Our fearless and over-zealous leader, John Geddie, has propostioned the
newsroom with a 30-day challenge. For some reason, he believes we all need to
change for the better. After a few days of pondering what I would do, I decided
not to give up any of my vices—this isn’t Lent. Besides, I already exercise
daily and have sworn off alcohol and chocolate. If I gave up my other iniquity,
caffeine, my coworkers would receive the brunt of the pain.

So, photography it is. I’ve always looked upon photographers as
untouchables—possessing an impalable skill that did not belong to me. This was
further substantiated when I learned that photography entails a lot of math. All
I know is the rule of thirds. If you cut a picture into three vertical parts, it
is more interesting if the subject matter is situated within either the left or
the right one-third of the frame.

As a writer, I have also felt a sort of aversion to photography, choosing to
paint the scene of a story with my words. A story is worth a thousand pictures,
if you will. It’s time to stop making excuses.

I will be posting a picture to my blog every day until Sept. 1. My inaugural
picture is of Times-Mirror Staff Reporter Laura Peters doing the “owl meme” on
our conference room table. Behind her beckon the Times-Mirror’s 50+ years of
archives. Owling is a new trend going around the Internet (ie. Facebook) of
people perching on various home and office furniture in the same way an owl
would. This meme was preceded by the “planking meme,” but that was so two months
ago.

Twinkle, twinkle crooked toes

And, here is a picture of my Nine West shoes for added measure.