I had to take the subway from Queens to Brooklyn. That's a long subway ride. So I decided to write about my experience. 

Did you ever look around on the subway and pick out the person you’re going to team up with if shit goes wrong? Most sci-fi/horror movies have a scene where people on the NYC subway are being attacked by the main baddie.  If aliens attack, I nominate we distract them with this drunk girl. She can barely stand. Meanwhile, I am grabbing the hand of the 20 something male in the workout clothes and making him my bestie.

I have no comment on the half dressed guy. He could be the cause of something going wrong.

Drunk girl is donnnnne

The F train turned into the E train but only for 4 stops, then it becomes the F train again. And people wonder why tourists get lost for hours in the subway.

Now a hipster musician just boarded. I feel like he’ll be more useful if we enter a weird dystopian future where there is no television. He’s got a guitar so he can keep us amused. But in the immediate future he will be useless to fend off any attackers. Unless he’s hiding some muscles under that shirt and is well versed in how to use that guitar case as a weapon.

Drunk girl stumbled off so my new bait for Godzilla, should he attack is the older lady with the heavy bags. She’s not going anywhere fast. But athletic guy got off to and left me with a Finn Hudson build type guy. I guess he’ll do. At the very least, he’s taller and closer to a T-rex’s mouth, should one of them attack.

Finn-like

Damn midtown. Tourists with shopping bags. They’ll be too busy gawking at whatever is attacking to run. They trump older lady for bait. Now there’s a guy that looks like Bono from U2. He has boots on. Too clunky to run in. I’m sticking with Finn.

Bono?

Ooh a guy that looks like Judge Dredd! He’s my new buddy. He’s wearing dark sunglasses in a dark tunnel. Maybe he’s a vampire!

Judge Dredd

I had to switch to the A train now. Holy crap! An elevator in the subway. That’s like seeing a unicorn. I’m getting in!

So far my fellow passengers waiting to board seem pretty normal. A bunch of women traveling by themselves. We shall band together and become the sisterhood of the A train. 

There’s a sign that’s one letter away from being an awesome sign. 

Ok I’m kicking the 20 something girl next to me out of the sisterhood for excessive selfie taking of herself. She has to have snapped 50 since we’ve been sitting here. And they are only of her face, cropped in real tight. Not that there’s any scenery on the subway platform. 

One letter away from being an awesome sign

Oof! Cute guy at the platform across the way. He’s going uptown. Boo! 

The uptown A came. Bye cute hipster.

He was too far away to get a good shot

People on subways do not look happy.Look, you are on a train. I'm still waiting for mine. Be happy!

He's re-evaluating his life on the A train

Success! My train! I helped the other lady in my sisterhood get on the train. She didn’t see that it arrived. Go me! Good deed for the day accomplished. 

There are a lot of tourists with suitcases on this train. It must go to a big train station or an airport. 

There’s a guy that could be Lucifer’s cousin. But he has suitcases. I’m going to need you to be a New Yorker if you are on my apocalypse team because I have no idea where I’m going. You would be the guide. 

I’m keeping eye out for James Franco. I am going to run into him one of these days. I am grabbing the gal next to me. She’s studying ancient Greek mythology. I’m thinking college student, plus I’m fairly sure she’s familiar with postapacolyptic America. She probably got an A in that class. And she smiled at me when I sat next to her. 

The tourist boys are staring at me. Possibly because I have heart shaped sunglasses on my head and a giant heart on my shirt. 

Tourist Boys

Ugh. Someone coughed grossly- Ebola!!! Run!

He’s on the other side of the train but I’m sure we’re breathing the same recycled air. I wasn’t prepared for an Outbreak scenario. 

Now I need to look for medically trained type people. I’ve got a family, a guy we’re sandals and a sailboat shirt and some young men to choose from. Not liking my odds. There is a guy that looks like the guy that was kicked off Last Comic Standing though. Maybe he can make us all laugh as we slowly die of Ebola. 

I’m fairly certain sailboat guy is eating sour patch kids. I kind of want one now but not with Ebola flying around the car. 

However I might die from the smell of dude’s pits next to me. Axe man! Use it. Old Spice. Something. 

I’m headed into Bed-Stuy to photograph a building. Yup. Because I find that kind of thing fun. And taking pictures happens to be my job. I really want to go to the Manhattan Bridge but I probably shouldn't do that alone. Though my insane need for a gorgeous shot sometimes outweighs my sanity. We’ll see. It’s getting late and I’m getting hungry.

THE RIDE TO PENN STATION

Ok, my back hurts from carrying around 28 pounds of camera gear. That was not the best neighborhood to be in alone. I am back on the A train headed towards Penn Station. I need a bathroom and some Starbucks. 

I find it fitting that I am drinking organic tea while riding through crunchy granola Brooklyn. 

Damn! The train feels like it’s going to fall apart. Where are one of those roving musicians. I’m bored and the best of Bed-Stuy is boring. 

Down the car there is a girl eating an ice pop and a creepy guy across from her staring. Lol. 

Christina Yang just got on. Where were you when I might have had ebola?!

Christina Yang from Grey's Anatomy

There are two strangers laughing and smiling at each other. Second subway miracle today! She must have complimented his awesome skateboard because now he’s showing her all its features. 

We are rocketing under the Hudson River again and the train is rocking back and forth so much I swear it is going to break apart. I don’t know how people are still standing and not flat on their butts. I sat me and my 28 pound camera bag down. 

This man across from me needs to pull up his pants. It’s bothering me. I know I’m old and cranky but seriously, that can’t be easy to walk in. 

Pull up your pants!

An unattended Gatorade bottle just rolled towards me. God I hope that’s not pee in it. What are the odds that’s not pee! Yuck. 

Dude in baby blue suede loafers just got on. He looks as out of place as I probably do. He’s been shopping. I am trying to read the name on the bag without looking like a creeper. No luck. 

Dude across from me is potentially my fallout buddy. He looks a little like Jason Statham. I can’t take a pic because he keeps staring at me. Awkward! He’s probably trying to read my shirt. It says “Let a little love in” and has a giant heart. 

Oooh! A guy with a tripod! A kindred spirit. I want to geek out about photography with him but I feel like that might be advancing our non existent friendship too quickly. I will stay seated. For now

There are no station announcements on this train. At least not that I can hear. I need guidance. I think this train is from the 70’s. It’s frighteningly rickety. I want one of the new blue ones with the computers on them. The ones The Tomorrow People ride. 

Two young dudes and a baby! So cute. You win the subway for today.

How to take a picture of your dog

Do you want to take a cute picture of your dog like the cute ones you always see on the internet? Do you try everything and the pictures end up looking like this:

Photo credit: Dillon Freeman

Well, I'm here to tell you how to take better pictures of your dog. It is not done without a bit of training though. 

Step 1- Teach your dog the command "Watch Me"

Get some training treats or food nuggets and sit down with your dog. Put a treat in your hand and wave it by her nose. You should now have her attention. Once she knows the treat is in your hand, slowly rais your hand towards your eyes. When she looks at you, say, "Watch Me" and then give her the treat. Repeat this over and over again until they have it down. Depending on the dog, this step could take several minutes or several weeks. If you have a Yorkie, it may never work. :)

Step 2- Get ready for the shot

When you are ready, get the camera, get some treats and get the dog

Step 3- Take the picture

Once you are ready, call your dog over. Have them sit first. Then aim the camera and give the "watch me" command. If you have a slow camera, you may want to put it on "sports" setting and just keep clicking while giving this command. If you can, you want to adjust the camera so that the flash doesn't go off. The flash in their eyes will most likely deter them from looking at you the next time you say "Watch me".

Step 4- Most important step- Give them the treat

Make sure you give them the treat right away after you have taken the picture or they won't associate the treat with the "watch me" command. 

Hopefully, with a little practice you will be able to take great pictures of your dog!

Photo credit: Bellemore Photography

Maggie Graduates

As you may or may not know, we've been taking our new puppy, Maggie, to dog training at Pet Smart. It was great except that my smart Miss Maggie already knew everything that they were teaching us and some other stuff because I had been training her at home from the very first day we got her. So she is the star pupil there. Well, needless to say, she graduated with flying colors.

Dillon and she are the best of friends, in fact, Dillon and most dogs seem to be the best of friends. He is indeed a dog person, or for that matter, an "animal person". I don't think Dillon has met an animal he didn't like or that didn't like him. I foresee him being the next dog whisperer. He was so good with Maggie. He knows all the commands and he is the one that took her through her final test. I sat and took pictures (of course!).

A boy and his dog

The trainer commented on the great relationship between he and Maggie. She has some trouble walking nice with me, but when Dillon has her on the leash, she walks next to him, leash loose, all nice. In spite of this, I cannot take Dillon to training without taking Casey. Casey, unlike Dillon, scares the poor dog. Maggie sits in the ring trembling, hiding behind my legs as Casey flits around. He doesn't even have to speak or make his usual strange little boy noises for Maggie to take cover. So alas, I will be doing Maggie's intermediate dog training solo for my sanity, the trainer's sanity and the poor dog's sanity.

At the end of the test, she "graduated" and she donned a mortarboard and tassel. Poor thing...

I want to "shoot" my kids!

I am offering a "Learn how to use your camera" workshop.

Half Day Session 10-2- Offered Thursday, May 19 or Wednesday, May 25
$100
Includes:
Learn what the buttons mean on your camera
What the heck's aperture?!
Love the light you have
Shooting without a flash
Setting the shot
"posing" your kids
Lunch
Afternoon photo safari
Back to review pictures

Full Day Session 9:30-5:30: Offered Saturday May 21 or Sunday June 5
$200
Includes:

Learn what the buttons mean on your camera

What the heck's aperture?!

Love the light you have

Shooting without a flash

Setting the shot

"posing" your kids

Lunch

Afternoon photo safari

Back to review pictures

Basics of photo editing

Free photo editing software options

Question and answer period

These are limited to 5 people a session. Bring your own laptop if you have it or I have two we can use to review the photos afterwards. If interested, email me at bellemorephoto@gmail.com to let me know what date you are interested in and to arrange payment.  

So I felt the need to share....

I follow a few blogs on a weekly basis or so and I maintain a separate one for posting portraits that I've taken as part of my business. But I thought it'd be a neat idea to post some of the misadventures I encounter while working from home. Most of them come from my new puppy, Maggie. She's a 4 month old Boxer-lab mutt that we rescued from the Camden County Animal Shelter. She fills my days with happiness and a tiny bit of frustration. For those of you who think puppies are cute, they are. Training them, however is like dealing with a baby! Seriously consider this point before you fall victim to those cute little puppy dog eyes.

Do you like your possessions? Well kiss them goodbye. I can currently hear her ripping the back flap off my couch as I am typing this. I just sprayed it with bitter apple to deter her chewing it. However, much to my dismay, she has decided that she's the only dog in the world that enjoys the taste of bitter apple. She has destroyed 3 heating pads, one space heater, a desk light and countless Pokemon cards. And I have her confined to one room and I try to keep it "puppy proof". I've come to find that there is no such thing. If there's nothing laying around for her to get into, she'll just chew a hole in her bed.

Enough complaining though... She is very cute! And she loooooves people. Even my brother. If you haven't met my brother, you should know that dogs think he's a chew toy. He's 6'4" and still gets abused by dogs. He's been that way since he was young. I think dogs can sense his general apathy for them.

So anyway, here's how I found her this morning pre-bitter apple... Head stuck in the couch, trying to unvelcro the back flap so she can scratch her butt against the metal underneath. (The fluff all over is from the bed she is currently shredding) That's a puppy teething toy she is ignoring.

She is a lot like my kids- smart but stubborn. She is excelling in her puppy training class at Pet Smart. She does everything and picks up on it right away. However, she, much like my kids, has the unique ability to totally ignore me when she chooses.

I did manage to teach her one great command- "Watch Me'. Instantly gets her attention. In my next post I'll get into how to train your dog to pose for a picture.