Scattered Thoughts . . .

Who doesn't want a fireplace in their home?  A fireplace conjures up feelings of warmth... physical as well as emotional... beautiful architectural details... the faint smell of burning wood... the crackling of the fire... the playful dance of the flame... and a place to hang your stockings at Christmastime. Fitting even a small fireplace in a small home can be almost impossible though.  Fireplaces take up valuable real estate in any home.  Actually, fireplaces often become a major feature in any room and can even be monumental in size.  Even small fireplaces sometimes just can't fit into small homes... or can they?   Preliminary sketch... We have a small home.  Okay...  we have a really small home.  We have only three adults in the house but it is a tight fit.  It is such a tight fit that we are having difficulty renovating the house. Where do we put all the stuff that is in the room we want to renovate while we are renovating? It is like those little sliding tile gam

Flash photography has always been a thorn in my side.  I'm not alone though.  Most people have no clue how to properly shoot photos using a flash and that includes most photographers! Whenever we think of "flash photography" we picture a photo, any of millions of photos, that look like there is a big spotlight shining on the subject.  The background is so dark and underexposed that you can't see further than about ten feet in front of the camera.  These kinds of photos are terrible and have always bothered me. There is nothing 'warm' about them... there is nothing exciting about them... you can't even tell where the photo was shot... and they almost always cause the subject to frightfully resemble that "deer in the headlights" look. To imagine the types of photos I am referring to, think of the last time you tried to shoot your friends at night... you are in a beautiful location with warm lighting throughout the room... there is beauti