Diner en Blanc Preview Party

Diner en Blanc Philadelphia (DEBphl) organized a preview party hosted by Williams Sonoma that included food tastings  from Garces Catering, DiBruno Brothers and Chef Tod of McCrossen’s Tavern. Guests munched and mingled while admiring several Diner en Blanc inspired tablecapes.

What is Diner en Blanc? Is is a chic picnic invented by François Pasquier and his close friends 25 years ago in Paris. A “friends and word of mouth” event that is invitation only keeping the character and dymamic of the event intimate and friendly. Invited participants are asked to dress in white, organize a high quality picnic meal with tables, chairs, glasses, silver and white linen.  The secret destination for this posh picnic is revealed when the invited guests are escorted there by their hosts.

You Will All Be Assimilated

Into Pinterest…

Next, @irishduke2 (cc: @skye820) RT @anthropocon: Just got an alert that @benhowe joined Pinterest. #SignOfTheApocalypse

— Jimmie (@jimmiebjr) May 2, 2013

 

Vine – Brand New Twitter App for Video

What is Vine?

I came across a tweet on Thursday where Chris Brogan shared a link to 11 Things a Business Could Do with the New Vine App. Intrigued, I clicked the link and discovered a new free video app now supported by Twitter.

Dom Hofmann, GM and co-founder of Vine describes the app:

Posts on Vine are about abbreviation — the shortened form of something larger. They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life. They’re quirky, and we think that’s part of what makes them so special.

Within the app the user has the ability to string together a series of six second videos, creating a brief and imaginative video loop. I’ve yet to discover the secret embed code for these brief videos, so click HERE to watch my Vine video. Since this is a newly released application, I’m certain this function will become available soon.

Creating the video was dead simple.  The app guides the user through your initial video and strings them together once you’ve finished. Note that the video clips do not have to be taken immediately following one another in order to create your story. The user can save the video to the camera roll or share it on Twitter and FaceBook.

Remember, what is shared cannot be retracted. So please think before your share a video.

What am I gonna do in 6 seconds?  I was asked this question from social media guru Jimmie Bise when I shared this video with him on Twitter.

The app immediately reminded me of 12second.tv which closed its doors in 2010.  It was a pioneer of sharing personal short video clips and I believe I used the service once then promptly abandoned it for lack of interest.  How is this app different? It allows a level of creativity by allowing the user to selectively capture video clips to create the story they are after. Each clip may be six seconds long but the user can link together a number of clips to create their video.  The brevity of the clips cuts down on distractions allowing the user can create a dynamic, get-to-the point video. Chris Brogan detailed several ways in which this app would be useful to users.

The simple interface, quick processing and social sharing make this an appealing video app for newbies and intermediate smartphone videographers. With the support and financial subsidizing of Twitter I suspect this app may witness more innovation and a longer shelf life then other video contenders.

Another free mobile video application you may want to explore is Viddy which is available for both Iphone and Droid fans. Users can shoot one fifteen second video clip on their mobile device then add filters, special effects and music to the clip before sharing their creation online.  Users have the ability to embed their videos within blog posts.

See my pretty video below:

Is Vine the video version of Instagram? Only time and user engagement will answer that question.

Viddy is a great alternative to Vine with a few more bells and whistles at its disposal.

Which app would I prefer? I like them both for different reasons and would use them accordingly.

I’m Going to BlissDom’13

I am delighted to announce that I will be attending the BlissDom 2013 Conference being held this year in Dallas, Texas. What is BlissDom about, you might ask, here is a brief introduction:

BlissDom is the premier conference for women who find and express their bliss by publishing online. BlissDom ’13, our ninth conference (including three BlissDom Canada events held in Toronto), is a welcoming oasis in the ever-changing blogging world. Speakers and panels featuring the best blogging, public relationsand social media pros will be gathering to mentor new and old friends alike.

I created a RebelMouse page to collate all my BlissDom conference posts from 2012 and new information regarding the 2013 conference. BlissDom photos, blog posts and videos can now be found all in one place.  Enjoy and keep checking this post for updates as the conference draws near.

[rebelmouse site_name=”TaniaBlissDomConference2013″]

Blog Reader Survey

Hello dear readers!

I would greatly appreciate your thoughts and ideas on how to make this blog better for you.

If you have a few minutes, I’d love for you to answer a few questions on my fancy-pants Google docs survey form.  I’ll keep this survey open for the month of January before tabulating the results. In February, I’ll share the results of this survey on the blog.

Thanks for your help with this survey!

Apparently iFrame does not like to work with WordPress. Sorry for that.

Click  HERE for a direct link to the survey if you cannot view the survey embedded in the post.

 

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR FILLING OUT THIS SURVEY!

Where in the Web is Tania?

The interweb is a huge entity and growing by the nanosecond.  It is a place that I find endlessly fascinating and have joined a social media site or two. To make it easier to find me, I’d thought I’d curate a list of other social media/websites that I’ve joined and actively participate:

RebelMouse
RebelMouse is a curation of my social media expressions and now is a Page within this blog. You can click on Skye820 and view my curated social media footprint in one place.

Digital Rev
Great photography site with a social media backbone. Another area to get more eyeballs on my photography, learn new techniques and meet new photographers.

About.Me
About.me will replace the About page on this blog.

Urban Garden Goddess
A blog I’ve had for a few years where I document my struggles and successes in urban vegetable gardening.

Tumblr – A place to share more of my Instagram goodness. Honestly, what else do you do with a Tumblr site?

Come join me on Pinterest, soon we will all be assimilated 🙂

These sites are in addition to the usual suspects of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Instagram VS EyeEm

 

A few weeks ago a friend shared a link to what seemed to me at the time another photo app  – EyeEm – trying to out shine Instagram. I took a few photos using the app during a recent long weekend in Annapolis, MD then promptly shuffled the app to the back burner.

Recently, Instagram updated their Terms of Service to include wording that appeared to signal their intention of using member photos  in advertisements without notifying or sharing revenue with the creator of the photo. There was no opt-out of this change outside of deleting your account before the new year.  Needless to say, it brought an outpouring of criticism from stunned users.  Cofounder of Instagram, Kevin Systrom responded to the outcry by stating Instagram has no intention to sell you photos.  Which by and large is true, but they have reserved the right to do so.

I get that Instagram has to develop a business plan and profit module. If Instagram content curators happen upon a photo of mine they would like to use for advertising purposes, I’m happy to sell them the  photo for this purpose. To be clear – I want their business to continue to be successful but not by trampling on the content makers that make Instagram such a success in the first place.  How difficult would it be to set up a photographer fee schedule for those users who would be interested in selling photos for Instagram advertising?

Photography Bits and Pieces

Instagram has recently released its largest update since last year. The new update includes:

• A preview of the most recent photo on your camera roll.
• Improved Camera Roll image selector (iPhone 5 only) for quick access to your last photograph.
• Optional grid guide for live photos and a permanent grid guide for the scale & crop screen.
• Speed and reliability improvements.
• New Filter: Willow.

The above photo of Buster was created with the new Willow filter.  I like the new update as it refreshes the look of the app and adds more functionality.

Twitter is getting on the Instagram-like bandwagon with their latest mobile app update. The update add Aviary-powered photo filters. In addition, you can crop and apply an auto-enhance before tweeting out your photo masterpiece.

The cute video below explains how to use the new twitter photo tools:

One last item – composition matters!

Take time to look at the whole scene before snapping a photo and sharing it with the entire world.  The focal point of this photo is supposed to be the MaCallan 12year but I’m guessing that is not what you noticed first.

Photojournalists Dirty Secret

That quiet man or woman behind the camera harbors a rather dirty secret……at one time or another they have purposely taken less than flattering photos of politicians with whom they disagree politically.  Photojournalists, myself included, instinctively understand the visual nature of human beings.  A good picture can capture a moment, effectively freezing the narrative and invoking an emotional response with the viewer. A photographer can create whatever impression they want with selective editing of their photos.

Pulitzer prize winning photographer Eddie Adams  once wrote about  the power of photography –   “Still photographs are the most powerful weapon in the world. People believe them; but photographs do lie, even without manipulation. They are only half-truths.” 

In a recent article on Buzzfeed, Amy Odell examines the difference in the quantity and quality of photographs taken of Ann Romney on the campaign trail as compared to FLOTUS.  The article highlighted the ugly truth that photojournalists will purposely photograph politicians with whom they disagree with politically in unflattering angles or apply hideous crops during post processing of the photos. These photos are then submitted for sale to photo stock sites such as Getty and then published in newspapers and periodicals.  A ton of ink and pixels have been generated on the topic of bias in the main stream media, particularly with the arena  of modern day politics. The same can be said of photojournalism. In this case, photos, not words are used to shape an opinion.

The article focused on Getty Image editorial collections but Getty is not the only stock photography site on the block. AP Images from 7/1/2012 to 10/28/2012 reveal similar findings in photo quality of both women. FLOTUS had a total of 563 photos to Ann Romney’s 262 photos for the same time period.  P.P.E. Agency had no photos of Ann Romney and 105 photos of FLOTUS with a focus on her European trips and her derriere.   Reuters compiled slide shows of both FLOTUS and Ann Romney. FLOTUS garnered 40 photos in the slide show and Ann Romney with 28 photos. The differences in the slide shows reveal a startling level of  editorial control in an attempt to shape the public visual impressions of both women. I am serious. Go check out the slide shows and pay particular attention to the photo of both women addressing their respective national convention this summer. To make it easier – go to photo 12 on the FLOTUS slide show and photo 3 on Ann Romney’s slide show.  Remember these are the stock photography sites your local newspaper typically go to for images of national events and the photojournalists who work for these companies know this.

Part of my passion for photojournalism is to do my part to fill in the ‘half-truths’ with my own independent brand of photojournalism. I’ve covered political rallies since 2005 always pushing the technological envelope and being frustrated quite often 🙂  Today, the technology to instantly share photos instantaneously has revolutionized photojournalism. It is no longer a walled garden of select photographers crafting and editing their photos to shape public impressions.  Everyone with a cell phone or a point and shoot digital camera can be a citizen photojournalist – together we can fill in the ‘half-truths’ of photography.

Oh P.S.: FLOTUS = First Lady of the United States.

What are your thoughts on photojournalism? Share them in the comments section.

Pinterest Recipe Meets the Real World – Southwestern Stuffed Peppers

Hey, it’s Sunday and time for another edition of Pinterest Recipe meets the real world!   The recipe chosen for this post: Southwestern Stuffed Peppers.

I’ve curated a rather large collection of tasty recipes on a Pinterest Board simply labeled ‘Food and Drink‘. While it is interesting to build this board, I wanted to be confident that the contents of the board were items that could be made offline, in the real world. The only way to be sure was to recreate the recipes at home.

The pin clicks through to the blog SimplyLoveFood.com where the author shared her recipe for this dish.

Source: go.redirectingat.com via Tania on Pinterest

 

It is quite easy to make and a favorite go to recipe when my garden grown peppers are ready to be harvested. However, when I prepared this recipe, my peppers were not quite ready, so I substituted them with store bought organic peppers.

Here is my real world version of the same recipe:

• 3 medium to large sized peppers.
• One half pound lean ground beef (or turkey).
• One half cup Brown Rice or Basmati Rice.
• Olive oil to coat the peppers.
• One half cup chopped sweet onion (or any onion lurking in your refrigerator)
• 1 Tbsp Taco seasoning – store bought.
• One half jar Southwest style Salsa – mild.
• One half cup frozen or fresh corn.
• 1 can of black beans (15 oz), drained.
• One half cup shredded sharp cheese for topping.
• Sour cream for topping.
• Cilantro for for topping.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. While oven is preheating, cook rice according to package directions. If  you don’t have directions, here is basic rice cooking instruction:

Rinse rice before cooking; add 1 and 1/2 cups of water to every 1 cup of rice; bring the uncovered rice and water to a boil; reduce heat to medium partially cover with lid to allow steam to escape; as water evaporates, it will leave ‘craters’ in the rice; reduce heat to low when ‘craters’ appear and simmer the covered rice for 10 minutes. 

Set cooked rice aside.

In a non stick pan, brown the lean ground beef or turkey.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked rice, browned beef or turkey, taco seasoning, 3/4 of a jar of salsa, black beans, corn, and chopped onion. Mix ingredients to an even consistency. This is your pepper stuffing mixture.

Slice peppers into halves, remove seeds and excess pepper. Quickly rinse the peppers to remove all seeds, pat dry. Coat peppers with olive oil, spoon heaping amounts of stuffing mixture into the pepper cavity.

Arrange peppers in baking dish, sprinkle shredded sharp cheese on top of the peppers before placing in oven.

Bake peppers for 45 mins. Add additional shredded cheese and reserved salsa when you remove the stuffed peppers from the oven. Don’t forget to wear oven mitts!

Prior to serving, top the baked peppers with a dollop of sour cream and some cilantro.

Enjoy!

 

Peppers, Filling, and finished product

Yes, I intentionally left out salt. The dish has enough flavor that salt is not needed.  For a vegetarian twist, remove the meat and switch the rice with Quinoa.

As you can see, Pinterest can be a great source for meal inspirations and ideas that are actually workable in the real world.  So what are you waiting for? Join Pinterest and follow my Food and Drink board for more Pinterest to Real Life tested recipes.