from the window of an RV.

–theFoodbombers

I found these and had almost forgotten that I’d taken them when we were at the seaside, a few of my first shots with my new camera.

Now with a bit of free time on his hands, drummer Tommy Lee decided to take issue with fans and picture-taking in a lengthy Facebook post on his official page.

It reads:

“Dear fans,

I f**king LOVE my fans! And you know this!!!… If you asked anyone that knows me really well, they would tell ya the same thing… ‘Tommy loves his fans. He lives for this s**t… he eats, breathes, sh*ts music 24/7.’ They’ll also probably tell ya that ‘he’s a down-to-earth grateful life-lovin dude and a nice guy, too.’

What I have a problem with is… taking pictures! I hate it! Irritates the f**k out of me when people say… ‘You owe it to your fans, they put you where you are, etc. etc.!’

I certainly don’t owe anybody anything!

When I bought all my Led Zeppelin records and concert tickets, I didn’t say, ‘One day these f**kers are gonna owe me a picture.’ It’s the least they can do for me!…

[What the f**k], people? You don’t admire something so that it can give back… You just cherish it! And to those who say, ‘You should be grateful that people wanna take your picture. Maybe one day they won’t want it!’ That day can’t come soon enough!

[By the way]… I’m not here to take pictures with you, I’m here to entertain you!

Nobody put me where I am but ME! They may have helped inspire me with their love for what I do… but I put myself right here where I want to be with a lot of hard work, practice, talent, luck, etc. What I do owe myself and others is being THE BEST I can be! And that’s making great music, being a good man, father, lover and human being! We all owe that kinda stuff to ourselves and each other.

People, do we really need a silly picture?… For what?! Bragging rights? Really?.. Who f**king cares! Someone’s not gonna believe you if ya don’t have the proof pic? Then f**k ‘em! I’d never go up to someone that I admired and bug them for a picture!! Why! I might say a quick hello… maybe a handshake? I dunno… It depends on the ‘situation’… Most people never consider the ‘situation.’ That’s really important… Ya wouldn’t wanna handshake standing at the pisser in the men’s bathroom next to me, would ya? And yes, that’s happened to me, too… Or when you’re eating a nice, quiet meal with your family, some rude jackass comes up and asks for a picture!

You can’t even imagine what kinda crazy has happened to me. I understand the excitement and all, but just take a second and think… Is this cool right now? It’s called consciousness; it’s the quality or state of being aware of an external object or something within oneself. Be conscious.

So like I said… yhe fastest way to get me to leave is whip out a camera! Maybe just say hello and I’ll probably take ya home with me! Well, I’d have to ask my girlfriend first! Hah!

Sincerely yours,
The Picture Taker Hater!
Tommy Lee”

I think we can all agree with Tommy in that when asking high-profile celebrities for pictures or autographs, it’s all about the timing.

However, his post has now received over 1,100 comments with mixed reaction from fans.

Join the conversation.

When does asking celebrities for a picture become “out of bounds”? Have you ever had this situation happen to you?

Tell us in the comments section!

Andrew Celani — WZLX.com

See also:

• Rock ‘n’ Roll History In 100 Riffs: Watch Guitarist Do It In One Take
• Comcast Center: 5 Concerts to See This Summer
• Summer Tour Guide
• Happy Birthday Mick Mars

The Apple iPad 2: It’s Thinner, Lighter, Faster then the original iPad. It official went on sale to the general public in March 2011 and it’s features include: A5 dual core processor chip, thin and light design at 1.33pounds, VGA camera on the front and back for FaceTime video chat / picture taking, and 10 hours of battery life on a signal full charge. It’s available in 3G/Wifi choice of At&t or Verizon for cellular carriers, or Wifi only model, and can have up to 64GB of storage space. The Apple’s iPad has sold millions, and is one of the top tablet makers in the world.

It wasn’t easy at first because I was busy looking for the perfect picture instead of things that were interesting.  And what did I find interesting anyway?  I decided to walk to a part of our community that I hadn’t been to before.  When I go for a run I am focused o the run itself and not really my surroundings but I pretty much take the same route.  This time I went into the side streets and tried to pay attention to the individuality of the homes.

I wished that my niece Monique was with me.  She is a photographer and her eye for the unique is amazing.  I thought if we lived closer she could teach me a thing about taking pictures; right back to looking for that perfect picture. Sigh.

But then I started to let go.   I ran across this driveway.

It is a bit hard to see but there are small cans filled with dirt and an American Flag.  I don’t know if they are there to block the driveway from being used or if this is a patriotic statement or both.  It was interesting and hopefully accomplished what the owner intended.

We live in a golf course community and it was Saturday morning; where were all the golfers?  I find golf interesting because I have not become a golfer yet.  I have taken lessons but have not done anything with them.  I’m not sure we can afford for John and I to both love golf yet.  It is fascinating that people can hit that silly ball so far and I can only make it move 10 feet.

Good things do come to those who wait.  I finally came across a foursome on the 18th green.  I hid behind a large tree so I could take pictures without disturbing them. While I am taking pictures I wonder if this is legal?! 

My picture-taking skills are not good enough to worry about that!  I’m lucky I got all four people in the shot.

As I walked on, I started paying attention to the silence.  That is one of the greatest benefits of living in a 55+ community.  It is so quiet.  I focused in on the sounds I was hearing.  The wind was whistling and there were several birds chirping away.  I’m not good at identifying what songs belong to which bird but there were several different ones.  Then I heard laughter and that made me smile.

Every so often there would be the hum of a golf cart buzzing past.  Many people have their own golf carts and that is the standard mode of transportation within the community.

Since we moved here in February we have been under drought conditions and as I walked along I noticed this area that shows how bad the drought is.

I am not sure if this area ever was full of water but it looks as though it should be.  I took pictures from several angles and found it sad that we need water so bad.  Please God send us rain.  We really do need it.

(another angle of the same area).

Even with the drought the area is very pretty.  There is a bench too for sitting to enjoy the view. I wonder how many people actually use it?

Those of us with dogs walk here and I notice that people really do follow the guidelines and clean up after their animals.  The area is free of litter too.  I love living in this community.  It is everything we wanted and more.

I am back to my street.  I talk about the hill going up to our home and people laugh at me because Florida really doesn’t have hills but it is true, we do.  You feel it right in your calf muscles when you are walking!  This is the view I see from my patio, isn’t it beautiful?

By the way, my neighbor’s house is for sale if anyone is interested!

I like this little duck!  It always makes me smile.  They took something simple and kicked it up a notch.   I wonder if she changes the flowers seasonally?  I would until I became bored with it or just too lazy to bother.

I have not met this lady yet but when I do I will have to mention to her how much I enjoy her duck.

Isn’t this a great picture of the flag?  There are American Flags all over the community.  I shouldn’t be surprised really since there are many military retired.

We have a smaller flag on a pole that mounts to the side of the house.  I put it out shortly after we moved in but John won’t let me keep it out.  He says that I have to take it down at sunset each night or I cannot fly it.  I personally think that is silly but I will honor his wishes.  Needless to say, it doesn’t fly much.  It is more important to honor John that fly the flag.  If I manage to hit the Patriotic holidays I will be ok.

These next two pictures I had to take later in the day because of what they are.

Every evening down by the gazebo golf carts gather to watch the sunset.  It is a pretty area with a small lake, probably smaller due to the drought.

You never know how many carts are going to be there, sometimes one and sometimes a dozen.  If we ever get our golf cart operational (we need 6 batteries at $100 each so it may be awhile) I am going to go watch the sunset with them.  Somehow driving a car just ruins the moment for me.  John is not exactly thrilled with the notion of watching the sunset but I am sure if he goes once he will enjoy it.  And, I am not above going by myself.

I have to admit taking my photo walk turned into a really nice peaceful morning.  I probably was out for less than an hour but it was an hour full of relaxation.  I was lost in time and free from phones and televisions.  Thank you Health Magazine for the suggestion!  It set a nice tone for the rest of the day.

So now it is up to you.  Go take your own photo walk and tell me how you enjoyed it.  I would really love to hear!

This is one of my favorite shots from a quick jaunt to France last weekend with a group of friends. Something happened at the course I took the last weekend in April, something clicked inside my head, all the bits and pieces came together, and now, not always, but more than before, I can make a photograph that says what I want it to say. Yippee!

She does that thing with her paws whenever I pull the camera out, and keeps insisting that we put together a sexy calendar for 2013.

The Ball Field:

The Fans:

The sky was an amazing blue on game day:

The Fam:

There is always time for the self portraits:

If you know anything about Evan’s picture-taking adventures you know he loves to take pictures of these:

The six-year-old perspective is so amazing, and I absolutely love how he always takes pictures of his feet!!

Evan loves to take pictures.  Maybe he needs his own digital camera (not!).  There’s probably an e-book somewhere in Evans future, where we’ll collect all of the pictures he’s taken over the years.  I’m sure we’ll see lots of pictures of those feet.

So one of my most viewed blog posts ever is My God What’d She Do To Her Face which to me is actually hilarious because I wasn’t going to post that post. I actually did find it amusing but it’s not really my style at all. Well, everyone else thought differently since it has been viewed around 685 times in the last 2 months with Just Throw ‘Em The Duck Face coming in second with 358 views in the last month.

So I thought I’d leave the links to both:

My God What’d She Do To Her Face: http://thisbirdflies.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/my-god-whatd-she-do-to-her-face/

Just Throw ‘Em The Duck Face:

http://thisbirdflies.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/just-throw-em-the-duck-face/

Now people don’t be shy. Like or leave a comment!

Is mobile imaging exploding, peaking or about to implode?

That’s what Joe Byrd, president & co-founder of 6Sight Conferences asks.

In an email to the imaging trade, he wondered whether the Instagram acquisition signifies mobile imaging is about to replace “traditional” digital imaging.

“Who are today’s ‘social imagers’ really, how are they sharing their images and what drives their sharing behaviour?

“If you’re in the imaging or mobile industry and were with us at our first imaging conference back in 2002 (when people were just beginning to experience camera-phones), you’ll agree that the mobile imaging industry has come a long way.”

He notes 6Sight has just conducted an extensive survey about social imaging that sheds some light on the pressing questions anybody in the imaging ecosystem faces.

• Smartphones have not replaced the use of digital cameras – so far they’ve been to a large extent complementary. Most people use several devices for taking photos, depending on the occasion and the availability of the device: 61 percent of the survey’s smartphone owners who take at least one photo a month with that device also own a digital camera with which they take at least one photo a month. In fact, even this generation of “connected photo takers” that were surveyed still take more than twice as many photos per month with their digital cameras than they do with their smartphones.

• No matter the fast adoption of photo enhancement smartphone apps like Instagram, 83 percent of the respondents still use their computer most to alter or enhance photos. In fact, the computer is also the device that has seen the biggest increase in use for photo enhancement.

• If there is the beginning of a shift from computer to smartphone and tablets, it is for sharing photos. The 6Sight survey respondents overwhelmingly share more photos than they did six months ago from their smartphones or tablets, no matter whether this is through texting/emailing or through uploading to photo sharing or social network sites. Although they also share more photos than in the past from their computers by uploading their photos to photo sharing or social network sites, they have started to use computers less for sharing photos through email or texting.

What does this mean?

Byrd goes back to the original question: is mobile imaging overhyped or still in its infancy?

“Based on our research and other industry data . . . for the current mobile photo boom, the best is yet to come.”

However, he adds. there are many open questions as to how and when.

Redbuds in the rain outside the Air & Space Museum – Washington DC

An anticipated trip to Photoshop World in Washington DC this spring had a few unexpected twists… but then, what trip does not? The conference has moved from Boston to Orlando and now to DC… and in perfect time for the early arrival this year of the Cherry Blossoms!! Were there Cherry Blossoms? YES! Are these the blossoms (above)? NO. The famous blossoms were where they always are… around the Tidal Basin near the Thomas Jefferson Memorial… beautiful in all their glory! And… mobbed by what had to be around 300,000 people… all wanting to stand and take their pictures in the very spot that I was standing. A few moments… a few clicks and I fled to find my (nearly invisible to everyone else) dumpster with it’s rusting illusions of desert scenes and chipped paint that looked like turtles or bison depending on your personal vision! The circus of the Tidal Basin and it’s attractions had lost it’s appeal (at least at that time of day!) by the time we waded our way through the picnickers, kite-flyers, cell phone snapping Buddhist monks, men on stilts, port-a-john cleaners, tourists from every country on the planet and maybe one or two other planets… and a pews worth of brides and grooms… and found a DC cab to whisk us away. The next day the rains started and the Air and Space Museum was filled with (I swear!) the exact same crowd at the Tidal Basin… but… they had had additional children by then!!! The number of strollers had increased by a factor of at least 6! The distraction of having a conference was welcome. Perhaps DC is the place to hold this massive download of technical information after all.

© Susana Weber and Tattoo Communications, 2012. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Susana Weber and with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.