Do not look backwards, as you will trip going forwards."

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Five (or Stop Crying on the Inside and Do Something about It)

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Five (or Stop Crying on the Inside and Do Something about It)  Do not be shy about communicating what you would like to learn and work on.  Obviously, do not bring it up at inopportune times, but do not sit in a corner doing whatever your coworkers give you and crying on the inside. If you do that then you will not learn all of the things you want to learn.

I learned this fact the hard way.  I did not push hard enough for working in the studio and I only had time to be in the studio once, on my last day, with an awesome location shoot off in the future. Granted I did speak out about wanting to go on shoots, but my coworkers were entirely too awesome and they wanted me to go on a cool shoot (the location shoot in the future) not just an everyday product shoot, which I do appreciate immensely.

It is possible, however; that had I spoken up about wanting to be on photo shoots before I had been at Martha a month, I would have gotten to go on an awesome location shoot (I'm pretty sure they do not pay for interns to take trips across country though).

Lesson Learned.

I would also like everyone to actually stop crying on the inside and do something to fix whatever they are crying over.  I mean it. It makes everyone's life better, even yours.  I, for one, am going to try to employ it more often (cause I know sometimes I can be a bit of a pansy).

In other news, I had an awesome weekend with my cousin. We explored Hell's Kitchen as well as East Midtown (which is a ton of walking). We also tried out a restaurant for brunch, and then came back five hours later for happy hour. It was just that good. This is the restaurant, Little Town NYC:

Proof we were there:

In fact, going back this week with my mum for oysters (and probably beer, maybe). WOOT.

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Four (Nepotism Works)

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Four (Nepotism Works) Let's be honest with each other, Internships are all about networking; and making impressive new contacts. This is how you get a job in New York City. Nepotism is alive and thriving. You want that system to work for you, so you better work for it.

It was a hard choice between this picture:  and this one:, so I decided to just include both. But let's face it, the incest one is a lot more relevant.  And I am for it (you know, in a corporate sense).

There you go, Short and Sweet.

On a lighter note!

Today starts my long weekend away from my job.  This is pure awesomeness.  It is sad; however, that I do not get to see the family and extended family on this Easter weekend.  So my cousin and I (as we are the only two North Easterners) are consoling ourselves by spending it together.  There will probably be beer involved, perhaps a mimosa or two, and green bean casserole (my cousin has a thing for green bean casserole). She legitimately owns this dish:

Should be a good time.

Part Three

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Three (or How To Be a Nerdy Overachiever) + What I did today (Be jealous)

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Three (or How To Be a Nerdy Overachiever)  + What I did today (Be jealous) Come into the office even when you do not have to. If you get sick and miss one of your three days a week, tack an extra day onto your three-day work week (I mean really) and come in on a Friday.  What else are you going to do anyway? Explore every nook and cranny of New York all alone? No, probably not, you're going to sit in your apartment and catch up on the latest season of Game of Thrones.

I am not going to lie, I enjoyed going into Martha Stewart, even when I was supposed to have a day off.  I got put to work, which made me feel like I was not wasting my day away, and I got to learn new things. Not to mention I was hanging out with some pretty cool people while I was working there.  Would I get to hang out with these people if I was not at Martha Stewart? No, because they are (semi) responsible adults with jobs.

I know that my supervisor was extremely impressed when I came in on a Friday after missing two days (due to an extremely horrible bout of food poisoning).  It will make you look brilliant and shiny, which will in turn make your supervisors want to A) keep your shiny around and start paying you, or B) if that's not an option, share your shiny with their friends in other companies where you can actually get paid.

In Other News

Today I met a male model who shot with Bruce Weber, which is pretty freaking awesome. Model was, as one would guess, very cute, but also very flirtatious.

He asked if I was going to go out to drink “the first cocktail of the day” at about 2 o’clock. In my place of work. With my boss five feet away.  I thought about saying “Is that an offer?” but I thought it too late…  Actually, I think my boss would have approved.

Also today my boss found out I was the daughter of two architects.  She said, "that explains so much."  Apparently, my ability to articulate things well and my cultured ways made her wonder who my parents are.  I am sure that they had something to do with my articulation and my cultured nature, but I never knew that it explained my whole personality.  Apparently it does.

Thank you parents for brainwashing me into who I am today. Yes Dad, Frank Lloyd Wright is my favorite architect. And yes Mom, we can go to the Guggenheim when you come up to visit.

           

Obligatory Picture of Fallingwater                   Obligatory Picture of the Guggenheim

Freaking Awesome Lego Guggenheim

Part Two

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Two

Things I Learned From My Internship, Part Two (or Good Will in Truck Loads) Make your coworkers extremely sad to see you go, but happy you have an opportunity to get paid. This is done in a variety of ways, some of which we have already spoken of: a good attitude, willingness to do anything given to you, etc.  The more things you show yourself capable of, the more responsibility your coworkers will give you, which means you can then list those responsibilities as skills on your resume! I did a number of casting calls, finding certain photos for stories, researching copyrights, and finding out exactly who owned the license for some obscure illustration done in the 20's.  All of which I was able to twist to my own purposes and make myself look brilliant on resumes (for those who have not yet met me and therefore cannot know my brilliance in person).

My coworkers were behind this wholeheartedly because they wanted the best for me, and knew just what kind of job market it is out there in the big, bad scary world.  I knew I had worked hard and had gained respect so I had no qualms about leaving  (besides the fact that everyone I worked with was awesome). Which meant I had no qualms about conscripting those I worked with into giving me glowing recommendations.

Leaving on good terms with the people you work with is just as important as securing that all important first job.  The publishing and photography world is insanely small, chances are you will be speaking to those people again, no matter how you left that relationship.  Make sure you left it with a truck load or two of good will.

Part One

Things I Learned from My Internship

Well, it seems I have pretty much completed my internship with Martha Stewart's photography department and I now have a job at a Representative agency.  However; I have to write a paper for the end of my internship class (Class. Hah.) It seems the semester (semester? what is a semester?) is getting pretty close to ending so I decided to start brainstorming for that paper now.  And I'm going to share with you, the lovely readers, some of the things that I have learned in little segments to help keep me creative and hopefully responsible. Things I Learned from my Internship, Part One (or Photocopy with a Smile on Your Face)

Make sure that you, as an intern, are up for anything; from constant photocopying to hanging out on a photo shoot in the studio to frantically and painstakingly putting the May book together for Martha because the Art Department intern may or may not have cut her finger with an exacto knife.  Do whatever your department asks you to, while still being aware of your time commitments (i.e. do not tell everyone in the office you will have each of their tasks done by the end of the day if it will clearly take one and a half days).  This makes you practically indispensable/ everyone's best friend.  People (a.k.a. coworkers)  will want to give you jobs that are fun because you worked so hard on the shitty ones (pardon mon francais).

They will also WANT to recommend you for outside jobs because you have shown how capable you are and they are reasonably certain they will not regret that recommendation.  This is important if you are at that internship to learn and find a job, which I believe is the sole purpose of internships (that and free labor).  Keeping that in mind, it would behoove interns to prove themselves competent and efficient.  No one in their right mind is going to recommend someone who came in and wasted the whole day doing one simple task and playing Words with Friends at their desk.

Doing all of this is all well and good, but you also have to have a great attitude about it.  You may think no one cares as long as you get it done, but people want to know that though you may not exactly enjoy photocopying invoices over and over, you will give those copied invoices back to them with a smile on your face.

This fluff ball is Genghis Khan, Martha's dog. I saw lotsss of pictures of him during said internship

Hello world!

Posts will be coming soon! I'm just going to transfer some over from my other blog!  

Little Miss Muffet

For this shoot, I went up to visit a friend in Davidson and we decided it would be a perfect time to make her model for me.  She used to model all the time for me when i was just a wee Photo 1 student, so it was like old times.  We actually planned on getting up super early so we could take photos at dawn in the field by her house and at the dock.  However, we were not counting on it being completely overcast.  The dawn light was not as dynamic as we wanted it to be at all. Waking up at 4:30 am was a bust.  We continued to try to take photos though, moving on to the dock and trying to use the water as a natural reflector with no luck.  There were some alright pictures, but definitely not exactly what I was looking for.  

A nice dock picture.  Kelly got in the water and was a trooper.

We did take some nice pictures outside of Kelly's house before we went to get pictures, but definitely not the fashion editorial type we were striving for.  More of a portrait.

Kelly Portrait

We came back about five hours later when the sky had cleared and we had gotten some breakfast in us.  Good news was there was light, bad news was it was very bright light. So we worked with what we had. I ninjaed the reflector again.  At times I had it propped up with my knee and foot like I did for my Let the Wild Thing Out shoot and at other times I had it propped up between some cut down grain and my tripod or the chair we brought.

We also tried to do a nice floating picture with flowers also floating around her, but we didn't plan for it well enough, and I didn't think it out as much as I should have.  Her position was awkward for a floating pic.  All flat footed.  But we shall see.  Perhaps I will re-edit the picture and give her new feet or something.  Or perhaps we will just reshoot.

Despite these adversities, which accompany basically every shoot I should think, we ended up with some pretty nice photographs.

Prone

Check out my flickr for more photos!

And my About Me for more links and contact information.

Let The Wild Thing Out

O my, It has been a while.  I should schedule this type of thing into my everyday work load.  Welllllll, let us start recapping.  I've done some great shoots since we last talked, though I probably have not been as busy as I should have been. We had lots and lots of great big storms this summer, which worked to my advantage at times and disadvantage at other times.  In this particular instance it worked.

A huggeeeee tree feel in my back yard in Charlotte and I immediately knew I wanted to take pictures of Rebecca there. Preferably before all of the leaves turned brown and/or before my father cut it into tiny pieces.  Which was a concern.  He was going to do it the day I scheduled the photoshoot, but I convinced him to postpone! He was all "Well hurry up and do it.  Don't take forever."

So we went for it basically immediately.  I called Becca, she dropped everything, well not everything, Becca took her sweet time, and we prettied her up and went to take pictures. It was midday basically so the light was pretty harsh, but we were working against the clock as Becca had to go to work.  And if I do say so myself, I think we ended up with some great photos.

Here is the one I am most proud of:

Model in the Wild

I was a ninja while taking this photo, literally.  I was balancing the reflector with my knee up in the air while trying to focus and frame correctly.  Becca was having a hard time being serious while that was happening.  Can't really blame her.  I think the photo turned out great!

Here's another one from the shoot:

You can see the massiveness of the tree in this picture a little better.  Rebecca was a good sport about getting all down in the leaves and sprawling out.  Even as she was being attacked by my dog, and bugs, and stray branches.

The zebra print dress was mine from Rue 21, but I ended up giving it to her as it clearly looks amazing on her.  She had to go find her own belt though.

Sadly, Rebecca has moved to New York to fulfill her modeling dreams, so I don't get to photograph her nearly as much as I would like.  But she is pursuing her dreams! So that's good! And I'm wishing her luck, and begging her to let me stay at her place when I come up.

See More Photos Here

Constructing Domesticity

I'm trying to get on an actual posting schedule.  I will! I know I will! Hopefully. Anyway, I did a shoot with my friend Rebecca the other week and it was an adventure in an of itself.

I got the idea for this shoot as soon as I realized there was a house going up on the lot next to our house.  I had Rebecca come over about an hour before the workers usually left and we got her all pretty and did her hair in little ringlets and we were ready.

The workers; however, had other ideas and it took them another hour before they all packed up to leave.  During this time, Becca, my mother, and I went out to the other side of the house to take pictures in the woods.  These did not come out as good as I would have liked them too, but it was a way to spend time.  Mum painstakingly held my reflector mad of posterboard and aluminum foil up and she was very proud of herself when she saw the results.  She told me she wanted accolades so here they are! Ha.  This little outing; however, did have the unfortunate effect of causing all of Becca's ringlets to wilt since it was about 95 degrees.  We finished taking pictures and still the workers were hammering and being on site so we were unable to sneak on the property and make beautiful art.

We went inside to cool off, wait, (have a nice beer), and spy on the workers through the window.  We made up a few stories for them to pass the time as well.   We were about halfway cooled off (done with beer) when they started packing up to head out so we got prepared, gathered up my mother, my reflector, and my camera and prepared to walk nonchalantly over.

Our plans were spoiled again! My dog made a mad dash out the door and I, my mother, and my father had to drop everything (carefully) and give chase! (Becca tried, one must give her credit, but she was in four inch heels and a dress from the fifties soooooo...)

Dekker's Pretense at Innocence

Now, you have to imagine this is the most fun Dekker has had in a while and he will not go back easily.  He dodges and weaves around me, or straight up uses his hundred and ten pound bulk to plow by me.  Needless to say, he led me on a merry chase and was only caught when he had gotten tired (he's a bit lazy) and a lovely, good samaritan neighbor helped me corner him behind a truck. He was still very proud of himself afterwards.

We walked back to Becca teetering on her heels at the end of the driveway and returned Dekker to his abode.  Then we went to take beautiful pictures.  I wanted to get up to the top floor, but stairs had not been built yet, and the ladder had been bolted to the floor.  I am not kidding, bolted!  The pictures still came out great through! Here's what we got!

I hope you enjoy them!

Here's a link to my flickr as well!

The First Studio Time

So I've been in the studio before, but never to officially shoot for myself.  I'm always either modeling or assisting or pretending that I'm not officially there to shoot for myself. A couple weeks ago Taylor and I went in for our "first" time in the studio.  Taylor and I are studio partners.  Mainly because we are awesome, but also because there is a shortage of available times to shoot in the studio.  Our assignment was to shoot our studio assistant in three different kinds of lighting, but me being me and not knowing who he was at the time, I made other arrangements as well.  Nothing big. I just asked one of my friends to show up so I could fool around a bit and take some portraits of him if possible.

Well our assistant, Phil, is a nice fellow, if a bit on the quiet side.  Taylor and I might have frightened him a bit with our sarcasm and blatantly dirty jokes.  I think he is almost used to us now.  Though I do think he believes we are very, very odd.  So here are some of the photos for the shoot.  First Phil, and then Cody.

Here is Phil lit with only a softbox.

I'm sorry if it's a bit green.  Really it looks fine on my computer.

Now Phil lit with an umbrella.

 

For Cody, I strayed from what we were supposed to do for the assignment, mainly because it was not for the assignment....

 

Well Voila!