But from comments made over the years by several co-workers, I fear that if some couples tried working together it could lead to the end of the marriage, if not the end of one or both spouses.

I think it works for us because it was a choice we made. As a friend who works with her husband told me, it’s not as though someone forced us to share the same office space.

So why do we do it? And more importantly, how?

Why? I’ve always said we were just catching up. In the early years of our marriage, my husband, Rich, served on a nuclear-powered submarine. It seemed he was gone all the time.

One year, he was away from home for 305 days. When you realize the lengthy separations we endured, it kind of explains what happened next. Rich got out of the Navy, and we decided that if an opportunity to work together came along, we would try it.

We have now worked together three times, and at home we’ve always shared an office. At the last job, we were just desks apart, but the other two times we worked in different departments on different floors.

And for us, it has been a blessing in so many ways. Early on, we figured out that when one of us succeeds, we both benefit.

It goes back to our first shared work situation. Rich had wanted to develop his photography skills, pardon the pun, but that wasn’t possible with the cheap Instamatic camera we had.

I used my first paycheck to purchase him a single-lens reflex camera. It didn’t take long for him to discover his niche — a photojournalistic approach to capturing everyday situations that tell a story. Today Rich has a daytime job as an analyst, but his true calling is as a photographer, which is a great match to my job as a writer.

In the first two jobs, I worked as a secretary, but Rich encouraged me to step out beyond my comfort zone and take chances. I had often talked of wanting to be a writer. I even submitted my work to publications over the years but had no luck in selling anything.

Rich ultimately helped me achieve my aspirations when he invited me to accompany him on a photo shoot of a play at then Okaloosa-Walton Community College. He was a freelance photographer, and he thought that if I wrote an article to go along with his photos, the editor would be more inclined to run several photos, which would be great for him. He was right. It ran as a feature story, with my byline! It led to a full-time writing position for the newspaper. A few years later, Rich joined the staff as the full-time photographer, and we were back working together again.

As to how we do it: by combining our strengths and overcoming certain weaknesses. We’ve become a good team. Rich is always the professional. When I work with him, I strive to match his work ethic, which makes me better at any job I tackle. I’m a bit of a procrastinator, but not him. Give Rich an assignment and he goes right to work. Then, of course, I have to get going, and the next thing you know the job is done, the customer is happy and there’s the benefit — a paycheck.

There also are Rich’s organizational skills. In less than a minute, he could put his hands on a 10-year-old tax return. My workspace is a bit more cluttered. My stuff has taken over the walls and filled several boxes; even the nearby daybed is stacked with magazines, newspapers and clippings I might need someday.

While we have had success in photography and writing, it hasn’t always been perfect — nothing ever is. But we like to work and play together. And we’ve decided that the little problems that occur are just that — little things that we figure out how to resolve.

And although I wouldn’t say that working together is suitable for everyone, especially in these days when you could both be out of work if the company fails, for us it has been the best way to share a wonderful life

The second problem came soon after when I realized that the promoters wanted action shots of all of the dogs during the competition. My fellow photographers and I really had to hustle to get pictures of all of the dogs, especially since there were multiple dogs showing at the same time. Some how we managed to get them all in.
The third problem was not as bad; in fact I figured it could lead to future photography business. Many of the owners wanted shots of their dogs by a professional photographer. We set up a little area and even managed to take a lot of pictures while advertising my Destin, Florida photography studio.

That is when it happened. One owner and 9 Weimaraner puppies in one shot. It was simply insane. It is hard enough to keep one puppy still enough for a good shot, let alone 9 Weimaraner puppies. I do not think the breed is known for its patience. The puppies were simply everywhere.  I am a pretty good photographer; I am not such a good dog catcher. We spent more time chasing down those puppies then taking pictures that day. I was terrified that I would get a single shot with all of the puppies. Somehow, my assistants and I managed to coral all the puppies around their owner and we all quickly snapped a bunch of shots.

At the end of the day, I managed to get a great shot of the 9 Weimaraner puppies. The organizers of the event were pleased enough with my work to use some of my photography in their brochure for next year. They even made an announcement advertising my Destin photography studio, which I really appreciated.

The last problem of the day happened at the very end. The organizers approached me and asked me if I had plans for the next 4th of July. It seems they wanted to invite me back next year. I have not decided if I am up for the chaos again or if I will let another Destin, Florida photography studio have that honor.

My favorite client story has to be the time I was asked to photograph and underwater wedding. I guess a lot of photographers from the Destin area had turned the job down. Not me though! I am game for just about anything. I figured I would be all right.  Resources

I had taken swimming lesson as every Florida child does. I even had a little bit of scuba experience. I did think of one major problem, communication. Just how were we going to talk with each other?

The answer, quite obviously, was sign language. The bride and groom developed an abridge version of sign language which we diligently practiced. We had signs for each direction, signs for smile, signs for kiss and many more.

So, I packed up my scuba gear, checked my underwater camera out and headed for the wedding. It was the perfect Florida day and I was excited for this new job. It sounded like an awful lot of fun. I knew that it would be a lot of work, but at the end of the day I would be the only Destin photography studio that could say they had experience in underwater weddings.

The ceremony went very well. Out abridged sign language worked perfectly and I was thankful for the swimming lessons my mother made me take. I got plenty of shots of the whole thing because I wanted to make sure they had plenty of choices when we finished. At the end of the ceremony, we boarded the boat and my assistant photographer took my underwater camera from me to make sure nothing happened to it.

There was just one problem. I had spent so much time planning the underwater shoot, I never even thought about the reception and taking pictures there. Now, like any good photographer I had a few cameras and enough film. The problem was I had nothing to wear except my dive suit. It just did not seem fitting to take pictures at a formal reception in my dive suit. I did not have time to run home and change, so I was at a loss.

I guess the bride must have seen my confused look because she asked me what was wrong. I quickly explained my problem, apologizing profusely. She actually had a solution. She had a floral print dress at the reception hall that she had changed out of before the dive.  I gratefully borrowed the dress and managed to take the rest of the pictures without incident.

A word to the wise:  if you are ever the photographer as an underwater wedding in Florida be sure to bring a change of clothing. Not everyone will be as lucky as I was.

A couple of weeks ago, my mother asked me to help her plan a birthday party for my father. She wanted to hold it at a Destin Steakhouse that my father loved. My dad owns local photography studio in Destin Florida, so my thought was that we should some of his favorite photographers to create collages of his life. I thought they would be a nice way to decorate the steakhouse. My mother agreed. We only had one problem – how to contact any of the photographers without my dad knowing what we were doing.

I figured a little bit of subterfuge was needed. I began by dropping by the photography studio at odd times during the day, hoping that my dad would not be around and I could talk to at least on photographer. It never seemed to work. Each and every time I stopped by, dad was there. I started running out of excuses as to why I was there. I ended up convincing my father I was trying to design a webpage for his Destin photography studio and wanted to talk with his photographers in order to ensure the website had a decent amount of search engine optimization. I wanted all their specialties and personal information.

Of course, dad thought that was a great idea. I ended up sitting there for hours, listening to rattle on and on about the studio and photography. I should have taken notes.

Eventually I got to sit down with a couple of the photographers and explained my ruse. They were happy to help me out. We arranged to meet the night before the party so I could collect the collages.

They turned out great. His Destin Florida photography employees did an awesome job. They even created a couple life sized pictures of my dad. We brought them over to the steakhouse and placed them around the banquet room. They were a really nice touch and I was pleased I had managed to get them finished in time for the party.

The day of the party was a perfect Destin day. Nice weather and blue skies seemed like an omen for a perfect party. As I was putting up last minute decorations, one of the photographers from the photography studio showed up a little early. He had some bad news for me. It seems my father was convinced I had asked him to meet me at the steakhouse so I could unveil his new website on my laptop.

Now, not only did I have no time, I actually know nothing about web design or search engine optimization so I was really in a pickle. My dad expected a website for his birthday and I did not even have a present for him. I was kicking myself for not listening to his lecture about his Destin, Florida photography studio. What was I going to do?

At the end of the day, I gave him a gift certificate to have his website designed. We had a good laugh at my little white lie and dad had a great party. Next time, I will keep my ‘ruse’ a little simpler.

I am famous for my road trips. The type of girl who will, on a whim, jump in the car and just go. I never really have a plan; I just like to see where the wind will blow me. Recently, I have been traveling out from my Destin, Florida home in search of things to practice my latest obsession – photography. I am under the tutelage of a Destin Florida photography teacher who has this weird obsession with movement in pictures. He believes that a good photographer should be able to capture the feeling of movement in their pictures.

Well, I am always up for a challenge, so I grabbed a couple of the other aspiring photographers one Saturday and piled them in my car for a road trip. I was bound and determined to find something that had never been seen in Destin photography. I was especially determined to find the perfect ‘movement’ shop as my last couple attempts had met the distain of my photography teacher.

Anyway, we were driving down the road, listening to some tunes and looking for something interesting when we came across a butterfly house. Butterfly’s move – in fact, I thought to myself, they move fast. It seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I pulled over and, like clowns from a car, out spilled the photographers. We paid the price, bought the ticket and entered into the butterfly house.

I was immediately drawn to the beautiful Brazilian butterfly’s that flitted about me. Their gorgeous wings moved quickly but gracefully and I knew they were the perfect subject for my attempt to show movement in my photography. I grabbed my camera, checked my lens and film and was off.

So, there is a tiny problem, really very small, that you encounter when attempting to take pictures of Brazilian butterfly’s, or any butterfly I suppose. You do not exactly watch where you are going. The first time I tripped, I assumed I was just being clumsy; I had not hurt myself, so I just moved on. The second time, I laughed and the third time made me mad. I still had not taken a picture that my Destin photography teacher would approve of though, so I kept going and that is where the real trouble began.

I found the perfect butterfly, gently resting on a branch just above my eye level. I stood stock still, and waited for it to move. When it did, so did I and clicking away on my camera, I tripped. I fell. I fell hard. I managed to break my ankle in two places. Instead of a fun trip home, I spent four hours in the hospital and walked out in a cast on crutches.

I never even thought about my film until the day before my next class. I never even saw the pictures of the Brazilian butterfly’s until my Destin, Florid photography teacher did. Apparently I should fall and break my ankle more often, because I finally took a good movement shot – I am just not sure if it was because of my talent or because I took it as I fell.

]]> http://photographers.destinspaces.com/nature-photography/falling-photographs-and-butterflys/feed/ 0 http://photographers.destinspaces.com/beach-weddings/sandcastles-by-the-sea/ http://photographers.destinspaces.com/beach-weddings/sandcastles-by-the-sea/#comments Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:36:32 +0000 admin http://photographers.destinspaces.com/?p=75 Sandcastles by the Sea

I had been happily married for nearly 25 years when my husband asked me to participate in a vow renewals ceremony. I was touched that he had thought of something so sweet. When we married the first time, money was very tight, so we had one of the budget beach weddings in Destin, Florida. This time, I did not need to look for an inexpensive wedding package. We were comfortable enough to hire a Destin wedding planner and have the vow renewals ceremony of our dreams.

My husband has a very unique hobby; he participates in sand castle competitions. He and several friends travel to two or three competitions each year. They are held at various beaches throughout the country. The sand castles they create are not simple sand and bucket creations, they are truly works of art and often include moving pieces. I wanted to use his passion as a basis for our vow renewals ceremony. Our wedding coordinator in Destin had plenty of ideas on how to incorporate sand castles into our wedding theme.

They key element of our wedding in Destin, Florida was, of course, several large scale sand castles created by my husband and his team. They built a six foot tall replica of the Disney castle by the area the ceremony was to be held in.  To create an aisle space, they built several smaller versions of the castle. Our wedding reception was to be held on a tent on the beach, so our Destin wedding planner asked them to build a large display at each corner. They ended up replicating four of their award winning designs. Each separate piece was special in its own way and our guests very much enjoyed them.

The wedding photographer we selected, with the help of our wedding coordinator in Destin, suggested we take at least some of photographs around the sand castle displays. My husband, as a special treat to me, built a single sand castle himself that was large enough for us to stand in front of. I have to say that the effect of my off white dress against the sand was stunning.

To round out the theme, our Destin wedding planner used copper sand buckets to create our centerpieces. Our menu was designed as a picnic – meant to remind our guests of picnicking on the beach.  While we didn’t’ go so far as to serve the food on paper plates, picnic baskets were used to hold condiments and our linens were in the traditional red and white check. For our gift to our guests, we gave away small shovels engraved with our names and the date.

Vow renewals are a great way to reconnect with your spouse and share your happiness with your friends and family. Using a Destin wedding planner is a great way to get your ceremony and reception planned without struggling through the mundane details.  I know that I will never forget my beautiful and unique sandcastle wedding in Destin, Florida – it was simply amazing.

It really seemed like the ideal gift to get our parents for their anniversary. We were going to take all the kids to a professional photographer and get a group shot of all of us. We figured out a way to sneak out of the house with all seven little ones in toe. We set up an appointment at Destin photography studio. We even remembered to pack matching jeans and white t-shirts for everyone. I knew this was going to be one very unique picture and one that mom and dad were going to love.

Let me break it down for you. The picture was to be of myself and my three siblings and their combined seven children. It actually sounded like a fun day – all the kids, driving into town, doing the photography thing, maybe grabbing a bite to eat. Going home would be even better – bringing the proofs home to present to mom and dad. Really, the day almost could not be more perfect.

How foolish am I? I never stopped to think about what it would really be like trying to get seven children and four adults crammed into a tight enough space to take a picture or just how long it would actually take. I guess I should probably tell you at this point that five of the seven kids? They were all under the age of five

In retrospect, I am not entirely sure what possessed me to plan this trip to the photographers. Let us just say that it was not the most….pleasant experience it could have been. All the ‘big kids’ had to hold a ‘little kid.’ Sounds easy right? Not when they are 3 or 4 years old and not for an hour straight. All the little kids had to be quiet and hold still and follow directions. Again, no mean feat when you are talking a whole group of little ones. I have not gotten to the best part yet, the really fun and pleasant part – trying to get everyone to smile at the same time. I have never believed in bribing your children to behave, but I promised every single one of them more treats than their little bodies could hold – and none of them are even mine! Candy, McDonalds, a trip to the Florida beach and more were offered up to the little tyrants so we could get just one good picture.

One hour, two diapers and a melt down or two later and we finally had a good shot or two. And then my crazy siblings had to open their big mouths and ask for more!

At the end of the day we had a great picture for my parents. It is something I am sure they will cherish forever which is good, because I am fairly certain there will never be another one quite like it. Next time we want a group shot, I myself will be the photographer. I will take a shot of each person individually and Photoshop them together. And no, I do not actually know how to do any of that, it still has to be easier then what we did!

Now, I am a nice daughter and had no intention of offending my mother who I knew had the best of intentions in mind when she decided to redecorate my home. Still, I like my things the way I like them, so I decided to wait until she left and just put everything back, which is exactly what I did…

Now I assumed that the next time she came to visit, she would get the hint and leave the pictures, knickknack and couches where they were. Oh how wrong I was. I got home from a hard days work at the studio and realized that even more of my belongings had bee moved. This actually caused the tiniest of arguments between dear old mom and me, when I asked her to help me move everything back. Not wanting to part badly, I ended up saying. I loved it – I just needed to get used to it.

So what is a girl to do? I did not want to offend mom, but I wanted my stuff right where it was supposed to be. Then it hit me. I worked with a bunch of professional photographers. What does one thing have to do with the other? It is simple. The day she left, I invited several photographer friends over and we photographed my entire house – from every angle, every side, upstairs, downstairs and even some cabinets.

Why, pray tell, you may ask? I brought the film to the photography studio and had the picture used developed and blown up. I then went home and rearranged everything back into its original positions. I went back to my normal life until one day I received a call form mom and dad, letting me know they would be down to visit me in Florida in a few weeks. Here is the beauty part: I got out the oversized photos, studied them carefully and proceeded to put everything where my mom liked it. The photos were my blueprint.

Mom and dad showed up a few days later and mom was all smiles, believe with her whole heart that I had taken all her advice and changes to heart. I did not explain what had really happened. It was a great solution to a potentially prickly subject. And then I realized she was never going to stop when I cam home from work and found the walls painted peach – I am not entirely sure my blueprint photography plan will help me with this one.

Then it came, after just learning the world of electronic correspondence through email on the computer, along comes the digital camera. Now my days of photography go way back. You remember those days…the ones before color?  Where you had to advance the film yourself?

Now I thought the person who invented the camera that automatically spits out your paper picture for you to view was the most amazing piece of photograph genius I’d ever seen. Boy was I wrong!

It was my birthday and the grandkids decided that it was high time for me to go back to class. They got me one of those new, fan-dangled digital photography cameras. It was even a bright pink, my favorite color! Before the kiddies left for home that day, they showed me the basics for operating my new digital camera. Shortly after their instruction, I was taking pictures like the amateur photographer that I had always loved being when I was shooting and developing 35mm film. Better yet, I was able to erase those “not so flattering at any age” terrible photographs. Being able to do that without worrying about having to pay for developing pictures I didn’t want is a bonus I had never thought of before!

Now that my friends have seen how easy it was for me to learn digital photography, they’re all asking for gifts of digital cameras and lessons from their own grandkids! Looks like I’ll have some more friends to go with me and sign up to take the photography class being offered at the college now. There’s just no stopping us senior citizens, regardless of our antiquated age, when you immerse us in the world of technology! I think every one of us younger old folks should get one of these nifty digital cameras. Then we can take as many photographs of our grandchildren as we want without paying to develop film!

Last year, while visiting family in Destin, Florida, my husband and I took advantage of the great weather and the captivating beauty of the sparkling waters and sandy beaches on the Gulf of Mexico. Being an ardent amateur photographer (my husband swears that my camera is my security blanket), this provided me with new subject material for my Destin Florida photography.  Fortunately for me, our spontaneous trip to Florida’s west coast happened to coincide with a photo shoot by a professional photographer who was capturing scenic shots for a client’s travel brochure. We bumped into this well-known taker of professional photographs while we meandered down the soft sand of Destin’s beach.
How awesome is that, to run into one of the world’s best photographers while you are just walking along the water. As I paused to watch the consummate professional in action, I noticed certain things about his approach that I thought would help improve my own amateur attempts at photography. To my poor husband’s dismay and utter embarrassment, I, the novice photography student, started snapping pics of the professional in action. Fortunately for me, and also for my husband, the professional photographer was more inquisitive as to why I was taking the shots versus being angry at me for doing so.
When he inquired as to my reasoning, I meekly replied that I was trying to capture how he approached getting the right lighting and shadow content in his photographs. I explained that if I had a picture of him in action, showing not only the subject of his photography, but his positioning in relation to the sun and the shadows being cast, that I could use that as a reference for setting up my photos. I told him that I was very new to the world of photography and it would probably take me years to become a mediocre photographer. I think he was truly shocked to think that I considered running into him on the beach as the highlight of our trip so far.
Whether it was due to the uniqueness of having his picture taken or being complimented as a master who could teach me technique, this world renown photographer kindly started showing me some useful pointers to improve my pictures. He took the time to explain in detail how to set up or frame the shot. I learned that a lot of how you approach the background in photographs has to do with the subject matter or focal point of the picture. We even spent about thirty minutes with my little digital camera, playing with each of the settings. He detailed how the photographer needs to intuitively know when and when not to use zoom features. I was amazed to find out that my personal, inexpensive camera could do things like shoot photos in black and white, as well as in natural light instead of using the built-in flash.
For an amateur photographer, this afternoon on the beach near Destin, Florida, was idyllic. Even though my husband is not the picture-taking hound that I am, he thoroughly enjoyed watching me fully immersed into an activity I am passionate about. That seemed to change however when he became the subject matter of my brief photography lesson. While attempting to educate me on the play of lighting and shadow in pictures, the professional photographer started spouting commands at my husband, as if he were a top fashion model. Telling him to turn this way, hold his head that way and a variety of requests that had to do with portraying emotions, it became evident that my husband would never be the next top model – anywhere! My poor beloved went quickly from reveling in my excitement with having a free lesson to utter annoyance, with him finally enveloped in a state that resembled the fury of a storm. At his insistence, my photography lesson came to an abrupt ending. I thanked the professional photographer profusely for his time and guidance, and then we made our way back to our family’s home.
Now that that day has long past, my husband and I will often sit together and look at the photographs from my impromptu lesson on the beach. Some of the shots actually resemble those that could have been taken by a professional photographer. Others look like silly, family photos, the kind you look at and giggle. Using skills I learned that day, my photography has steadily improved. How fortunate I am that I not only got an amazing free lesson, but I have a wonderful husband that indulges my picture taking hobby!