**** If you read this in your email, there was a character mistake that has been fixed in the article. My baaaad.

I’m about to head off to my first photography meeting, I’m pretty excited and nervous at the same time. Dawn Shields will be at our meeting speaking on personal projects. Dawn is an award-winning photographer. She mainly does weddings and portraits, and even though that isn’t my forte as of yet, I’m lucky to be able to attend this and hear her speak. If I have anything to share later, I will do my best to post it.

Now, on another note, if you say Russel Crowe was the worst choice for Javert in Les Miserables, there’s the door, and I hope someone punches your face off when you get outside. I bought the motion picture soundtrack highlight CD today, and I am as blown away by it as I was when I saw the movie in theatres on Christmas day. Everyone including the guy at the bookstore I bought the CD at is poking fun at him. Adam Lambert freaking blasted the guy. As if Russel Crowe is renowned for his musical ability, he came in and delivered a very satisfying performance throughout the entire movie. Maybe he is, from a vocal point, a little rough around the edges. But, think of this: does Javert have the same story as Jean Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, or for that matter anyone else in the movie? No. He doesn’t. And that leads me to believe that he doesn’t have the emotion that everyone else does as they tell their stories. And that leads me to believe his voice is going to be gruff, unpolished, and perhaps not perfect at a point in the movie.

After that rant, I should point out that I am completely heterosexual.

I don’t really have another format to voice my opinion, so I am really sorry if you came here looking for photography. The least I can do for all of my followers is post a picture. So, here it is. When I was out this weekend, I drove past a house for sale that still had tornado damage from May 2011. It looked like someone had started to repair the insides, but the exterior was so distressed. And, on the house hung a flag, presumably that survived the tornado. For your seeing and critiquing enjoyment, here:

damage1

One thing I have already heard was that I need to “get up close and personal” with my subject, if my subject was indeed the flag. I replied to the guy “yeah, I was just trying to get out and shoot some stuff”. He said to me “I do that too… Just shooting something that looks cool. What you need to figure out is what are you trying to say with this photo?“.

My response was “yeah… well, I just got the damn thing, so I was really making sure it just works”, but he does indeed serve up some food for thought.

Anyways, let me know what you thought of Russel Crowe in Les Miserables and let me know what you think of the photo in the comment section below. I’m out for now!