Small Business Saturday

Saturday, November 29, 2014 is Small Business Saturday – a day to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities. 
Now, if I may make one suggestion? That Nutty Redhead's Praline Gourmet Nuts. So many Thanks.

ThatNuttyRedhead.com 

And your Pledge of Support would be most appreciated.

That Nutty Redhead Kickstarter Campaign

Remember, we are rewarding everyone that pledges, 10% off all future orders. That's our pledge to you.

Me and My Duck

Notice anything strange about this piece? Check the title and then take another look. Ha! I took this one quite some time ago in Old North Burying Ground in Ipswich, Ma. I was totally focused on the aged stone on a blue background with a yellow trimmed window, and that's all. I had not noticed my little friend until I loaded the capture on my computer for processing.

A Few from Newburyport, Ma.

Newburyport is not really all that far & away, so from time to time Lisa and I will take a few hours for a stroll through this charismatic hamlet. 

Oldies Marketplace

A minstrel in Waterfront Promenade Park. She was enthralled.

A view from Market Square in the direction of Water Street.

Market Square

Thought I'd try something with an architectural flare while in Market Square.

Two Sides of the Same Statue

I always make a point of looking over my intended subject from as many angles as I can. This fine statue was captured in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY.

 An Inner Peace

Soul Searching

That Nutty Redhead's new packaging!

This is a first look at That Nutty Redhead's new packaging designed by Brian O'Connor. The logo design by Josh Stebbins. The package itself will be a stand-up pouch manufactured by standuppouches.net. We'll carry 2oz. and 8oz. packages for the New England Praline w/Sea Salt and Breakfast in New England. It's all coming along very nicely.
There is a back, of course, and we'll present it next week.
Again, we can use your support, so please do stop by That Nutty Redhead's Kickstarter campaign and pledge with confidence. Thanks so much.

That Nutty Redhead's Kickstarter Campaign

A Final Thought

Oh My, another before and after. Something attracted me to this memorial in Mt. Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY. You must forgive me, but I thought I had the whole statue. Anyway, it was in the eyes. I could work those eyes. They were more than stone to me. A little touchup here and there produced my intended work.

It took quite some time, but it was worth the investment. I do hope you think so, too.

That Nutty Redhead's Kickstarter Campaign

That Nutty Redhead

Please join That Nutty Redhead in her campaign to raise the funds for her new gourmet nut product packaging. Whole Foods, for one, is awaiting the results :) Click on the link and pledge. You will forever be apart of the adventure. Thanks so much.

And she'll not stop there...

Tomorrows Event

Join That Nutty Redhead, maker of gourmet Praline Nuts & Nutty Fudge, at the fabulous North Shore Food & Gift Emporium!

That Nutty Redhead is featured this month in Edible Boston magazine. Samples of my newest product, Praline Nutty Fudge with Sea Salt, and my top selling almond & cashew blends will be available. They make great gifts!!
http://thatnuttyredhead.com/blogs/news/15873589-that-nutty-redhead-at-the-northshore-food-gift-emporium-at-willowdale-estate-topsfield-ma

Flat on My Back

Lighting is everything in the trade, and this one works for me. It can be a subtle late day mask, or a bright mid-day spike of brilliance. Either way, opportunities abound if you're ready.
I simply added a bit of contrast & saturation to this one.
This piece was taken in Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, New York.

Monday's Shoot at the Emerson

Lisa and I will complete the shooting on Monday, for our upcoming All Things Victorian - British Low Tea Program. Filming will take place at the Emerson Inn-by-the-Sea here on Cape Ann; the same location where filming of the actual tea took place.
Lisa will be dressed in her Victorian finery as I film her move throughout the location. I will also film the owner, Bruce Coates, give a brief history of the Emerson.
We are most grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Coates for this opportunity.

Emerson Inn-by-the-Sea

A video view

photo by Heather Fuller

Voila!

I'd promised some time ago to post the before and after stages of one of my pieces. Well, a recent session is now reproduced for your review. This particular piece was taken in South Hampton, New Hampshire, at a recent event given by Jewell Towne Vineyards, where Lisa was presenting her nuts and fudge to the visitors. Since I've had my share of nuts and fudge, I decided that a walk would be in order. This scene I lay before you was just down the block, though I had no idea it was there when I started off on my journey.
Photo 1 is the raw image that appeared to me in the upload to my computer. Now, as for photo 2, it appeared to me following 1 1/2 hours of toil and trouble. It's actually a third stage zoom; explanation, once I completed the original piece, I simply zoomed in bit by bit for a new perspective. As I grew to like one and/or the other stage view I would save it and/or them. At each stage I touched up a little here and a little there. Voila! Always a neat idea to create new perspectives with any one photo. You never know what you will find, or feel.
I do have a little more work to do on it before I send it up to my gallery. Sorry, no settings with be revealed. Those are family secrets.

 Photo 1

Photo 2

All Things Victorian - Steampunk w/Bruce Rosenbaum

The All Things Victorian w/Victoriana Lady Lisa's first Steampunk show featuring Bruce Rosenbaum is done and in the can. It will premiere this Thursday night on Cape Ann TV. I'll youtube it in a week or so. I think you'll love this one.
I'm also reworking the earlier shows. If I knew then what I know now... LOL. Anyway, I'm making improvements on the lot, and will reload them to youtube as soon as I can.
FYI, more stations are coming onboard for All Things Victorian.

John Eugene at 3

I worked this stone from just about every angle. It was just perfectly placed, and I wanted to take advantage of my good fortune. My humble suggestion, take advantage of all your good fortune when you're keen enough to recognize it. Work the light; work the angle, and work that inner eye and emotion. Don't rush the process. If it isn't the right time then it isn't the right time. This was my third trip back. I had to take into account the time of year and, in turn, the placement of the sun. Yes, that's right, and that's what it takes to compose a perfect work.

Marcy Cemetery, Duryea, Pennsylvania

Jewell Towne Vineyards Today!

Party with Us at Jewell Towne Vineyards in South Hampton, NH, near Amesbury, Ma, today from 12pm on. That Nutty Redhead will demo her product from 12-2. They really are having a party with food and everything :)

Postscript!
We had a fabulous time today. Peter and Brenda Oldak's Jewell Towne Vineyards celebrated 20 successful years in business. Lisa presented her first demo of That Nutty Redhead Praline Gourmet Nuts & Fudge, and Daniel Farrenkopf prepared all the fine delicacies. Now for some pics...

 Lisa, Brenda & Daniel

  Lisa, Brenda & Daniel

  Daniel & Lisa

 Daniel & Lisa

 Lisa

 Lisa

 Party time!

 Party goes on...

Lisa welcome guests

An Inner Peace

Honestly, does it ever get better than this piece in cemetery photography, if I may say so myself. This young lady is a simple, small statue on top of a rise somewhere in the middle of the cemetery. As I stood there letting my emotions get the better of me, I proceeded to reach in and pull out as much emotion from her as my heart and camera would allow. 

The lighting is natural, but I did remove any background imagery. That's just one of my characteristic touch-ups in the depth of an emotion.

An Inner Peace - Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

A Giant Leap for That Nutty Redhead - Edible Boston is on the stands!

I am truly honored to be in the holiday 2014 issue of the celebrated Edible Boston magazine!!! Look for it at your favorite shops and eateries. Ask for That Nutty Redhead Praline Gourmet Nuts and Fudge if you don't seem them. Thank you Deb Kaneb of BatterUpBakery.com for a wonderful article, and to the editor of Edible Boston, Ilene Bezahler.

http://edibleboston.com/that-nutty-redhead/

                          By Deb Kaneb / Photos by Adam DeTour

All Things Victorian takes First Place!!!

Lisa and I were honored recently with the First Place Award for - Talk Show (Professional) - in the Alliance for Community Media contest that was held in September. The award presented was for the entire northeast region which includes New York and New England. Now that's a lot of stations! We thank the ACM, and we are most grateful to Cape Ann TV for supporting our endeavors.

Be assured that plenty more shows are coming.

A Vacancy at Quiet Haven

It has recently come to my attention that the name of this little plot of hallowed ground is called Siegrist Cemetery; the final home to the Siegrist Family of Lancaster. It's located in Ronks, Pennsylvania, on PA896, just east of Lancaster. Lisa and I had just completed 3 or 4 days at our publishers office/warehouse, photographing her collection of Victorian Fashions and Accessories for her upcoming book, "The Fashionable Victorians and Edwardians," and we decided to take a scenic route home. I do love the back road scenic routes.
All things being equal, I was entitled to a little creative R&D&P (Research & Development & Photography), don't you think? It was my turn now and, obviously, I could not resist the temptation.
Regarding the work itself, as you can tell I took some creative liberties with it. It is actually one of the first pieces that I converted to B&W. The color, for some reason, I found to be a distraction from the overall humor, or melancholy, or message, whatever it is that the viewer may wish to extract from it, so in the bin went the color; except for the flashing 'vacancy' lure, of course.
"A Vacancy at Quiet Haven" is one of my favorites, and I know that it's a favorite of many. Thanks for looking.

To find out who is buried in Siegrist Cemetery, click on the following link - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~millergonzalez/cemetery/SiegristCemetery/siegrist.html

Lisa on "Oddities"

About that nutty side. Here's the segment that you all have been waiting for. I just had to repost this one. It was filmed on Valentine's Day of 2011. At the time Obscura was in the small shop on 10th Street in Manhattan. Evan was great, and everyone in the crew was courteous and professional. Wait! One of the crew did ask Lisa if she would be his Valentine. LOL. It was then brought to his attention that her boyfriend, Me, was standing just behind him... 2xLOL! The day went smoothly after that. Hehehehehe...

http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/oddities/videos/oddities-hair-sculpture.htm

Photos by John Thomas Grant

A Welcome to New Merchants

That Nutty Redhead is happy to announce the addition of 2 new vendors to our growing list of merchants selling our Praline Nuts and Nutty Fudge. They are:

Brother's Brew - Rockport, Ma. - https://www.facebook.com/BrothersBrew
Changing Tides Gifts - Gloucester, Ma. - http://changingtidesgifts.com/

Welcome to both of you. Your support is greatly appreciated.

The Search Family of Shickshinny

Funny thing about this family plot just north of Shickshinny, Pennsylvania. It disappears during the summer months, swallowed whole by the surrounding undergrowth. I should have called it "The Guardian Growth." You literally cannot see it from Rte. 11 just the other side of the tall trees. This particular capture was taken in late fall.
I mentioned nearby Rte. 11. Well, I removed it along with a roadside railing. And I removed telephone poles with running wires, a white metal railing that enclosed the family plot, and a bench that sat near the second tree on the left. It was a challenge, to be sure, but I knew the result would be most satisfying. I should have been a surgeon. LOL!
I fell in love with the sway of the dark trees, the continuity of the background brush, and doesn't that white tree just POP!? The old stones are humbled by their sparsity and weary incline against the hibernating woodland thicket.
The Search Family of Shickshinny is a favorite with many. It also took a "Highly Commended" award in the recent '2014 USA Landscape Photographer of the Year' contest. One of the judges was famed photographer Art Wolfe. I'm proud of this one.

More to come from my gallery.

That Nutty Redhead weekly schedule.

This weeks 'That Nutty Redhead' demo schedule:

Saturday, Nov. 15th
Ace Hardware - Gloucester, Ma - 11am - 1pm
Prime Meats and Provisions - North Beverly, Ma - 2pm - 4pm

Sunday, Nov. 16th
Jewell Towne Vineyards - South Hampton, N.H. - 12pm - 3pm

That Nutty Redhead doing a demo in Crosby's Market in Hamilton, Ma.

The Upcoming North Shore Food and Gift Show

For everyone living on New England's North Shore, you can't miss this MUST ATTEND event!! That Nutty Redhead and a host of other fine vendors will be there. Bring your appetite. We're going to be posting a whole lot of these because we do a whole lot of events. The difference will be that we'll capture some pics from each and report back :) C U there!

See U there tomorrow!

Welcome one and all to the Passion Projects LLC.

Well, this is where the action will be. It has become rather cumbersome to maintain almost a dozen, maybe it is a dozen or more, sites around this internet highway. Between FB, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn and an assortment of equally significant or lesser sites, the burden of maintaining the ever present redundancy, as we courageously engineer our American dream, has become too much. I think we have more important things to do, don't you think? More importantly, we think so. That's not to say that we don't value our time together with you. We certainly do. We're just changing the venue.
We'll keep the personal FB pages, I suspect, but all the rest will disappear over time. Slowly, this page, and a few other business related pages, will be the focus of our attention. You might have noticed the other pages of note just below this post section.
Anyway, welcome, and please do visit as often as you can. Plenty will be happening in the coming days, months and years.

Photo by Douglas Keister, and it was taken at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Sleepy Hollow, New York. It was during the Halloween season of 2012, I believe.