Some Stay Old School | Life

Cory could never be accused of jumping on the technology bandwagon; for instance, his cell phone is a 2004 model without text capabilities, and he has no interest in upgrading.

Cory listens to the radio a lot, NPR to be specific. A common morning siting in our home is Cory carrying his portable radio from room to room as he is getting ready for work. I've taken to calling his radio "My Buddy," because wherever Cory goes his radio goes. This morning when I got up, I found "My Buddy" sitting atop my "Baby Mac." Man, what kind of slam on technology was that? Ha ha ha!

All kidding aside, I'm glad to not be married to someone who must have the latest gadget. Plus, I have my own techno resistances. Thine eyes shall ever read a book on a Kindle!

Yosemite | Macro Photography

I love Yosemite, but it always wrecks me photographically. I start out wanting to capture those gorgeous vistas, but I always give up out of frustration. This trip was no different, BUT, this time I had a macro lens in my arsenal. The macro lens was borrowed from my coin photographer friend, Todd, and he just might not ever see the lens again. With the macro lens I was able to make the tiniest details of Yosemite my personal nature studio.

Only natural light was used in each image. With the exception of minor sharpening, each image is straight out of the camera (SOOC). As you can see I exploited the dark backgrounds when possible, giving a studio feel to some of the images. Sunlight was such a great teacher - seeing how it moved through the forests and how it created such contrast between subject and background.

Rupert & The Bachelorette

The video speaks for itself.

Bachelorette

So much to say about this season of The Bachelorette and we are only one episode in. First of all, I can NOT believe ostrich egg Travis made the cut! That shot of him on the porch swing with his big egg sitting beside him was just too much. Then pompous-pants, cheeseball Kalon, aka "Helicopter Guy," got to stay in too!?! Man, that guy is a douchebag and pantywaste rolled into one.

I've been watching The Bachelor and Bachelorette since season two. Cory can attest to the fact that after watching each season opener, the first words out of my mouth have always been, "Oh man; I don't know if I can keep watching." This wasn't the case this time. Awwyeah, I'll be plopped down on the couch watching every week. In all honesty, I thought Emily would really annoy me as the Bachelorette, but I think she's going to be okay. As much as a cringe-fest the show is, this season looks like the boys might deliver more tears that the ladies usually do. Love that drama! And with a special appearance by Dolly Parton, one of my favorite celebrities, this truly might be "the best season ever!"

Jedi Master | Sacramento Dog Photography

Rupert and I have entered our first competition! It is a pet photo competition hosted by Kimpton Hotels. It was tough deciding which picture to enter, and I've already been told that I didn't pick his cutest, but by selecting Rupert's Jedi Master picture I figure we aren't only pandering to the pug people in the universe but also to the kagillion Star Wars fans. ;) Hey, I really want to win this! 

So....

VOTE FOR RUPERT!

You can vote at http://www.kimptonhotels.com/services/pet-photo-contest/gallery.aspx

 

Doing Business As | Sacramento Photography

I went with Tamara Watson Photography since I couldn't come up with a business name that clicked. Ever since, I've debated the pros and cons of going with a dba. This week I'm on a mission to find a business name - every creative juice I have is going into this. Now I am officially discouraged. Every domain seems to be taken. By the way, any name with the word "monkey" in it is very popular. I thought I had a plausible name, a made-up word incorporating part of my middle name, but Google says my made-up word is urban slang for being drunk on Hennessey. I don't know, at this rate I'm going to be stuck with www.clownpenis.fart.

Hot as Hades | Sacramento Dog Photography

It isn't quite that hot, but to a pug it might as well be. Pugs and hot weather do not mix. Since Rupert is a non-snoring, active, young pug of good weight, I thought he would endure the heat better than our older/overweight pugs of the past. Well, there's no fighting genetics. That squished nose is the Achille's heel of these pugs and Rupert, despite all his fitness, is no exception.  With temps in the 90s what is a pug to do? Rupert is opting to cope with the heat by spending a lot of time sprawled out on the cool linoleum.

In Transit | Life

My grandmother always said we were all a bunch of gypsies. Gosh, is that term even okay to say anymore? What prompted her to make these allegations was the numerous times the family moved. My grandparents moved about every year. My immediate family moved every couple years. I have a deceased aunt who moved at least 100 times in her married life. Once even a few days before Christmas! They wrapped the tree in a sheet, decorations and all, and threw it on the truck.

I despise moving; however, I do have fantasies about living a nomadic life. No responsibilities. Constant travel. A new view every day. When I was younger and braver I thought about setting out on a road trip with $50. The plan was to travel until I ran out of money, get an odd job in an odd town, and once I accumulated more traveling money, hit the road again until I ran out of money again.

The nomadic fantasy isn't so much about shirking responsibility as it is about a strong desire to always know the independence of being mobile. From a very young age transportation was very important to me. My first mode of transportation was a trike. I was only two years old, yet distinctly remember the feelings I had when watching my mother accidentally run over the trike. No more exploring the edge of the driveway for me. It sucked. At four years old I got my first two-wheeler with training wheels. Then came the Schwinn banana seat with ape-hanger handlebars. (The bikes of my life is a whole other blog post.)

It wasn't long before I became obsessed with driving a car. Within that obsession was an obsession with parallel parking. It's bizarre, I know, but as a child I was constantly doing reenactments of parallel parking situations with my bike, Barbie cars, or Hot Wheels. At 42 years old I can say, with complete confidence, that parallel parking is my only natural talent and the only skill I have truly mastered. As George Costanza said about his parallel parking talent, "There's nothing I can even impart to you, that's the sad thing. It's so inborn, I can't pass it on. " Ha; but, I digress.

Driving has continued to be of paramount importance in my life - without it, I would feel stuck and miserable. This nomad needs to always have a wheel to slide behind. We are all in transit in an ethereal sense, but sometimes you just gotta be in transit in a physical sense.

Lunch on a Friday | Sacramento Food Photography

On the corner of 15th and F Streets sits a modest brick building with striking black and white murals painted on the outside; on the inside are the BBQ/creole delicatasties of Sandra Dee's BBQ restaurant. This restaurant's menu is one you will not soon forget. Why? Because there are items on the menu you don't see every day, like fried gator tail. If gator is too exotic for you, there are frog legs. Or, Wednesday is all you can eat fried catfish nuggets. You get the idea.

 
My taste of Sandra Dee's was relatively mild, consisting of fried "wind thing" (chicken) with creole seasonings, sides of mac & cheese and collard greens, rounded out by the perfect accompaniment, a cornbread muffin. The entree seemed a little pricey at $14.00 and I soon learned why. Upon my lunch plate was a HUGE pile of wings! Seven total.

It was shocking how ungreasy the wings were. The batter had a ton of flavor but wasn't too hot in the spicy department. The mac & cheese was deelish, with an unusual but good tartness that I could not identify. However, what completely won me over by was the collard greens. Now they had some heat on them!

I finished off my meal with a slice of sweet potato pie. This might be my new food addiction. Adios, McDonald's french fries! This pie is heav-en-ly!!!

Creole or BBQ, Sandra Dee's got it!

Miami, Bringin' the Heat | Sacramento Dog Photography

I love benefitting from the travels of others. With much regret, I have not had the luxury of travel to the extent I would like. My travel consists of a triangular span of San Diego, Houston, and Seattle. Three times I've attempted travel to Europe, tickets purchased and deposits paid, but all trips fell through. Ah well, I keep thinking eventually I will have a magical trip abroad, wherein I ride on a fox hunt with the Queen of England and take a dressage lesson on one of the dreamy lipizzaner stallions of the Spanish Riding School. Hey, don't laugh!

When Rupert and I were entertaining Dutch for a couple weeks, his family, Amanda and Puglet, were in Atlanta and Miami on a leg of their 1000 Pugs tour. Last week when they came to pick up Dutch they came bearing gifts from Miami. There were no $100K cars, although Will Smith says "everybody got 'em," but what Rupert got was way better. Check out this official Miami collar - and just in time for summer!

I think Amanda and Puglet knew how much we were going to miss Dutch. She gave us this cute little guy so we always have our own Dutch.

And inside that dotted wine box was the craziest monkey dog toy I have ever seen...

...which Rupert proceeded to give the business to, big time!

It's a Style Thang | Sacramento Pet Photographer

To be genuine, a creative style cannot be chosen. One must be prolific in their creative endeavor and over time will they be rewarded with a body of work that demonstrates their signature style.

If someone asked me what my photographic style is, I could not answer them; however, I do know the type of work I enjoy the most. I love working in the studio. I love the controlled lighting, the methodical approach, and the slower pace. The first time I learned to work the lights at my college photo studio I had the same epiphany as when I competed in my first dressage show, "This is all I ever want to do!"

There are very few pet photographers on the West Coast who do studio work, and, having little faith in my creative inclinations, I decided I needed to be more like them to be a success, and I completely abandoned any notion of a studio based pet photography business. The studio work was to be only for my personal projects. (Hmmm, it might behoove me to start thinking in middle-ground terms.)

In April I had the fortune of receiving a few critiques about my work, critiques which reaffirmed what I had been sensing all along - I need to incorporate the studio back into my business. My reason for abandoning it in the first place makes no sense to me now. Working a different photographic muscle and honing a style that did not come naturally to me (candid, available light photography) was not a bad thing, but completely abandoning a style I loved was not being true to myself.

Do the work that is inside of you!

White with Black Spots | Sacramento Dog Photography

Yesterday, Rupert and I sent Dutch home with Amanda and Puglet. The house is feeling rather empty today - I miss Dutch. :( The plus side is, we might see Olivia again. She did not venture out of the bedroom once during Dutch's stay.

Dutch hates having his picture taken, so I didn't torment him with Nikon Dwayne as much as I would any other dog, but eventually I coaxed him into supermodeling for some premium treats.

 Note: that is Puglet between Dutch's legs, not Rupert. Dutch was so happy to see Amanda and Puglet.

Names Taken and Given | Sacramento Dog Photography

First a name taken. Safeway markets have one of those rewards programs like every other place. You slide your Safeway Rewards card at check out to get sale items on sale and accumulate some sort of bonuses. If you don't have your card you can simply enter your phone number. A couple years ago I misplaced my Safeway card, and for some inexplicable reason, I chose to enter an old phone number I had from my single days. That number was now linked to the rewards card of a Miss Porkenheimer (name changed to protect the innocent). Initially it felt kind weird and I wondered if I was doing something bad, but since my purchases under Miss Porkenheimer could only help her gain more rewards, wasn't it a good thing? For a couple years now, I've been Miss Porkenheimer to Safeway without any issue, but lately things have got a little awkward. First a cashier saw the name and asked if I was related to another Porkenheimer. Then another cashier asked me about pronunciation of the name. And most recently, the cashier asked the ethnic origin of the name. Oh brother, I think it's time to stop being someone else and start being myself.

Switching gears to a name given. Recently someone asked me about Rupert's name. Rupert was the first dog we were able to name, and he was not intended to be our dog, we were only supposed to foster him for a short time. All of our previous dogs came with a name and we didn't have the heart to change their names. To be able to pick the name, even of a foster dog, was very exciting. Since I absolutely love the Pina Colada song by Rupert Holmes, I thought Rupert would be a fun name. Keeping our options open, we settled on Montgomery as a second choice. We decided to wait and meet Rupert before making the final name decision. It was immediately evident that Rupert was a Rupert. In case you are wondering, his middle name is Cleveland - last name still undecided. ;)

Lunch on a Friday | Sacramento Food Photography

The first "Lunch on a Friday" post was done on a whim, and I had no plans of making it a weekly thing, but I'm really diggin' these post so I'm gonna run with it. Plus, you know me, any excuse to eat.

A friend of mine kept going on about 524. Everything was, "Oh, man, I went to 524 and..." What is 524? It's a traditional style mexican restaurant, located at, you guessed it, 524 12th Street. This section of the 12th Street corridor can get a little sketchy, but personally I like the sketchiness of the area, it makes Sacramento feel urban.

524 started out in 1959 as a true hole-in-the-wall joint. Ownership changed to a different family in the '60s, but many of the original recipes were handed over. A 2004 fire shut down operation. In 2007 524 reopened, not bearing any resemblance to it's hole-in-the-wall beginnings.

My stop at 524 exceeded expectations. Every staff member was very friendly and attentive. The decor was inviting. Menu selections were plentiful but not overwhelming. And, I thoroughly enjoyed my cheese enchilada plate.

Futile Endeavors | Life

In addition to trying to attain my ideal weight, there is another futile endeavor I participate in on most days - dressage. If you don't know what dressage is, here is how dressage can look, which is a far cry from what Fabio and I look like when we are doing dressage. Today we had a horrific ride. I left the arena in tears - something I haven't done in over a year. This dressage stuff is really really hard. I once read an article, written by a brain surgeon who was an amateur dressage rider, about how hard it is to execute the perfect half-halt (a subtle but necessary riding aid). He said that learning the half-halt was harder that brain surgery. Okay, are you now convinced that us riders don't just sit up there an look pretty? Anyhow, today was one of those days when I wondered if I should pack up the boots, sell the saddle, and find Fabio a better owner/rider. Of course, I won't do anything of the kind because futile endeavors give me a reason to get up each day. :)

Tax Man, a.k.a. More Coryisms

Happy tax day! Because of the 15th falling on a weekend this year, us last-minute types have until Tuesday to submit our taxes. If it weren't for Cory, my tax man, at around 5 PM on Tuesday I would be in a mad rush to get my taxes completed, then breaking speed limits to get to my main post office by midnight to drop off said taxes. Yes, I would be using snail mail.

In honor of my tax man, the man who sorted through my primitive income & expense report, who happily researched to get maximum deductions, and who kept everything above board so I don't have to fear an audit, today's blog is about some of the Coryisms that were not included in the original Coryisms post.

1. Lunch. Many of you will think this is an exaggeration, but it is not - his mom can verify all this info. Cory has made/taken the same peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch to school or work since he was six years old. Yep, every day folks.

2. Music. Cory is still buying CDs, in fact, I would go so far as to say he is the king of the box set. He refuses to download music. Currently he has compiled a spreadsheet of Bon Jovi songs he wants to add to his collection, to assist him in making the perfect Bon Jovi album choice.

3. Ears. Cory washes his ears three times a day. Not sure what brought about this neurosis but we all should probably be washing our ears more.

4. NFL uniforms. Name any NFL team and Cory can provide a history of that team's uniform changes over the past 30 years, describing details the rest of us would never notice.

Okay, I think the Coryisms are complete. Thank you Cory for letting me share with the internet the things about you that make me chuckle in a good way. I love that you are who you are without apology.

Lunch on a Friday | Sacramento Food Photography

On the forty-seven-hundred block of J Street, with East Sacramento establishments like Chargrin's and Club-2-Me as neighbors, sits the Pasty Shack. Like Roxie's Deli, this is another long-time Sacramento eating establishment, located in my backyard, that I never thought to visit. I love simple, peasant style food, so it defies logic why I was not running to the Pasty Shack every day for years.

Pasties are not a surreal experience in gastronomy - they are a simple food of veggies and meat with the most basic seasonings, enveloped in pastry crust. There are basically three varieties: beef, chicken, and veggie, and the Pasty Shack usually has a daily special. Yesterday I opted for the chicken pasty, thinking it would be closest to the pot pies I loved as a kid. It was very much like a pot pie - nothing fancy, but comforting and filling.

I thoroughly enjoyed my pasty and look forward to trying the other varieties. The owner is very friendly and the pasties are a solid comfort food that is a complete meal for around $6. Plus, the pasties kept me away from the McDonald's french fries that I was seriously considering for lunch.

Dutch! | Sacramento Dog Photography

There's an extra dog in the house...and he's a big one! Dutch is usually out and about in San Francisco with Puglet, but while Puglet and Amanda (the thumbs behind 1000 Pugs) are in Atlanta & Miami we are dog sitting Dutch. He is a pleasure to have in the house - such a good dog. Our cat Olivia, well, she's has pretty much had an ugly look on her face since Dutch's arrival on Monday.

Dutch weighs in at about 85 lbs. I didn't realize that with a larger dog a few other things are larger.

Food bowls. Rupert is not so thrilled about this food bowl situation.

Beds. Although Dutch will gladly try to fit himself onto Rupert's bed, it is a sad sight. Rupert of course feels completely entitled to bogey Dutch's bed.

Poop bags. I figured nobody needed to see a picture demonstrating this, but let me just say, I don't think I have hands large enough for scooping the poop of a large dog.

Dear Sacramento Police Department

After two very disappointing experiences with two of your officers, I can't help but wonder what the hell is going on at Sac PD!?!

Experience #1
Approximately nine months ago I was crossing the eastern side of the 30th and Alhambra intersection. Walking southbound, I crossed directly in front of a waiting Sac PD patrol car. Just as I was about to take my first step past the patrol car, a vehicle turning left at a high speed nearly hit me. Immediately I made a 360, turning to the officer in the patrol car and yelled, "Are you going to do anything about that?" Unfortunately the officer was unable to divert his attention from the text message he was composing.

Experience #2
While walking with a client's dog in midtown today, a random, creepy man on a green bike started hassling me. He stared, yelled things at me, and turned down a side street to circle back for more of the same. Did I think I was going to be murdered or raped? No, but I certainly felt threatened and intimidated. Shortly after "ditching" this unsavory character I spied a patrol car parked a few blocks away. "Good," I thought to myself, "I can report that guy." When I walked up to the patrol car, I noticed the officer was on her cell phone. Thinking she might be on break (although officers in uniform, sitting in patrol cars never really get to be off duty) I waited for her to acknowledge me. It was longer than I felt it should have been, but I thought she might be on the phone talking police business. Eventually she rolled her window down and said, "You need something?" I began to recount my experience and she rudely interrupted me to get back to her cell phone to wrap up the call. Based on what I heard of the conversation, it was a personal call. This officer continued to grace me with her effervescently rude demeanor throughout our exchange. I was very close to just saying "Forget it," and walking away.

I don't want to think that all officers are rude, lazy, rule-breakers but based on my limited experience with Sacramento Police Department, this certainly appears to be the case.

I know, budget cuts have been a tragedy for the force. Well, I got news for you, things are hard all over. Being a sole proprietor busting my ass to barely pay my bills, I am having a great deal of difficulty conjuring up sympathy for your 90% pensions, non-merit wage increases, bountiful personal time off, and paid health insurance.

Does a police officer have a tough job? Absolutely they do, but don't enter the academy unless you are willing to accept that the job is tough and get over it...or get out.

Police officers put their life on the line every day, but if they aren't doing their job well then not only is their own life on the line but the lives of others.

Sincerely,

Tamara Watson

Lunch on a Friday | Sacramento Food Photography

Considering how long I've lived in Sacramento (20 years), I've really missed the boat on some Sacramento landmarks. Must be that living under a rock thing. Standing in line at my Safeway, I struck up a conversation with a fellow "15 items or less" line attendant about food. Imagine that, talking about food in a grocery store. Sandwiches came up, then Roxie's Deli came up. Apparently, Roxie's has the best sandwiches in town. I live less than a mile from Roxie's, I drive or walk past it at least four times a week, yet, I've never been there and had no idea they made sandwiches - the best in town kind of sandwiches.

Within days, I made my way over to Roxie's. The brisket was recommended by the Safeway person with a, "You haven't had brisket until you've tried Roxie's," type of praise. Unfortunately, I was not there on brisket day, so I settled for the everyday most popular: turkey & pastrami on Dutch crunch bread. Wow!

If you live in Sacramento and are looking for a place for lunch, head to Roxie's at 34th and C Street.