Social Media Warning – Posting Vacation News Can Trigger Burglary

Cybercriminals are increasingly using social media to search out burglary opportunities. These thieves watch for information about upcoming or current vacations and time their crimes for when homes will be empty. When users of Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, and other social media sites post when they will be (or are) out of town, they run the risk of unknowingly making their homes prime targets for burglary.

Thieves get this information in several ways:

• Facebook: Say your status reads, “Can’t wait for Monday, starting week-long trip to the Caribbean.” If you haven’t adjusted your privacy settings, this information can be seen by all of your Facebook friends. Even if your privacy settings are secure, people who can see it may decide to “share” or pass on the information to others who might be disreputable.

• Twitter: On Twitter, anyone can “follow” you without your permission so you have no control over “who sees what” as you do on Facebook. A tweet like, “Stopping in Omaha on our long drive to Denver” lets everyone know you are not at home.

• foursquare: This application is meant to let people know where you are. If you live in Boise and you have checked in at a restaurant in San Francisco, that’s a huge tip-off to anyone who wants to get into your home without you there. And foursquare is doubly dangerous because you have the option of sharing your activity on Facebook or Twitter.

To protect yourself, post as little as possible about your vacation plans, and ask others not to talk about trips before they happen or while in progress. Remember, you can tell everyone about your vacation when you return. If you’re simply too excited to not post your plans on Facebook, be sure your privacy settings are secure. To do this, in the upper right-hand corner of your Facebook home page, click Account and select Privacy Settings. Then click the Customize Settings link, which will take you to a page where you can specify what others see.

Recently I have been shooting images for an annual report for Housing Vermont.  Housing Vermont is a non profit development organization that develops permanent rental housing units.  What I love about them is their focus on the rehabilitation of older buildings and homes.  They have taken a number of abandoned industrial buildings and turned them into apartments.   Every year about this time I travel around the state photographing their current or finished projects.   This year the projects ranged from rehabbing the former Windsor prison apartments, rebuilding the Springfield Movie theater to brand new housing in Rutland

What is fun about these projects is that I am given an opportunity to shoot a broad range of images.  Not only do I take a ‘beauty’ shot of a building I often will look for  visual details in a project or interesting angles.   I find the report designers tend to use these shots more than the straightforward images.

The former Windsor prison gave me plenty of opportunity for interesting images.  This is an imposing brick and wood frame building that has been an apartment house for several years but if you look carefully you  can find a few prison cells still left in the basement.    The challenge the day I shot was that there was a lot of construction still going on and much of the window framing and interior work still needed to be done.

I just spent my time there wandering around the site and taking pictures.   I even got a chance to photograph one of the tenants who had lived there for years.    I found beautiful old doors, gardens by stone walls,brick against stone, guys fixing the roof.

It is such a wonderful experience as a photographer to just shoot what your eye is attracted too and to stretch your brain enough to see beauty in the most mundane or seemingly ugly.

Hannah and I began our mentor/mentee connection tentatively at first.  We sent a series of emails back and forth with info about each other.  Hannah  said she was doing a project for her senior year that was a slide show of images shot during the past year.  She also has to write about her experience and what she is learning.   She started to send me images and I started to send her links to favorite photographers and exhibits.  I would comment about her work and make general statements about composition and stuff.   Hannah has a great eye and I loved seeing her fresh take on things.   She talked about loving nature photography but what grabbed my attention were her shots of buildings…particularly some cityscapes she shot of Boston and Montreal.  The images were strong and graphic. Somewhat sophisticated for someone her age.

I was enjoying our connection and found looking at her work and suggesting and sharing gave a little kick to my own work.  I have been making a concerted effort for the last two years to throw away a lot of my ‘shoulds’ and ‘self-restrictions’ about what works and what doesn’t.  It is not easy after 25 years.   I have been soaking up a lot of other photographer’s work to expand my vision.   Working with Hannah I reminded about the joy of photography.

A couple of weeks ago Hannah and I met in Montpelier for the first time.  We  seem to hit it off immediately.  We went to a quiet cafe and she showed me her book of images.  Mostly we talked though.  About photography, about school, about her family, about her dreams….we never stopped.    Again I was taken by her architecture shots.  Maybe it comes from the fact that her Dad studied architecture and passed the love of buildings down to her.  Maybe it is the work she has been doing in art class or her own interest in maybe making architecture a career.  Whatever it is these are clearly the strong images.  I also noticed that she an interesting way of composing images with people in them.  Most of the images were strong compositionally…and she looks at things straight on.

I decided that we should just go take pictures.  So we spent a little time photographing around the Statehouse, looking at the building and then we discovered this ice sculpture.  It looked as though someone had carved some winged goddess.  We both shot images and then it was time to go.  We made a date for a studio visit so that we could work on some technical stuff and said goodbye.

I left Montpelier flying high.  It was such fun to spend a few hours with someone who clearly loves to take pictures and create art.  So much fun to share the passion.     I look forward to our next meeting, and to sitting through Hannah’s senior presentation in May.  I am happy to be reminded that sometimes we learn from the most surprising teachers.     Below are two images from our Montpelier visit.

mc's version of the ice ange

The other day I delivered a large print to a friend who is the executive director  of an adult day facility.  The image was of her two dogs and herself in a field.  Her dogs often visit the facility and provide love and comfort to  the clients.  The image was a gift to the center and those who use it.  My friend showed the picture to about 25 clients when I was there.  There was applause, laughter, expressions and delight as they saw the image and realized it would be hung in the center.  I was introduced to the audience and soaked up the compliments as the dogs went begging for ear scratches.   I was surprised at the reaction.  The dogs and their owner are loved and respected by the staff and clients. The image of the three of them made everyone happy.

As many people do these days my brother’s family decided to put together a DVD of photos from my brother’s life.Finding the images and putting it all together was a great distraction as well as a trip down memory lane.  In the end we found over a hundred images that we put together with music.  Many of those who came to visiting hours sat down and watched the slide show over and over.  Most of the family found it comforting and used the images to tell our favorite stories about Kevin.

As a photographer I was fascinated by a series of family photos taken as my sister,brother, and I were growing up. My Mother loved recording family events so there were plenty of candid family shots or shots of the family against the mantlepiece.  This series was more formal.  They were black and white and well lit and still in remarkable condition. There was a formality in the posing and clothing.  Most were shot in the living room with my Mother sitting in the chair and the rest of us standing around her.  Behind us were bookcases and windows. They ranged from the family before I was born to the whole family just before my brother left for college.  Clearly they were taken by a professional.  My Dad did public relations for a resort in the Adirondacks so  I am sure he had access to several photographers in the area.

Carroll Family 1953 or so

The images present a wonderful look at the dress and culture of the 50′s and 60′s.  The formality reflects the traditional family that I was  raised in but also somehow the connections we had.    These images more than the many candids and informal groupings speak to me.   I wonder if some of these early portrait sessions left an impression on me as a young child.  An impression that led me to a life of photographing other families and recording their lives.    Oddly enough though I certainly recorded my son’s life in pictures…we have no formal family shots of the three of us except for a few self timer shots I did in the studio.  Not quite the same.

These images provided the opportunity for younger members of our extended family to chuckle about their aunt and uncle and grandparents. My sister and I marveled at how young we were and how beautiful our Mother was.  We even conceded that our brother was kind of cute as a kid.  Of course I was cuter.   The hard thing was to realize that we are the only two left from that little family.   These images remind me of those no longer with us but also of those who loved me and raised me during that all too brief period of childhood.  

Afterglow

This above all, we know,

This is apparent to men:

After a time we go,-

Not how, nor where, nor when.

Only a moment the lark

Troubles the quiet dawn,

Then soars, and above the park

Wheeling, is gone.

But for a season the rose

Opens in fragrant bloom;

Then, when the summer goes,-

Frost – and doom.

Yet, something there is that stays,

Something is left behind:

A scent in the garden ways,

An echo on the wind.

(Author:George K. Carroll from the Chicago Tribune Line O Type column in 1924)

There was stunning beauty everywhere I looked.   Yet I didn’t bring my camera.   As I paddled along grumbling about forgetting it I realized  that was probably a gift.   Without the camera I could focus on the details around me.  I could be more in the moment.  Not constantly looking looking for the next angle or image.

The hills were full of subdued colors.   There were the expected oranges,yellows, and reds, but I also saw leaves with peach and rose colors.   They were all reflected in the water.  Viewing the reflections from the distance they were soft and out of focus.  I would paddle toward them but I never could  paddle over the reflections like I did the clouds.  If I got close to shore the birch,pine, beech, and maple reflections were sharp and in focus and reaching straight down into the water.    It seemed like I could reach into the water and grab a branch from underneath me.     On top of the water there were leaves floating.  I paddled through them like a slalom course to  distract me from the long paddle to my destination.  Everything had its own reflection in the glassy water.  Branches, rocks, twigs, leaves, and trees all had their twin in the water below

Every once in while I would stop paddling and just listen.  At first I heard nothing.  Lovely nothing..quiet.  Then I listened more carefully and heard the rustling of the water, the call of few geese up above me, a few gulls crying.  During one of those moments I heard the whisper of wings and looked up to see a bald eagle fly up in front of me, soaring across the water and  across to other side.  I followed his flight and listened to the wings in the air.  I watched those wings flex and beat against air as  the eagle gained altitude and disappeared into the woods.    A few minutes later I turned  and headed home, paddling through the clouds.

On the first occasion I was attending a memorial service for a son of a friend of ours who had died suddenly and much too young.  Our friend is a photographer so it was not surprising to find lots of albums that contained images he had shot of his son and family over the years.  There were also piles of  black and white 11 by 14′s sitting in various spots in the room where the service was.  Most of the people attending the service were engrossed in flipping through the albums and talking to our friend and his daughter about the images.   At some point I turned to the black and white pile and began sorting through beautiful portraits of our friend’s son as a young child.  There were shots of the son with his Mom who had passed away several years before.  There were shots of him with his extended family of aunts and uncles. There were shots of him, older now, holding his baby daughter.   Through this one pile of images I was able to get a sense of his life before I knew him,and after he had become a father.    One picture stood out for me.  It was a picture of my husband before I knew him, with our friend’s son on his lap holding an instamatic camera in his hand and looking at my husband very seriously as only toddlers can do.  I had forgotten that he had babysat for our friends many times.  Later their daughter would baby sit for our son.  The photograph had clarified for me  the  long history of my husband’s friendship with the family .  It had added another element to this young man’s story.

Most recently my brother was in the hospital for a serious operation.  Two of his three sons came up to be with him through surgery.  My brother asked me to bring two photo albums to the hospital for him to share with the guys.  One was an album that I had put together of family photos from  my parents albums.  When both parents passed I inherited most of the family photos.   I split the photos into three different albums for my sister and brother and myself.  They each contained baby pictures, family photos  and other birthday and holiday images.    That was one album I brought.  The other was an album my brother had put together from photos he had taken of his families over the years.  There were photos from two marriages and images of his three sons and different ages.

The day before his surgery I found my brother surrounded by his youngest and oldest son and his nephew, my son, perusing the albums.  He took that time to share his stories of growing up in Lake Placid.  Showed them pictures of their grandparents as young parents, shared pictures of their aunts as kids, and themselves as young kids. His sons saw pictures of their Moms and their Dad. Everyone laughed at the cars, wardrobes, and hairstyles of the 70′s and 80′s.  For my brother these albums gave him the ability to tell his story and theirs.

I have always known the power of portraits.  I grew up in a family where recording events such as birthdays and holiday gatherings was matter of fact.  The house I grew up had photos scattered in every room.    I have covered almost every flat space in my house with photos of my son, my parents, my in-laws, and other family members.  For those that have passed on they serve as a reminder of the people I loved and who loved me.  For those still  around the images remind me that time does not stand still and that I need to stay in touch with that person and keep them in my life.

As a portrait photographer I am always gratified when someone tells me how the portrait I took of their loved one(s) has impacted their lives.  Most of  the family and senior high school images I take end up on walls or  in frames on tables, in albums or scrapbooks.  Sometimes they end up in someone’s wallet.  These days they often end up on someone’s computer.    As a Mom and a daughter I understand how important these portraits are in telling the stories of our lives.  I believe that is why I so passionate about portrait photography.  I want to help others tell their story.

PS. The photo included in this blog is of my family late 1950′s. I am the little one with the Beatle hair cut being uncharacteristically grumpy.

It is a struggle most artists and craftspeople face everyday.   What is my creation worth?  What will people pay for my work?  What do I need to be paid to break even?  What do I need to earn to make a living?   Build a product and there are some simple straightforward rules to follow in pricing.   The costs of producing the product,including materials, salaries, insurance, and marketing, is placed in a formula and numbers are crunched to come up with the optimal price point.    An artist can follow a similar approach and compare their competitors prices and come up with a number.   However they are often left figuring out an important piece.  What is my time worth?  What does my education,skills, and experience add up to?   It is easy enough to figure out cost of the materials that went into creating a piece of art, but what is the value of the ten hours you put into the creation?

Established artists have figured most of this out.  They have the experience to know that there are some buyers out there that will pay $800 for their watercolor, or $75 for the scarf, or $400 for a piece of jewelry.   They have identified their market and priced accordingly.  Still even the most established find themselves having to justify their pricing.   The less experienced price their work and cross their fingers hoping their pricing and the market are in sync.

As a photographer and fellow artist I have struggled with pricing most of my career.  Pricing my products is relatively easy.   I look at my costs and my competitor pricing and voila…a number.    But what am I worth?  What is the value of my time..my skills?    What will people pay for my time behind the camera creating images?    If photographer A charges $100/hr  and photographer B charges $200/hr, do I charge $150?    Am I coming to the table with the same skill set and years behind the camera?  Will my market buy my services at that rate.   After years in the business the pricing is easier, but like so many artists I have to fight the urge to underprice or undervalue my work.

The issue of how does one value or price art  brings me right  back to  something that I used to think about  a lot when I worked on the issue of pay equity or the wage gap.  How does society value women’s work?   In this case it is how does society value the work of an artist?

I am so drawn by the color  as I drive through the country side or walk in the woods.   Even my own yard  pulls me in with color and light.   I have spent a lot of time this spring photographing some of the flowers and greenery around my house.  The foot and a half of snow we saw last month didn’t slow me down.

Today I was reminded how the direction of the light changes the look of an image.   I have  a 23 year old crab tree on the far corner of my front lawn.  It was my first Mother’s Day present and provides a lovely focal point for that corner of the property.  It is now covered with white blossoms.  On the other side is a little perennial garden that is looking a little run down except for a line of intense pink tulips.  The other day I noticed that the blossoms against tree made for an interesting image.   Today I decided to shoot it twice.  Once with the sun coming up in the east behind the tree and tulip.  Another with the sun on the west shining on the tulips.  Tulips are great fun to shoot with the sun behind them.  The sun creates different layers of colors and intensifies them.   The crab apple tree goes somewhat dark depending on my exposure and creates interesting texture.  The afternoon shot is less interesting to me because of the direct light. Still, it has potential.

I recommend heading out into your yard and photographing an object with back light and direct light.  It is a fascinating difference.    As you enjoy the beautiful light and color of spring look around and watch how the angle of the sun changes color intensity and shading.   Have fun.

The second woman was Wynona Ward, Founder of Have Justice will Travel.  Wynona,another lawyer , had spent almost ten years driving around the state providing legal service to isolated rural women who are victims of domestic violence.  Her goal in life is to end the generational cycle of violence toward women and children through her mobile multi-service program.   I photographed Wynona in her early days when it was just herself and her SUV providing the services.  She now has a small staff.   I photographed her for a project I started back in 1998 to honor and recognize Vermont woman who made a difference in the lives of Vermonters through paid or volunteer work.   I photographed almost 30 women for that project and took about half of those images plus text and created an exhibit that traveled around the state.  The purpose of the exhibit was to educate the community of Vermont about the issues Vermont women and their families face every day.  I wanted Vermonters to meet the extraordinary women who made  our lives better.

The third woman honored today was my dear friend, Marcia Merrill.   An accountant and business owner, Marcia has spent much of her life advocating and fighting for equity for women.  Through her accounting business Marcia has mentored and hired many young women wanting to explore the world of accounting.  As Chair of the Vermont Commission on Women, and as long time member of Vermont Business and Professional Women, she has spoke out for equity and fairness in the workplace, and fought against bullying and domestic violence.  I have had fun photographing Marcia to promote her business, and with groups of her friends and family.

This breakfast was called the Breakfast of Champions.  The audience ranged from middle-aged working women to young girl scouts.  It was an opportunity for most of us to celebrate our own and share our wisdom with future leaders.  From Beth, the young women learned that it takes a long time to move change forward.  It took fourteen years of constant and patient work by dedicated people to achieve passage of Freedom to Marry.  Wynona talked about the importance of leadership and of groups like the Girl Scouts who give young women and girls opportunities to grow and lead.  She spoke of  the effectiveness of working together.  Marcia reminded us that as women we still did not have a place in the U.S Constitution because the Equal Rights Amendment has never been passed.  Although we have hard won rights those rights can be taken away by anyone at any time.  Marcia encouraged the younger generation not to forget and to keep on fighting for the ERA.  All three women encouraged us all to continue to lead, to fight, and to speak out about issues that we are passionate about.

Wynona Ward from Have Justice Will Travel (c)2003