Heather Hummel Gallagher's Blog, page 6

This Morning on the Ranch - Rocky Mountains

I grabbed my camera on the way out the door this morning to walk the dogs, and these images are what came of it:

Down by the barn - White Horses and Fences

 Stephan and Julie Running in the Field

Shy  Horse

Runt of the Litter
© Heather Hummel www.PulseImages.net

Older Models in Demand

My mom, Valerie Ramsey, and coauthor with me of GRACEFULLY: LOOKING AND BEING YOUR BEST AT ANY AGE was featured with a 42 year old model on NBC Miami this morning in another segment titled "Older Models in Demand"...

Wondering when ABC and CBS will start featuring these stories? Seems like NBC has it down, as this is my mom's sixth appearance between Miami and the Today Show on the topic or similarly related themes. Kudos to NBC.

Kellie Elmore's Tumbleweed - Guest Post

I recently read and reviewed Kellie Elmore's newly released book MAGIC IN THE BACKYARD and was intrigued by her poem "Tumbleweed" so I asked her to stop by my blog and give me the lowdown on what inspired her to write it. Thanks, Kellie for indulging me and visiting my blog!







TumbleweedShe saw her life as atired progression; exciting asa Cannes film about some trailer parkin the middle of the desert,she watched it running past herlike a tumbleweed, leaving herin the dust. Trapped—in thisdesolate town with dreams fallingfrom her fingertips and hopefrom her eyes, but wherewould that highway take her?Where—would it lead ifshe jumped on its back ina spontaneous effort to findsomething greater thanwhat she knew, and would sheeven recognize it after beingblinded by the numbered, un-namedsigns that line this county, orwould there fall on her a sick andun-digestible feeling of remorse inthe realization that ghosts willfollow you no matter where yourun, and hiding is not an option.Home—this is home, she thought,and the craving for greener grasswill never be satisfied until shetakes time to tend to the weeds.

Tumbleweed was written during one of those times when I felt the need to "run". I think we all go through periods in life where the grass looks greener on the other side. Life can become monotonous and boring and we find ourselves dreaming of new places, somewhere where no one knows your name. A place where you can just start over fresh and become someone else, someone you always wanted to be. That was the idea behind this poem.Instead of running, I began to write about running. I got my pen and wrote in free verse all that I was feeling, everything that was overwhelming me and the reasons why I thought "running away" would fix it. There were so many dreams within my words but, for the most part, it was filled with excuses and nothing I was saying was a good enough reason to just go. I found that all my problems had a solution. All the little things that were suffocating me were being brought to the surface and I was finding that I could repair them all right here at home but, that would be the hard way. I had to convince myself that though running would be an easy way out, of this town, of the struggles I was facing, it would not bring happiness. So, I started to weigh the pros and cons, and I realized that while I may rid myself of some of the old, I would be bringing on new problems and how would that be better? So, what I learned from this exercise was that it's all about removal...You have to find whatever it is that's holding you down and tend to it and if you can't fix it (with reasonable effort) then the only other option is to get rid of it completely.  You cannot stay in bad relationships, do work that isn't fulfilling, continue down the same paths and expect things to just change. YOU have to make it happen...and most of the time, it begins with yourself.Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.Happiness is inside of you...and so is sadness. It doesn't matter where you go, you take it with you. If you are not happy at home, you will not be happy on a beautiful beach, by the bluest waters, on a tropical island either. Your ghosts will follow you, until you make peace with them and set them free. Pluck out the weeds from your life and you will have room to grow toward the sunshine.


Kellie Elmore is a writer who knows no bounds. She believes self-expression is most beautiful in its pure, raw and unedited form. “No rules, just write” is her motto.
Kellie finds inspiration in nature and in the humble surroundings of her “backyard” – Southeast Tennessee. Through poetry and prose, Kellie writes freely about cherished and magical moments as well as tragic losses. Her goal is to take readers back, rekindle a memory or elicit a feeling. Charles Bukowski wrote, “If it doesn’t burst out of you, don’t do it.” Kellie agrees and states, “If it were not for my pen, I would explode! Writing is my happy pill.”  Join Kellie as she writes her way through life’s journey – magic in the backyard…Visit Kellie's website at http://kellieelmore.com/

Magic in the Backyard
COPYRIGHT © 2012 by Kellie Elmore
Excerpt appears courtesy of Winter Goose Publishing

If Everyone Can Do It...

"If everyone can do it, no one will pay you to do it." - Rosh Sillars In discussing being a photographer.

Rosh continues on (in a podcast on Photofocus) and makes a great point that freshmen in college today have captured more images in their young lives than he has in his whole photography career because digital allows for that (unlike 15 years ago). And we all know, practicing and doing is how we get better (assuming you're learning from mistakes).

I'd agree that the same mindset carries over to being an author. Anyone can publish a book nowadays. To put things in perspective, when GRACEFULLY was published by McGraw-Hill in April, 2008 there were 2 million other books on Amazon. Now, only four years later, there are 8 million.

Making a photograph or a book stand out in the digital crowd is a full time job, leaving less time for the creative realm. My mother being a Wilhelmina model at the age of 72, now that's one way to stand out in a crowd.

Paraglide by the Dashboard Light

Late yesterday morning I was just finishing my Arnold Palmer at one coffee shop and had two hours to go before meeting my cousin at another coffee shop in Cannery Row. As I took my last sip, Muse knocked. It was at the door telling me to drive up Highway 1 toward Santa Cruz for a quick image capturing session. I had no idea what I was looking for; I just got in the car and started to drive. It only took about 4 or 5 miles until I spotted some paragliders over the the Fort Ord Dunes.

I made my way over there (not as easy as one might think), parked and grabbed my camera. When I got up to the dunes, two paragliders came gliding up the coast. One of them - in the video below - gave me a 20 minute show. As a result, I captured 127 images and this 1 minute video. The images are done in HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. For more on HDR Photography, I recommend Trey Ratcliff's Stuck in Customs site.

Here are some of the top images and beneath them is the You Tube video (the rest of the images can be viewed at PulseImages.net):

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Images and video were captured with my Canon T3i. © Heather Hummel/Pulse Images

Photography Tips for Flattering Faces

Not surprisingly, one of the most often asked questions I get as a photographer is "what angle is the most flattering for a face?" People wonder why the camera adds pounds...90% of the time it's lighting, angles and lens position.

My answer to this is that it's just as much about the lighting as it is the angle. I'm going to give you three basic tips that you can incorporate when you photograph friends and family...and to be sure this is how you're being photographed. Lights...Camera...Action...

1. The image should be captured from the shadowed side of the face at about a 45 degree angle. Why? Because the light side of the face will be magnified, in essence, by the light, making your face look larger and rounder. By photographing the shadowed side, you keep the face in better perspective and looking thinner. (Note for more advanced photographers: It's better to stand back a bit from your subject and zoom in than it is to photograph from up close. By stepping back and zooming in, there's less distortion and magnification, i.e. making the nose and face appear larger and wider.)




2. For a softer look, (and especially for those who are creeping up in years...including yours truly), the less contrast in light, the more flattering. What's called "flat light" means there is a consistent light across the entire face, rather than any kind of contrast or shadowing. A soft, flat light can take years off a face, allowing the smile to shine through!










3. As for angles, for the best results, a lifted and slightly jetted chin (photographed on the shadowed side). Why? Because lifting and extending your chin (a bit like a turtle) makes the double chin magically disappear. If the photographer holds the camera a little higher than the face this helps, too.














Using these simple tips ought to flatter even the funniest of faces! If you use them, let me know by leaving a comment below.


Visit my photography website at www.PulseImages.net

Catching the Pinterest Wave: A Life Lesson in Photography Copyrights

[image error] Catching the Pinterest Wave
I've become a follower and fan of HDR Photography Master Trey Ratcliff. His work caught my eye, as it does for many, when Googling "HDR Photography" several months ago. Immediately smitten with his work, I started reading his blog posts and watching YouTube videos that feature him as a guest speaker.

I've also started using Pinterest, but wasn't sure exactly how or why to use it until I read a post by Trey. If you read the comments following his post, which expresses using Pinterest to share your photographs, he was met with much resistance (to say the least) from fellow photographers over Pinterest's Terms of Service.Their ToS stated that Pinterest had the right to sell content on their site (my non-legal interpretation) and other copyright issues. Needless to say, this is a sore spot for photographers.

As I read the post by Trey, I couldn't help but think, Pinterest grew overnight, I bet they don't even realize the implication of their Terms of Service. So many small start-ups can't afford or don't think they need lawyers to draft or review their Terms of Services. Instead, they use a default one they found online or elsewhere, especially when you consider they're not expecting overnight success and the innate controversy that goes along with it. Perhaps this was the case here.

What's more interesting to me, however, is learning from Trey, who walked in his truth and believed that sharing his images in a Creative Commons Noncommercial license atmosphere benefits both the everyday admirer and the photographer. Naturally, commercial entities are expect to pay for using an image for capital gain, and will be dealt with in court if they don't. But, sharing his work opening rather than hiding in fear is why Trey is as popular as he is today - well, that and because he captures amazing images. (Talent talks more than a mouth.)

Kudos to Trey for paving the way to start a discussion that (I believe) resulted in a resolution benefiting photographers. You can read his original post here.

On a personal note, I'm excited that Trey is coming to Monterey for a PhotoWalk in a few weeks!

Today Show - Ageless Beauty with Valerie Ramsey

My mom, Valerie Ramsey, made her 5th appearance on the Today Show this morning in a segment titled Ageless Beauty. The segment starts with Iris Apfel - the new face of Mac Cosmetics, then goes into the studio with Valerie and Donny Deutsch. Three cheers for accepting aging!

"I think younger women are looking at women like us and seeing that we are real, that we are continuing to be involved, that we have something very, very dynamic to offer to the world and that the real beauty comes from, I would say, above all from confidence and from having courage to be ourselves, from the wisdom that we have acquired within ourselves over the years, from vibrancy, excitement, about being involved in life. And it's when all of those things are on the inside and shine through on the outside, that's what real beauty is all about." - Valerie Ramsey 


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The Power of Vision Boards, Double Rainbows, and the Five Year Gap

Vision Board Double Rainbow 2006If you're familiar with vision boards, you know that they are essentially a collage of things in life that you desire, make you smile, or inspire you. About five years ago, while still living in Virginia, I created several vision boards for all aspects and areas of life...from career to lifestyle to relationships.


It was on my 2006 Lifestyle board that I added this picture (top) of a double rainbow in a California valley. I was visiting California and brought home some magazines to use for vision boards since it was my goal to move to California.

Carmel Valley Double Rainbow 2011Fast forward five or six years and I am indeed living in California, and have been for two years now. Last fall I was driving back to my place in the valley and had an amazing view of this double rainbow the entire drive. I pulled over and captured several images of it on my iPhone (didn't have my Canon DSLR yet.).



 It wasn't until this week when I realized that it's almost exactly the same as the one I glued to a vision board way back when. Besides my living in California now, this double rainbow represents one of several images I glued to the Lifestyle vision board that have now come true. Perhaps it's time to create a new vision board for the next five years?

A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews: Whispers From the Heart

A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews: Whispers From the Heart: Author: Heather Hummel ISBN:978-0983030836 Publisher: Pathfinder Publishing Source: Chick Lit Plus Blog Tours Link to Tour Reviews: ht...