Photo Shoot

One of my photography friends posted the other day that not everyone with a camera is a photographer.  This is a very, very true statement.  I've never been a big picture taker.  I used to like to do it when I was younger.  I think it had more to do with being old enough to have my own camera and all.  It lost it's appeal to me as I got older.  I was always too interested in the things I was doing to remember to take pictures.  Even now with The Boy, I see these moms constantly following their kid with the camera taking pictures or videos, you know the ones I mean, the ones with those really nice big professional looking cameras that take awesome pictures, the ones who have their kid pose every five seconds so they can photograph every second of whatever activity it is they're doing (now, if you're one of those moms please do not take offense.  One day you'll have all these memories to blackmail your kids with) and there I am with my Kodak or my phone only remembering to do it because they are.


However, now, I am chief photographer of the farm.  I take these pictures for three reasons.  One, if I was looking for a place such as mine to go, I would like to see pictures of said place before I arrived.  Haven't you ever pulled up to a place and it not been at all like what they described.  You think it's going to be completely awesome, and you pull up and the grass is knee high and there's some random dog hanging around and the building looks like it's falling apart and you swear you hear banjo music in the background.  I want people to be reassured that won't be the experience they'll have here (I did spend three hours cutting grass Wed. and we just built a new shelter and the only banjo you'll here is Mumford & Sons, but there might be a random dog.  Three outta four ain't bad right?).  


Two, education.  Most of the pictures I take never see the light of day except for my power points, which, incidentally never see the light of day either.  I try and take pictures of every stage of everything we do so I have it to demonstrate what I'm talking about with farm tours (The Husband teases me because I call it stock footage).  Sometimes the things we have to do are hard to describe, if you see a picture you understand better.  Plus I like for people to see what's going on here, maybe they'll learn something just by looking at the pictures.  It kind of ties in with reason number one.


Third, advertising.  I love taking pictures of ripe berries and putting them online.  I know when I'm looking at recipes on Pintrest or watching the Food Network I can be completely full and get hungry simply on the power of suggestion.  Even I can't look at a full flat of fresh ripe berries without my mouth watering a little, and I don't even like strawberries (Oh! The horror.  I know.  Sometimes having a discriminating palate really sucks).

Case in Point!

I have a new respect for wildlife photographers.

So in case you were wondering, yes, it's me taking those pictures, and yes, I'm doing it mostly with my Droid, and yes, I did follow that bee around from plant to plant for at least five minutes trying to get a good picture of her on a flower (so yes we now know our bees are working, or at least, that one was) and yes I have tons more.  At some point, hopefully in the near future, I'll have a projector so I can actually show these pictures to people when they come for tours.  And if you ever see one you have a question about please ask.  I would love nothing better than to explain it to you!  

Side note - we're opening Monday!!!  Finally!!!  I think if we don't The Husband will spontaneously combust.  So come by and pick a flat or two...you might catch me taking a picture!

Countdown

Well, strawberry season is fast approaching (thank you climate change).  In two weeks we will be picking berries.  After months of watching, waiting, plotting, and face planting daily in the field (I literally do it every time I go out there.  I don't understand why.  I watch my step.  I grew up jumping tobacco rows and walking down middles but it never fails.  The other day The Boy saw me do it and started face-planting for fun.  I guess it's pretty much hopeless for him.) they're finally getting ready.

Which means I'm about to explode with anxiety.  I was met with this in the field just a few minutes ago:

First one of the season!  Yikes!

The Boy said "oh.my.gosh.  That's a red berry!"


There is so much to do.  I have to talk to my girls and get them lined up to work, order containers to put them in, make sure the signage is ready, start marketing, book groups to come pick, make sure I have coloring books, line up things with the dairy, order shirts, deal with The Manic Husband, update the website/facebook/twitter...you get the picture.  My mama always said that hindsight is 20/20 and I believe her.  If I'd have known I'd be responsible for all this, that I'd be running an agritourism farm, I'd have definitely gone to business school.  Ninety percent of the time I feel like we're the blind leading the blind.  And every year we add something new and different that we've never done before, like produce and the CSA, so we can't get comfortable and think, yeah, we've got this.  So while The Husbands running around like "Wow! We'll have strawberries in two weeks!" thinking about eating that first ripe one, I'm like "wow, we'll have strawberries in two weeks" thinking about all the things still on my to do list.

I am excited though don't get me wrong.  I'm ready to see people out here enjoying the strawberries and having kids come though the farm tours.  I'm excited about our open house and the recipe contest and possibilities there.  I'm ready to start packing CSA boxes and (hopefully) hearing about people enjoying our vegetables and seeing pictures of the awesome things they cooked with them.  I'm excited about that wonderfully fresh sweet scent that you can only get with real fresh local strawberries.


That being said I hope you're counting down the days like we're counting them.  Come out and see us in a couple weeks for those first ripe berries.  Bring your kids out to pick while you're on spring break and let them run off some energy with us.  We'll be glad to have you!