Dissertation stresses

I think one of the biggest mental hurdles for me now being in the dissertation phase of my academic career is that up until this point there are very clear steps you complete. You complete each given assignment for a class. Then you complete a class. Then you complete a series of classes. But now each quarter is not a new class with new assignments to complete but a continuation of the ongoing dissertation process. I realize that there are milestones built into the process for "completion" but its not the same as completing an assignment our a class. There is still more to do and for me it always feels like I need to be doing more. This creates a continuous cycle of stress for me. I am working on developing a way for me to coping with and/or relieving the stress.

Appreciation

I was going through some of my old photos and came across this shot. This isn't one pf the best photos I have taken but I like it because it reminds me of the interactions of nature and an experience I had being able to watch the interaction take place.I think it is important to be able to appreciate our artwork for reasons other than technical quality or sale-ability and this image does that for me.

Using Social Media

I think with the increasing proliferation of different types of social media websites it is important to have a separate strategy to how you are going to engage with each format you decide to participate in. 

I am not here to tell you how you should use each format to make it work best for you other than to say use social media in a way that is specific to you as an individual or business. Everyone is different and has different desires for the goals of using social media so to me everyone's usage should vary depending in their specific circumstances. 

Also don't feel like you need to participate in all iterations of social media. Use the formats that make sense for you. I use Twitter, Facebook, +Google, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. I even have multiple accounts for some of them. However, I use each format and each account differently. 

Some sites I post to more frequently than others and I share different types of things on different sites. For example on Facebook I have three different accounts. I have a business page dedicated solely to my photography business. I have another page dedicated to my PhD Dissertation research where I post things related to that effort. And finally I have a personal page used mainly for keeping in touch with friends and family where I share a wide variety if things across the spectrum. 

Another way I diversify my social media usage is I usually don't post the same things to every site. If I have something I want to share that I think will appeal to my audience on more than one social media platform than I will share it simultaneously in multiple platforms because it makes sense to do that. But one thing to keep in kind is, why would someone follow you on multiple social media formats if you post he same thing in each format. It seems that if you want to build the largest audience it would be smart to diversify your usage. 

Here is an example of one post that I shared across multiple platforms because I felt it would resonate with each one.

Buy a print of your favorite animal and help support the Chemung County SPCA. Now including Buddy, Copper, and Thor. http://krnaturalphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/SPCA-Animals/G0000Lo3vbBDdmaQ/

First photos of Spring 2013

Today is the second day of Spring 2013 and here in my corner of the woods in upstate NY we still have snow in the upper elevations such as where I live. I have been trying to be more active of late. I have been bored with regular exercise routines and wanted to do something that I enjoy more but is still a good workout. I decided I would take that motivation and use it as a reason to go for a nice hike at one of my favorite locations, Tanglewood Nature Center.

Going out for any type of outdoors activity always initiates an internal debate for me. The debate I have is to just go out and enjoy the experience or bring my camera so that I don't miss any photographic opportunities. I have learned over the years that as a photographer I usually regret not taking my camera. So I have learned to be able to take my camera and just limit my photo taking to the truly good opportunities and still focus my trip on the original purpose such as getting some exercise.


So, needless to say I grabbed my camera. And I found a good use for it as soon as I got under way. I was presented with a nice photo op literally seconds after I left. At my neighbors two houses away there were three deer grazing right in their yard. So I pulled over watched and took a few shots. Not the greatest light or the best shots but I always like to get as much work in as I can especially if it has some sort of challenge such as difficult light and situation. I was already happy I took my camera.

When I got to Tanglewood the birds were singing. It was cold but beautiful and relaxing. I watched the birds and snapped a few shots but I didn't want to get distracted from my goal of exercising for pictures that weren't going to come out good so I stopped and started hiking. A little farther down I saw some deer tracks crossing the path that looked fresh. I stopped and looked around and at the edge of the woods and the field I spotted a deer. As the deer moved off I saw the white tails of several others also moving away.

I then hiked my three miles that I had intended. At the end of my hike I came up out of the woods into the field. I heard birds singing. Birds that sounded familiar but they were not the usual Winter birds. I didn't recognize them. Then I got closer and saw the birds swooping down of bushes to the ground feeding and singing. When I was close enough to see them clearly through my lens I could tell that they were Eastern Bluebirds singing and feeding near the nest boxes in the field. Spring really was here after all.

Sly at the SPCA

 

New Foster Kitten

Over the last several months my wife has been fostering kittens from our local SPCA. She is on her third foster now. This one was a difficult decision to take on and worried her a lot. The mother cat seemed to be very shy and scared. She did not seem interested at all in caring for her kitten. The mother cat did not pay any attention to her kitten at all.

 

My wife was not sure if she would be able to bottle feed a newborn kitten if the mother was unwilling to care for it. It was unknown how to proceed. My wife had bottle fed a kitten that had no mother but it was an older kitten and she had raised newborn kittens but they had a very caring and attentive mother. This was something very new and for my wife scary.

 

It has been  a few days now and things seem to be going ok. The mother is apparently becoming a little more attentive as time goes on. My wife worries that the mother will suddenly stop caring for the cat without us knowing with catastrophic results.

 

Today we were messaging back and forth and talking about the kitten. My wife said she hopes she is not going to end up being crushed by this experience. She is worried that she will get hopeful now that things seem to be going well but then something bad will happen. My response to this concern was that something bad can always happen with animals and that is the risk we as humans take in caring. I t9old her that she is one of the most caring people I know and that opens her up to big emotional risk and it will surely hurt if something bad does happen, but it will be a great feeling when nothing happens and the kitten and her mother find their forever homes.

I am announcing the launch of a new project to help support a local organization that works to protect and save animals and you can be a part of it too.

Do you love dogs and cats? Want to support an organization that helps homeless animals find their forever homes? Visit this gallery on my website and purchase a photograph of your favorite companion animal from the Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA. 50% of the cost of each photograph you buy will be donated to the Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA. If there is not currently a photograph you want to purchase please check back regularly as I will be making regular trips to the Chemung County Humane Society and SPCA to photograph the animals and add their photographs to this gallery. 

http://krnaturalphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/SPCA-Animals/G0000Lo3vbBDdmaQ/