My Happy Place

     Do you have one place that always brings you a happy memory?  You always find several great photographs from that one place?  You have several people in that one area that support you?
     That is what I have in place called Highlands.  I am going up there soon for the Highlands Country Club Member Art Sow and as I am getting ready my thoughts are ranging from last minute things I need to remember to do around my apartment before I leave in less than a week and the things I need to do to have all my artwork ready.  They range from are my pieces ready to hang to I really should have already bought my new nephew's baby present (but it is on my to-do list).  This week is going by way faster than I thought it was and how I am already on Season 3 of Friends while editing photographs that I planned to be finished with at the end of July (it is now the middle of August!!).  All of this is going through my head and more while the art show fast approaches.
     The part I am so excited about it is I am going to my happy place.  My happy place is where just were I am able to relax, people golf, play croquet, play bridge, and my favorite part it is quiet by 10 p.m.  All you can hear is nature.  Whenever I go to Highlands I feel like I have just given all my worries away and I lost all my stress lines.  There is something about the mountains that calls my name.  My sister and I are pretty young are already asking when can we retire to Highlands.
     This small town in North Carolina lets me see the beauty in nature while I photograph.  The members of the country club ask me questions about my art work, which always brings a smile to my face.  Every time I drive up the winding roads something new and exciting always comes with the trip which is why I will always return to my Happy Place.  

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Back-Up, Back-Up, Back-Up

     Throughout the last couple of weeks I have been using all my free time to edit photographs that I have taken in my free time.  Another thing I was able to accomplish was putting all of my sister's wedding photographs onto another USB drive.  Why would I do this?  One reason I did this is because my mom wants a copy and my sister does.  Another reason is because a professor one time suggested more than once that you should always back-up, back-up, back-up.  He said he kept one copy in a safety deposit box and then in two other places for safe keeping.  I have of course thought of doing this several times, but you know we do not always do what we think or do what our teachers say we should do.
     I have been thinking about what to write in this blog for awhile now and yes, I did want to stay stuff about backing-up your files.  The other thing I definitely want to get across is that even though I have been editing, beginning to work on a slideshow, and getting ready for an art that is at the end of this month it all takes time management.  There are days when I want to tell you how in Lightroom (a great tool for keeping track of photos and editing them) how many photos I edited throughout the week, but see that is the parts of photography you did not come to read about.  So I am here to give you advice that you may never hear.  I am hear to tell you stop and look around every once awhile.  Drive a different route to work and you will notice something that you really want to photograph and remember.  I take way too many photographs and I have a probably with deleting them from my phone and laptop once I know they are on my hard-drive.  I am a photographer and I take way too many photographs which is takes up a lot of space.
     My favorite hard drive at the moment is the Lacie Rugged hard drive.  It has two different types of ways you can plug it into your laptop.  I would also suggest when setting up a hard drive that you use folders to separate your different projects.  Good Luck backing-up and Thanks for reading.

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