Reach for the light....

"Why the Sunflower, Sue?"

  I'm a bit surprised no one ever asked me that before...why do I have a sunflower as my logo?

It started with a drive to Coventry one day and I passed a field of sunflowers in  Somers.

Cameras make you bold sometimes and I have not been shy to just get out, walk and shoot.

It was a GORGEOUS Sunny Day.

The Bees were loving it...

And this smiling face caught my attention.

Here's how it made way into my website header....

Ok, so it's a "work in progress" Did you know I do video compilation too?

But besides that...the sunflower reminds me of my camera...always reaching for the light, and the shutter of the lens and the pattern on the sunflower have similarities in their structure. The Fibonnaci sequence in the sunflower, the lens uses a geometric sequence. Good photos have an element of the Golden Mean as do the patterns in nature. 

The barn next to the sunflower field...

Sunflowers from Windham Gardens have made it into my Twitter background, 

my LinkedIn background, my Sue Muldoon Images Facebook Cover photo...for continuity.

Thanks for stopping by.

Always reach for the light.

Sue

Resting Places

Every once in a while a photo shoot is not planned. 

I was fortunate to take pictures at a Penguin Plunge in new London 

a while back, and on the way some Angels caught my eye.

I made a mental note to try to find them again on the way back.

GPS doesn't always have the same idea as I do, and may have re-routed me a different way back 

than the way I had originally gone.

But...I tinkered with my really bad sense of direction 

(I only know North from South due to moss and you can't see that real well when you are driving.)

As luck would have it, I found myself in the right area, albeit the wrong side of the Angel Road.

I wandered around a stunning Resting Place (hard to call it a cemetery or graveyard)

and practiced some HDR techniques.

Here are some results. Not altered except for the combination of 3 exposures.

Some things appeared that I sensed but not suspected.

I wandered around a beautiful area that went from the 1700's to present day.

I eventually found the Angels on my departure...on the other side of the road.

A different view of history through the eyes of the loved ones that honored the ones passed.

Enjoy.

Lovin' Logos

A logo should give you consistent recognition and "Branding"

Here are a couple of the latest ones I have enjoyed working with.....

Bridges Healthy Cooking School

Executive Director Winter Caplanson

provided the inspiration, font suggestions and elements and I assembled the graphic.

We worked closely with ideas, and what the end "presentation" would be like.

I have a new program that enables live screen-sharing and that was very useful. 

It's nice to look at the same work-screen live, do a conference call and tweak design.

 The program can fit up to 20 attendees, so I see a webinar of sorts could be possible in the future.

Bridges 501c3 is the Non-profit that runs the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market and more.

There are a few variations of the logo. New and distressed or aged.

One is on folded paper but only for demo purposes.

I learned new techniques designing this one.

Color inspiration provided by Winter.

and a "stamp of approval"

Bethany Homecrafts  

MaryLynne Boisvert makes the most gorgeous felted and upcycled items. 

She is a vendor at the Coventry Farmers Market, and I'm thrilled to work with her.

Inspiration comes from her creations!

 

Visit her Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/bethanyhomecrafts

Visit her blog here:

http://www.bethanyhomecrafts.blogspot.com

 Design, Logo, Icon,  Blog Banner, Facebook , labels, business cards, clothing tags and more to come.

If you are interested in redesigning your Logo or Business brand,

email me at suemuldoon@suemuldoonimages.com

Penguin Plunge!

FREEZIN' FOR A REASON!

   

I'll be taking photos at the New London Penguin Plunge this Sunday!

I'll be sure to bring a change of clothes and sneakers too,

because you can only get shots 

like these when you are ALSO in the water! 

Everyone was so busy, I don't think they noticed 

I was standing in the COLD water for over 1/2 an hour!

Great job everyone!

http://www.soct.org/plunges/

 

 

 

See More Penguin Plunge photos here

The Cobbler with no shoes....

 A bit of introspection...

I am SO GUILTY of the words that describe "the cobbler with no shoes" To the point that I Googled to see where the phrase originated. There were many entries,  but here are two...

"Origin unknown; however the essence of this phrase is used to describe the phenomenon where certain 'professionals' in any given area are so busy with work for their clients and their teams that they neglect using their professional skills to help themselves or those closest to them. For example - the painter & decorator who never decorates his own house, the web designer that hasn't finished their website, or the accountant who is late in submitting his own tax return!"

"“The cobbler’s children have no shoes” means that a professional may by employed in helping his clients.  He/she may be industrious and preoccupied with his/her work.   He/she is obsessed and engaged with making his business succeed, but when comes to doing his/her professional work at home, nothing is done."


Or the marketer and graphic designer who does for others before she does for herself.

Yes...guilty...I advocate blogs. I design blogs. I have done well with Facebook because it is a DAILY HABIT. I check it multiple times. I "admin" and design many pages. It is an "instant gratification" media.  But my BLOG?  Sorely under-used and not quite updated. Because like anyone in their own professional field there is the "do as I say, not as I do" challenge.

One of my latent 2012 resolutions is to make some personal and professional changes. Yeah, the treadmill activity is a bit more further behind than the blog activity...but I'm working on it, you know? (http://www.trekdesk.com/ is on my radar. I want one.)

Social Media  expertise takes more determination than people realize. It is not a light and fluffy, casual "'l'll get to it" format. It requires scheduling. If it is your business to market, I suggest a schedule. The kind with a check-off and accountability list. Logging results. Checking stats. Seeing who your recipients/potential customers are.There are so many free "insights" applied to Social Media today you would be adverse not to utilize and embrace them. Hoard them actually. After all..IT's FREE STUFF!

I am teaching some classes soon and I was sorely aware that I had not updated my recent experiences and skills on my web-page information. (bad Sue) Can you say "back-burner"?  which is not as urgent as "meet your clients deadline!"

 My own descriptors of what I "do"  and "Can do" and "have done"were lackluster. I have added skill sets not represented on my website 6 months to a year ago. Mostly because I love to learn. At least a couple/few new things a day. This industry moves fast. If you don't try to keep up with it, it is easy to lose track. 20 years ago change may have occured at a 2-3 year clip. Today it can be measured in months or days. Sometimes hours"You snooze you loose" has been exponentially speeded up. "Warp speed, Mr Zulu" comes to mind. (BTW George Takei recently hit a  MILLION Facebook followers)

That combined with my volunteer opportunities (not obligations) at the Coventry Regional Farmers Market in it's recent state of flux and change, my "day job" in floral wholesale and my Grandma duties with the squeezable little Jacob...would easily explain my absence. Not justify mind you...just explain.

"So , without further adieu"...I  promise that tomorrow I will post for you...what has been happening in my world, in particular the business world of www.suemuldoonimages.com

There are some really awesome graphics about. Collaborations and flat-out inspirations.

You can see some recent updates before I blog them at www.suemuldoonimages.com

Blessings,

Sue

PS...I'll leave you with one of my most peaceful mornings. After a day of family medical dilemma followed by P&Z meetings and a stressful snow drive 2 hours home (about a 20 hour day)... I grabbed the camera the next insomniac morning and walked through a snow-dusted orchard. Divine.

Market Roots Photo Exhibit

Well, here we go! It took a year to take photos behind the scenes at the farms and businesses of the Coventry Regional Farmer's Market, and our Market Roots Gallery has made it's debut! It will be traveling for at least a year, on the average of once a month to some fantastic venues.

 Photos at Comstock by: Liss Flint; Market Roots Organizer, Dot Drobney, 

Laura Stone, June Mita, Amy Benson and myself.
(Their websites are listed on the sidebar to your right, for your enjoyment.)
Joining the Market Roots Gallery are also David Cope and Dan Villeneuve 

Lovingly organized and hung by Winter & Nick Caplanson and the Market Masters and photographers.

FIRST STOP!

Comstock Ferre & Co

 

 I have one print in the exhibit, of Susan Park's Rich Valley Farms kids...(on the right side of the picture)

There are 25 canvas prints, 16x20 in size and
each one is accompanied by either a description or a written piece from the farm itself.

You will love what Susan Park's wrote...but you have to go there to see it!

We had a Grand Opening with food, excellent music by Hannah Fair and her friends, and about 100 folks. A voice so rich.....link to listen.


It was also the soft opening for our "Market Roots ...through the year, through the lens" Website Debut!
This portion will exhibit through the month of June. What an honor to be included in Comstock Ferre & Co's 200th Anniversary exhibit.

Thanks go out to Markham Bennet at SmugMug , who donated two years of hosting so we could get our project rolling, and to Kathy at http://www.nvdesertdesigns.com/ for assisting us with the website customization.
Thank you for the fantastic support! You ARE Smugmug heroes! All of our Market Roots photographers host with Smugmug, and love the outstanding service. It made sense to go right to "the best" for our Market Roots website.

Liss Flint and Winter Caplanson had a daunting job of going through THOUSANDS of pictures to select 1500 representative photos for the galleries. Liss did an amazing job getting them on the website! It is no small task. The great news is, CRFM is now a 501c3, a non-profit organization, and can expand on what is already built.

The Market Roots Program is an educational venue, and the gallery is just the beginning.
The photographers who spent all the time taking the photographs volunteered and allowed the photos to be sold via the website.The profits from the sales will be going to the CRFM and it's educational endeavors.

We did, of course...get to go to some wonderful behind-the scenes tours we may not have been able to see unless we were volunteers. A BIG THANK YOU to the farms and businesses that let us photograph! The Market Roots photographers have also agreed to give the farms hi-res copies of the photos, for their own use for marketing.

Here are a few of my favorites from the online gallery:

Susan Park's Rich Valley Farms

Can't you just hear the "swoosh" of the frothy warm milk?
Milked by hand, with care and pride.

 

Feel the coolness in the "Cheese Cave"?

Patience is not only a virtue but an honor.

Jane is the watchful guardian of the milk

and it's amazing journey to cheese.

Windham Gardens

Feel the warmth on your back....

and your face to the sun.

See what Erin Windham wakes up to every morning.

 

...and be enveloped in the embrace of  flowers.

Easy Pickin's Orchard

A sense of farm history abounds.

Brian Kelliher and his family have been nurturing

the orchard and the gardens for years.

The Espalier Apple trees sun themselves in the blueness of the emerging morning sky

...and wait with open arms for the bees to tickle them.

I can only wonder what it smells like for the bee, with it's nose buried

and it's legs swiftly carting away it's pollen rewards.

I  hope you get to see the show in your area sometime this year, and feel
like you are wandering with us, rapt in awe at what it takes
to bring your food and products locally, to you.

Thank you for looking.

All the best and humbly,

 Sue

http://www.suemuldoonimages.com/

May Day Merriment

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY!

The Month of May started off

with festivities at 

Topmost Herb Farm

where our gracious Hostess

Carole Miller threw a large 

"Thank You" event for everyone who assisted in the 

"Grow the Greenhouse" project!

The dancing music was provided by the

Quiet Corner Fiddlers

There was a lot more to the dance than I thought! 

It was fun to watch, and nice

  that people and families had

   a beautiful day outside, great  weather, fine company and delicious food.

Carole's friends from the Coventry Farmer's Market

and other garden and herb communities were 
there for her.

The patterns were more intricate on the Maypole

as the day went on.

First make the design,
then unwrap it and start all 

over again! The music kept it lively and fun.

I kept busy taking photos..other photographer's snaps of me show the dirt on my knees and elbows from getting on the wet ground to get the shots I wanted.

The food was amazing, a feast for the eyes and the belly...

Check out the colors in this salad with Violets...

 

The Greenhouse is up...

...and filled and ready to go.

It was a good reason to celebrate!

 

Beautiful things happen when people work together!

 

To see a whole gallery on facebook go here

See some more, on this video...

This was a fabulous journey of friendship and community.

The collapse of the Greenhouse in February brought everyone 

together. The collective efforts in fundraising and

volunteering are proof that anything is possible!