The first day of autumn

leafraking
 

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.  I created this magazine a few years ago in October of 2008 when I still has a sense of humor.  I was younger then  and probably taller too.  I have published this before but in my experience people do not remember what I wrote last month so I doubt if anyone will recognized this from 2008, 2009 and 2010. 

It isn’t cold or nasty out yet and Fall is the best time or year for photography.   The DNR has been predicting that we will have better than average fall colors this year because of the heat and the rain. . . we shall see . . . I have a list of places that I will go to take pictures around the Twin Cities and “up north”.  

Here is a link to the Minnesota DNR fall color updates.  

Photography for Friday

Ah yes it is Friday and Fridays are for fun.  On Wednesday I wrote about experimental photography and today for fun I thought I would write about what happens when that experimental photography goes wrong.   It should be noted that any type of photography can and will go wrong in the hands of someone with a real estate license. 

(any pictures on this blog can be made larger for better viewing by clicking on them with your mouse or your figure on a touch screen)

Dunn Bros. west 7th, st. paul, mn
Photo May 02 2 24 46 PM

I took this inside the local Dunn Bros. coffee shop.  It turned out alright until it chopped the back off of the chair. #fail

Photo May 03 9 06 11 AM
Photo May 03 9 06 11 AM

This  is supposed to be a photograph of a beautiful dining room.  I know I could use it in our MLS but I won’t.  It has that nice distorted stitched together look going on and some of the place settings and chairs are kind of mangled. 

downtown
downtown

A car may have driven through this picture either that or there is a car embedded in the pavement on St. Peter street and I missed it. 

Also see Photography for Realtors

I agree

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.  I have been thinking about all of the things I agree to.  Actually I am not sure what I agree to and am wondering how many others click “I agree” without reading all of the detail of the end user licencing agreement. 

iagree
 

The pages and pages of legal documents  pop up on the screen and I have to agree before I can down load an app or some software that I really want.  If I don’t agree punishment is swift,  I get nothing. 

Lets face it they could put anything they want to in those agreements and most of us would just click “I agree”.  We are forced to agree to something that no one except the people who write end user license agreements and a handful of lawyers understand and it is only a matter of time before some company exploits that fact.  It is possible that no one in the history of the internet has every clicked “I do not agree”. 

Photography for Realtors

It is Friday and Fridays are for fun.  I usually don’t write educational

point and shoot camera
 

type posts on Fridays but that is what I am going to do today.

I have spent a lot of time this week looking for homes for buyers that I am working with.  I just can’t help but notice that the property photos in the MLS are pretty bad. 

I find photos of room parts, open toilets, crooked rooms, poorly lit rooms, open toilets, did I mention open toilets?  bathroom mirrors and windows with bright lights in them and to be honest with some of the photos I can’t really tell what they are of but I try. 

You may have noticed from my blog that I like to take photos.  Maybe I love taking them and I know my way around a camera and if I try I can take a photo of an entire room and if there is a toilet in the room I put the seat down before taking the picture instead of after. (I think Realtors were taught to put the seat down after)  I decided to write some instructions for my peers in an effort to help them with their property photos. .

The following items are needed and my instructions should be followed to the letter.  You will need:  A camera, a towel, a table or sturdy flat surface a hammer, a phone and a room that needs to be photographed.

  • Remove camera from case
  • Remove battery from camera and put it in your pocket.
  • Place towel on flat surface
  • Place camera on top of towel
  • Fold towel over camera until it is completely covered. (Not the towel the camera)
  • Pick up the hammer and hit the camera at least 10 times. When the camera is flat you have hit it enough times.
  • Use the phone to call a photogrpaher
  • Carefully pick up the towel and keep it folded and toss it in the trash. (this part may take some practice)
  • Take the battery to a recycling center.

If these steps are followed I promise that the end result will be better property photos.